Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to the ATHENS macOS application, including its document import, OCR, metadata, classification, search, retrieval-augmented chat, export, and model-management features. It does not cover third-party software you choose to use alongside ATHENS or content you export from ATHENS to other apps or services.

The Swift bundle identifier remains Athenaeum for build-system stability, but the user-facing product is ATHENS. References to "Athenaeum Library" in folder paths reflect that history and do not change how data is handled.

The following table summarizes ATHENS's data practices as defined by Apple's App Privacy framework. ATHENS does not collect data for tracking purposes and does not link any data to your identity.

ATHENS processes the following categories of information entirely on your Mac. Nothing in this section is transmitted to ATHENS, to SHAWHAUSE, or to any third party.

A. Documents you import

• Original files you add to the vault — PDFs, images, plain text, rich text, Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, calendar files, and other supported document formats.
• Files you import through the app's import flow, drag-and-drop, or by placing files into the vault folder in Finder.

B. Extracted text and OCR output

• Text extracted natively from PDFs and text-based documents.
• Text recognized from images and scanned documents using Apple's on-device Vision framework.
• Optional enhanced OCR output from the bundled MiniCPM-V vision model when downloaded and enabled (Standard, Performance, and Workstation tiers).

C. Document metadata

• Titles, filenames, file types, sizes, MIME information, and on-disk paths within the vault.
• Document dates, correspondents or detected entities, summaries, tags, and processing state.
• The searchable text index used to power in-app search.

D. Vector embeddings

• Numerical embeddings for document chunks generated by the local embedding model (Nomic Embed Text v1.5) and stored in a local vector index that supports semantic search and retrieval-augmented chat.

E. Chat sessions

• Questions you ask ATHENS, the retrieved document chunks used to ground each answer, and the answers generated by the local language model — all produced on-device.

F. App configuration and preferences

• Your selected hardware tier, model selections, theme, sidebar pins, and other in-app settings.
• Lightweight operational state required for the app to function correctly across launches.

G. Diagnostic logs

• A local tagger log written to your Application Support container at ~/Library/Containers/<bundle-id>/Data/Library/Application Support/Athenaeum/tagger.log. The log records prompt lengths, raw model responses, parsed and validated tags, and error markers when the local model stumbles. It is intended to help you and us improve tagging quality and is not transmitted off your Mac.

ATHENS uses the macOS file system and Apple's on-device frameworks for all persistence. By default:

• Vault originals — ~/Documents/Athenaeum Library (Finder-visible and user-relocatable).
• Metadata database — SwiftData store inside ATHENS's sandboxed Application Support container.
• Vector index — local file inside ATHENS's sandboxed Application Support container.
• Local models — ~/Library/Application Support/Athenaeum/Models.
• Diagnostic log — ~/Library/Containers/<bundle-id>/Data/Library/Application Support/Athenaeum/tagger.log.

You can move the vault, delete it from Finder, and back it up like any other folder on your Mac. Deleting the app, the vault, or the Application Support container removes the corresponding data.

ATHENS uses the information described above to:

• Import documents into your local vault and keep the vault in sync with what you place in it via Finder.
• Extract, OCR, and index document text so you can find documents quickly.
• Generate suggested titles, tags, summaries, correspondents, and dates using local models.
• Provide semantic search and retrieval-augmented chat that ground answers in citations from your own documents.
• Manage local model downloads and select an appropriate model lineup for your Mac's available memory.
• Export originals, extracted text, JSON metadata, or CSV catalog rows when you request an export.
• Maintain the diagnostic log used to troubleshoot tagging behavior locally.

ATHENS runs inside Apple's App Sandbox on macOS and declares only the entitlements it needs to operate:

• App Sandbox — restricts the app's file-system and network access to what macOS explicitly grants it.
• User-Selected Files (Read/Write) — allows ATHENS to open and save files you choose, including imports and exports.
• Downloads Folder (Read/Write) — supports importing from your Downloads folder and writing exports there when you ask.
• Network Client — used solely to download local model files from the providers described in Section 7. The network client is not used to upload your documents, metadata, prompts, or chat content.

