Privacy Policy
Effective November 1, 2026
The short version. The ScreenDream Mac app doesn’t collect, store or share any personal data. It has no accounts, no analytics, no ads and no tracking, and everything it uses stays on your Mac. ScreenDream for Windows is the same, except that buying a license involves your email address. Paddle handles it at checkout, and we store it with your license record and inside your license key. See ScreenDream for Windows.
This policy covers the ScreenDream apps for macOS and Windows and the ScreenDream pages on screendream.app. ScreenDream is made by Aaron Pollock (“we”).
The app
Settings
Your choices, such as which screensaver runs, how long to wait and each screensaver’s options, are saved on your Mac in ScreenDream’s own preferences. They never leave your Mac.
Your pictures
Puzzle and Mower can show a picture you choose. If you pick a file or a folder, ScreenDream remembers that location so it can open it again, and reads the images only to show them. If you pick a Photos album in Puzzle, ScreenDream asks for access to your photo library, reads pictures from that album only to display them, and never changes or copies your library. You can turn this access off any time in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos.
Your screen
Puzzle and Mower can also use what’s on your screen. Only for that option, ScreenDream asks for Screen Recording permission. It takes one picture of each display just before the screensaver starts, blurs it so text and details can’t be read, and keeps it in memory while the screensaver runs. The picture is never saved to disk or sent anywhere. Without the permission, ScreenDream uses your desktop wallpaper instead.
Require Password
If you turn on Require Password, ScreenDream uses Apple’s standard Touch ID and password prompt when you come back. macOS handles the check. ScreenDream only learns whether it succeeded, and never sees your fingerprint or your password.
The internet
ScreenDream doesn’t connect to the internet with one exception. The Website screensaver loads the web page you type in, directly from that site, the same way a browser would. That site may receive your IP address and set its own cookies, and its own privacy policy applies. If you never use the Website screensaver, ScreenDream never goes online.
Purchases and Apple
ScreenDream is sold only through the Mac App Store. Apple handles the purchase, and we never receive your name, Apple Account or payment details. If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in System Settings, Apple may send us crash reports and usage statistics that don’t identify you. Apple’s own handling of your data is covered by Apple’s Privacy Policy.
ScreenDream for Windows
The sections above describe the Mac app. This section covers the Windows app, and the website sections below apply to both.
Settings
Your choices are saved on your PC and never leave it.
Update checks
ScreenDream for Windows checks screendream.app for new versions. The check sends the app’s build number and nothing else about you or your PC. Like any visit to this website, our server also sees your IP address (see below).
Buying a license
When you buy, ScreenDream opens our checkout in your browser and sends a random purchase token so the app can pick up your key when the payment finishes. The token is random and is only used to hand your key to the app. Paddle.com is the merchant of record and processes your payment, your email address and your billing details under Paddle’s Privacy Policy. We receive your email address and the details of your order from Paddle so we can issue your key and help you if something goes wrong. We never see your card details.
We email your key to you after you buy, and again whenever you ask for it on the Restore purchase page. These emails are delivered by SMTP2GO, which handles your email address and the message only to deliver it. They are the only emails we send you; there is no mailing list.
The internet
Apart from update checks and buying a license, ScreenDream for Windows goes online only for the Website screensaver. It loads the web page you type in, directly from that site, the same way a browser would. That site may receive your IP address and set its own cookies, and its own privacy policy applies. If you never use the Website screensaver, nothing else goes online.
Your license key
Your license key contains your email address. It is stored on your PC, and ScreenDream checks it there without going online. We keep a record of each license (your email address, order and key) so you can restore it later and so we can honor refunds. If you want your record deleted, email us; a deleted license can no longer be restored.
This website
When you visit a ScreenDream page, our server records the page you opened, the time, your IP address, your browser’s user-agent string and the page that linked you here, if any. We use this only to count visits and spot problems. Detailed records are kept for 12 months and then reduced to daily totals. Like most web servers, ours also keeps standard access logs.
Most of these pages set no cookies and load nothing from third parties. Two exceptions: the Windows checkout page loads Paddle’s script from cdn.paddle.com, and Paddle’s checkout sets its own cookies under Paddle’s Privacy Policy; and the Restore purchase page sets a session-only cookie to keep its form secure, which goes away when you close your browser. There are no analytics or advertising trackers, and nothing about your visit is sold or shared.
If you write to support@screendream.app, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message. We use it only to reply to you, and never add you to a mailing list or share it.
Children
ScreenDream does not knowingly collect personal data from children. The only personal data involved is the email address of someone buying a Windows license.
Changes
If this policy changes, we’ll update it here and change the date at the top.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email support@screendream.app.