Privacy Policy

Who we are and what this covers

This policy explains how TaskForge handles personal data. TaskForge is the app and the taskforge.md website, operated from Ontario, Canada. For data protection law, we are the data controller for the limited personal data described below.

If anything here is unclear, email us at the address in the Contact section. We're happy to explain.

How TaskForge handles your data

Your tasks are stored as Markdown files inside the vault folder you choose. TaskForge reads and writes those files directly on your device. We do not upload them, copy them, or read their contents for any purpose of our own.

If you sync your vault across devices, that happens through a service you already control, such as iCloud Drive or Dropbox. Your files pass between your devices and your cloud account. There is no TaskForge server in the middle.

App settings can sync between your Apple devices through your own iCloud account. Again, this stays within Apple's iCloud and your account, not our infrastructure. After setup, the app works offline.

What we do not collect

Most privacy policies are long because the app collects a lot. Ours is short because it doesn't. The TaskForge app does not:

• Track you across apps or websites, or use anything about you to target ads.
• Include any advertising, ad networks, or third-party trackers.
• Require or create an account, a profile, or a login.
• Read your task content, your file names, or your vault for our own purposes.
• Profile you, score you, or make any automated decisions about you.
• Sell, rent, or share your personal information with anyone for marketing.

The limited data we process

There are five narrow cases where data is involved. Each is described plainly below. Apart from completing a purchase, none of this is required: TaskForge is fully usable without giving us any personal information.

Purchases and subscriptions

TaskForge Premium is sold through Apple's App Store (and Google Play on Android). When you buy or subscribe, the payment itself is handled by Apple or Google. We use RevenueCat, a subscription management provider, to confirm your purchase and unlock Premium on your devices. For this, RevenueCat processes your purchase history, an anonymized identifier, the country of purchase, the purchase date, and basic technical information about your device and operating system. This is used only to validate your entitlement. We do not receive your name, your email, or your payment details from this process. On Windows, whether installed from the website or the Microsoft Store, and on the direct-download Mac build, Premium is sold through a web checkout run by Paddle. Paddle is the merchant of record for that sale and handles the checkout details you enter there, such as your email address and payment details. RevenueCat then confirms the purchase as above.

Anonymous setup information

From version 3.0.2, the app sends a few setup choices to RevenueCat, along with the anonymous RevenueCat ID described above. They are: vault or workspace mode, whether task files and inline tasks are on, the inline task format, whether the TaskNotes or Obsidian Tasks plugin is present, whether your folder syncs through iCloud (Apple-managed sync) or is local, a rough band for how many tasks and spaces you have, which calendar providers are connected (Apple, Google, Outlook), and your language and region setting. We use this to decide what to build and which setups to support. It is tied only to the anonymous RevenueCat ID. We never send task content, file or folder names, paths, or anything that identifies you. We don't use it for ads or tracking, and we don't sell it. RevenueCat stores it for us as our processor.

Anonymous usage information (from version 3.1.0)

From version 3.1.0, the app also sends RevenueCat some coarse facts about setup and use, tied to the same anonymous RevenueCat ID. Store builds and direct-download builds both send them. Each one is a band, an on or off state, or a choice from a fixed list: how onboarding ended and whether you kept the suggested mode, where you heard about TaskForge if you answer that optional question, rough counts of launches, active days, completed tasks and notes, how long ago you installed, which kinds of widget you have added, whether notifications are allowed, whether you use a phone, tablet or desktop, whether the command line, MCP server, widgets, share sheet or Siri have changed tasks, how often the Premium screen has appeared and where, and how many review prompts you have seen. They come with the app version and build, your operating system version, the distribution channel, and the date you first opened the app.

App Store and Google Play builds send three more things. On Apple devices, Apple's AdServices attribution token, which tells us whether an install came from an Apple Search Ads campaign; that is attribution for our own ads, not tracking. On every store build, a record each time the Premium screen appears. On Android, the source and campaign from the Google Play install referrer, which says which website link led to the install.

None of this includes task text, note text, file or folder names, or paths. None of it is used to track you across other companies' apps or websites, and we don't sell it.

When you email us

If you contact us for support or with feedback, we receive your email address and whatever you write. We use it only to reply and to help with your request. We don't add you to a mailing list, and we don't use it for marketing.

The website

The taskforge.md website uses Plausible Analytics to understand which pages are visited. Plausible is privacy-friendly: it is cookieless, sets no consent banner, does not track you across sites, and collects no personal information. We see aggregate page views and referrers, not individuals. Our web host also keeps standard server logs for security and reliability.