You can revoke or change these access permissions at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Some features may stop working or work in a limited way if you do.

ATHENS uses local GGUF and bundled models to perform tagging, embedding, vision OCR, and chat entirely on your Mac. To install or update these models, ATHENS connects directly to Hugging Face (huggingface.co) and downloads the requested model files to ~/Library/Application Support/Athenaeum/Models.

When you start a download, your Mac makes a standard HTTPS request to Hugging Face. As with any web request, Hugging Face may receive technical request metadata such as your IP address, User-Agent string, the requested file path, and timestamps. ATHENS does not send your documents, chat history, embeddings, account identifiers, or any other personal data with these requests. Use of Hugging Face is governed by Hugging Face's own terms and privacy policy.

You can choose not to download additional models. ATHENS will fall back to native text extraction, Apple Vision OCR, and rule-based classification where possible.

Tagging, summarization, embedding, vision OCR, and chat are performed locally using the bundled llama.cpp framework and the GGUF models you have installed. ATHENS auto-detects your Mac's unified memory at launch and picks a tier (Compact, Standard, Performance, or Workstation) — you can override this in Settings.

Your document text, prompts, model outputs, and chat history are processed inside the app on your Mac. They are not transmitted to ATHENS, to SHAWHAUSE, to model providers, or to any third party in the course of normal operation.

ATHENS does not require an account, does not collect telemetry or analytics, and does not include any third-party advertising, marketing, or tracking SDKs. The app does not track you across other apps or websites, and it does not link any data to your identity for advertising purposes.

ATHENS does not sell your personal information and does not share your personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising. Because ATHENS is local-first, there are very few situations in which information leaves your device:

• Hugging Face receives standard HTTPS request metadata when you download a model, as described in Section 7.
• You may export originals, extracted text, JSON metadata, or CSV catalog rows from ATHENS to other locations, apps, or services. Once exported, the data is governed by the destination's terms and your own choices.
• Apple may receive limited information through the macOS frameworks ATHENS relies on (such as crash reports you choose to share through System Settings). This is governed by Apple's own privacy practices.
• Legal & safety — if we are ever compelled by valid legal process or need to protect the rights, safety, or integrity of the Services, we may disclose information in our possession. In practice, ATHENS does not have access to your documents or vault.

You control retention. Vault originals, metadata, embeddings, chat sessions, and logs remain on your Mac until you delete them. You can:

• Delete individual documents from within ATHENS or from Finder.
• Empty or relocate the vault folder.
• Remove the SwiftData store and vector index by deleting the app's Application Support container.
• Delete downloaded models from ~/Library/Application Support/Athenaeum/Models.
• Uninstall the app to remove its sandboxed data.

Backups you maintain (Time Machine, iCloud Drive, third-party backup tools) follow their own retention rules, which ATHENS does not control.

ATHENS relies on the security boundaries provided by macOS, including the App Sandbox, FileVault disk encryption, code signing, and per-app file-system permissions. We use reasonable measures designed to protect information processed by the app. However, no method of storage is completely secure, and the security of your library ultimately depends on the security of your Mac, your user account, your backups, and the third-party services to which you choose to export data.

ATHENS is intended for general use by adult users managing their own documents. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used ATHENS in a way that requires our attention, please contact us using the address in Section 16.

Because ATHENS processes information on your Mac, your data generally stays in the country where you use the app. Model downloads connect to Hugging Face's infrastructure, which may be served from multiple jurisdictions. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law — see Section 15.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, port, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal information, or to withdraw consent. Because ATHENS does not collect personal information from you on our servers, most of these rights are satisfied by your ability to access, modify, export, and delete your own data directly on your Mac. To exercise rights with respect to any information we do hold (for example, support correspondence you initiate), contact us using the address in Section 16.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or ATHENS's privacy practices, contact:

hello@shawhause.com

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to ATHENS, applicable law, or our practices. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice within the app or on this page.