Calendars and contacts

From version 3.1.0, TaskForge can show and edit your calendars: the ones already on your device, and Google or Microsoft accounts you connect. It can also show the names and photos of the people invited to your events. All of this is optional. None of this data reaches us unless you choose to email us a diagnostics report, described below. The app talks to your device, or to Google or Microsoft, directly. No TaskForge server relays, stores or sees your calendars or contacts.

Calendars and contacts on your device

If you allow calendar access, TaskForge reads the calendars already on your phone or computer, through Apple's calendar on Apple devices and the system calendar on Android, and changes events in them when you ask. If you also allow Contacts access, it uses your saved contacts to show the names and photos of people invited to an event, to suggest people when you add a guest, and to open a saved contact's card. Your device asks you before it grants either permission. The app uploads nothing from your device's calendars or contacts.

Google and Microsoft accounts

If you connect a Google or Microsoft account in Settings, you sign in on Google's or Microsoft's own page, which lists what TaskForge asks for before you agree. TaskForge asks for:

• Google. Your calendar events, to read, create, change and delete them. The list of your calendars. Your name and email address, to show which account is connected. For guests' names and photos, read-only access to your contacts, to people you have emailed or met but not saved, and to your organization's directory if you use Google Workspace. Google's names for these permissions are https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.calendarlist.readonly, openid, email, profile, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.other.readonly, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/directory.readonly.
• Microsoft. Your calendars and events, to read, create, change and delete them. Your name and email address, to show which account is connected. For guests' names and photos, read-only access to your Outlook contacts and, on a work or school account, to the names and photos of people in your organization. Microsoft's names for these permissions are openid, email, profile, offline_access, Calendars.ReadWrite, User.Read, Contacts.Read, User.ReadBasic.All.

Both providers give the app a sign-in token that keeps it connected, so you don't have to sign in again each time it refreshes your calendar.

What the app does with it

TaskForge uses calendar and contact data only for features you can see and that you start:

• Showing your events, and creating, editing, moving and deleting the ones you choose.
• Sending your accept, maybe or decline reply to an invitation when you tap it.
• Emailing guests about an invitation, a change or a cancellation. With Google, the app asks whether to send the email. Outlook always emails guests, and the app tells you so before you save.
• Showing the names and photos of people invited to an event, and finding people when you search for a guest to invite.
• Copying an event's details into a meeting note in your vault, only when you create that note.

We never use this data for advertising, never sell it, and never use it to train AI models. Nobody at TaskForge reads it.

Where it is kept

Sign-in tokens stay in your device's secure storage: the Keychain on Apple devices, encrypted storage protected by the Android Keystore on Android, and Windows Data Protection (DPAPI) on Windows. The app keeps a copy of your events and of guests' names and photos on your device, so it opens fast and works offline. It forgets a remembered name or photo after seven days at most. Event details reach your vault only in a meeting note you create, which is a Markdown file you own like any other.

Disconnecting and removing access

You can disconnect an account at any time in Settings, under Calendar events. Disconnecting deletes the account's sign-in tokens from your device and removes its events and remembered guest names and photos from the app. For a Google account, it also asks Google to cancel the app's access. Microsoft gives apps no way to do that, so for a Microsoft account, also remove TaskForge on Microsoft's page, linked below.

You can remove TaskForge from your Google Account permissions, from your Microsoft account app permissions for a personal account, or from My Apps for a work or school account. You can turn off TaskForge's Calendar and Contacts access in your device's system settings at any time.

If your Premium subscription ends, connected accounts pause. The app stops reading from them but keeps them connected, and they pick up again if you subscribe again. Disconnect an account if you want its tokens gone.

The anonymous setup information described earlier records only which calendar providers are connected. It never includes events, calendar names, guests or contacts. If you choose to email us a diagnostics report from the app, the app strips titles, file paths and email addresses from it, and the report is not built to contain your events or contacts.

Google user data

This section covers the data TaskForge can reach in a Google account you connect in Settings, under Calendar events. Connecting one is optional. If you never connect a Google account, the app never touches your Google data.

What the app can access

Google's own sign-in page lists every permission before you agree. TaskForge asks for the ones below and uses each only for what is written next to it.

• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.events lets the app see, create, change and delete events on your calendars. The app uses it to show your events, to make the changes you ask for, and to send your answer when you accept, decline or reply maybe to an invitation.
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.calendarlist.readonly is read-only access to the list of your calendars, with their names and colors. The app uses it so you can pick which calendars to show and which one new events go into.
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.readonly is read-only access to your saved Google contacts. The app uses their names, email addresses and photos to show who is invited to an event, and to suggest people when you add a guest.
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/contacts.other.readonly is read-only access to your Other contacts, the people Google keeps because you emailed or met them. The app uses it the same way, for guests you never saved.
• https://www.googleapis.com/auth/directory.readonly is read-only access to your organization's directory on a Google Workspace account. The app uses it to show the names and photos of coworkers invited to an event. A personal Google account has no directory, so this one reads nothing there.
• openid, email, profile give the app your name, email address and Google account ID. It uses them to show which account is connected and to tell two connected accounts apart.

From your events, the app reads the title, start and end times and time zone, location, description, guests with their names, email addresses and replies, the organizer, repeat rules, reminders, video meeting links, color, busy or free status and visibility. From your calendar list, it reads each calendar's name, color, time zone and whether you can edit it. From contacts and the directory, it reads only names, email addresses and photos.

The app asks for nothing else. It cannot read your Gmail, Google Drive or Google Photos, and it never changes your contacts.

How the app uses it

Only for calendar features you can see in the app, when you use them. Your events show up in the calendar and agenda, and in TaskForge's own widgets, menu bar and event reminders on the same device. When you create a meeting note, the app copies that event's details into a new Markdown note in your vault. Your calendar choices, such as which calendars to show, are saved with your TaskForge settings.

Where it is stored and how it is protected

TaskForge has no server that receives or stores Google data. The app talks to Google directly over encrypted HTTPS, and sign-in uses Google's OAuth flow with PKCE, so the app never sees your Google password. The tokens that keep the account connected live in your device's secure storage: the Keychain on Apple devices, encrypted storage protected by the Android Keystore on Android, and Windows Data Protection (DPAPI) on Windows. The app keeps a copy of your events on the device, so the calendar opens fast and works offline, and it treats remembered guest names and photos as expired after seven days.

Who it is shared with

No one. Apart from the anonymous fact that a Google account is connected, described above, no Google user data reaches us, so we have none to sell, transfer or disclose. The data goes back only to Google, when you change an event or answer an invitation, and Google emails your guests only when you choose that.

How long it is kept, and deleting it

The app keeps the tokens and its copy of your events until you disconnect the account. Disconnecting, in Settings under Calendar events, deletes them from the device and asks Google to cancel TaskForge's access. On iPhone, iPad and Android, deleting the app removes its copy of your events too. On a Mac or Windows PC some app data can stay behind after you delete the app, so disconnect first. If you have already deleted the app, you can remove access at Google, as described below.

We hold no Google user data, so there is nothing to delete on our side. If you have emailed us a diagnostics report or anything else and want it deleted, write to azhar@taskforge.md and we will delete it.

Revoking access

You can remove TaskForge's access at any time on your Google Account permissions page, from any device, even after you have deleted the app. From then on the app cannot reach your Google account, and it asks you to reconnect the next time it tries.

Limited Use

TaskForge's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

In practice, that means:

• We use Google user data only to provide the calendar features described above, which you can see and use in the app.
• We don't transfer it to anyone, except as needed to provide those features, to comply with applicable law, or as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, after telling you.
• We never use it for advertising, including personalized, retargeted or interest-based ads.
• No person at TaskForge reads it. The only exceptions are when you agree to it, for example by sending us a screenshot for support, when security requires it, such as investigating abuse, and when the law requires it.
• TaskForge does not use Google Workspace APIs, or any Google user data, to develop, improve or train generalized AI or machine learning models, and the app sends none of it to any AI service.
• We never sell it, and never use it to decide creditworthiness or for lending.

If we change how TaskForge uses Google user data, we will update this section first and announce the change in the app's What's new notes before it applies. A new Google permission always needs your agreement again on Google's sign-in page.

Microsoft user data

This section covers a Microsoft account you connect in Settings, under Calendar events, whether it is a personal account or a work or school one. Connecting one is optional.

What the app can access

Microsoft's sign-in page lists these permissions before you agree. TaskForge uses each only for what is written next to it.

• Calendars.ReadWrite lets the app read, create, change and delete events in your calendars and see the list of your calendars, so it can show your events, make the changes you ask for and send your answers to invitations.
• Contacts.Read is read-only access to your Outlook contacts, used to show the names and photos of people invited to an event and to suggest guests.
• User.ReadBasic.All reads the basic profiles of people in your organization, with their name, email address and photo, for coworkers invited to an event. It applies only to work or school accounts.
• openid, email, profile, User.Read let the app sign you in and show which account is connected, using your name and email address.
• offline_access keeps the app connected, so you don't have to sign in again each time it refreshes your calendar.

The app asks for nothing else. It cannot read your Outlook email or OneDrive files, and it never changes your contacts.

How it is used, stored and shared

The same way as Google data, described above. The app uses it only for calendar features you see and use, talks to Microsoft directly over HTTPS, keeps the sign-in tokens in your device's secure storage, and keeps your events on your device. No TaskForge server receives it, and we never sell it, share it, use it for advertising or use it to train AI models. Outlook emails guests whenever you save a change to an event that has guests, and the app tells you so before you save.

Disconnecting and revoking access

Disconnecting the account in Settings, under Calendar events, deletes its tokens and events from the device. The note above about deleting the app on a Mac or Windows PC applies here too. Microsoft doesn't let apps cancel their own access, so to remove TaskForge on Microsoft's side, use your Microsoft account app permissions for a personal account or My Apps for a work or school account.

TaskForge's use of data from Microsoft accounts follows the Microsoft APIs Terms of Use.

Do we share your data?

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we never will. The only third parties involved are the providers that make the cases above work:

• Apple and Google process payments when you buy Premium, under their own privacy policies.
• Paddle runs the web checkout for the Windows build and the direct-download Mac build. It is the merchant of record for those purchases and handles the checkout details you enter, under its own privacy policy.
• RevenueCat validates purchases and stores the anonymous setup and usage information on our behalf, as described above. RevenueCat acts as our data processor.
• Plausible Analytics provides cookieless, anonymous website analytics.
• Google and Microsoft receive the event changes and invitation replies you make, and send any guest emails you choose, once you connect their calendars. That data goes straight from your device to your own account, under their privacy policies.

Apple, Google and Paddle handle payments as independent companies under their own privacy policies. RevenueCat and Plausible process data on our behalf under data processing agreements and must protect it to a standard consistent with this policy.

We may disclose the little data we hold (such as a purchase record or a support email) if we are legally required to by valid legal process, or where necessary to protect our rights or someone's safety. Given how little we hold, this would rarely apply. Because we do not sell or share your personal information, there is no 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information' link to provide, and we honor browser Global Privacy Control signals as a matter of course.

Legal bases for processing (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the UK, we process the limited data above on these legal bases:

• Performance of a contract: validating your Premium purchase so we can deliver what you paid for.
• Legitimate interests: replying to your support emails, understanding which setups to support and how the app is used from anonymous setup and usage information, and understanding website traffic in aggregate, balanced against your privacy.
• Legal obligation: keeping the records that tax and consumer law require.
• Consent: where the law requires it, and which you can withdraw at any time.

Your rights

Under laws such as the GDPR and the CCPA, you have rights over your personal data. Because almost everything stays on your own device, you already control most of it directly. For the limited data we or our providers hold, you can ask to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct it if it's wrong.
• Delete it.
• Receive a copy in a portable format.
• Object to or restrict how we use it.
• Withdraw consent where processing relies on it.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these, email us using the Contact section below. Your task files are yours to edit or delete at any time; deleting the app and your vault removes that data entirely. For purchase records, you can also contact Apple, Google, Paddle, or RevenueCat directly. We will never treat you differently for exercising any of these rights. To stop calendar or contacts access, disconnect the account or turn off the permission, as the Calendars and contacts section explains.

International data transfers

Our providers (RevenueCat, Paddle, Plausible, and our web host) may process data on servers outside your country, including in the United States and the European Union. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we rely on those providers' safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses, to keep it protected.

How long we keep data

We don't store your tasks at all, so there is nothing to retain there. Purchase records are kept by Apple, Google, Paddle, and RevenueCat for as long as needed to manage your subscription and to meet legal and tax obligations. Support emails are kept only as long as needed to handle your request and any follow-up. Website analytics are aggregate and not tied to you. The anonymous setup and usage information stays with RevenueCat for as long as the purchase record does, and is deleted with it on request. Calendar events, guest names and photos, and sign-in tokens stay only on your device, and disconnecting an account removes them from the app.

Security

Your task files are protected by your own device and the cloud service you choose to sync with. Our providers use encryption in transit for purchases and website traffic. No method of storage or transmission is ever completely secure, but because we hold so little personal data, there is very little about you for anyone to expose.

Children's privacy

TaskForge is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will remove it.

Links to other sites

Our website and app may link to sites we don't operate, such as Obsidian or app store pages. We aren't responsible for their content or privacy practices, so we suggest reviewing the privacy policy of any site you visit.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll make it prominent. Continued use of TaskForge after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? We read every message:

• By email: azhar@taskforge.md