Privacy & Security

What NeuroSwitcher sends, what stays local, and how to turn telemetry off.

NeuroSwitcher is a keyboard utility, so trust has to be explicit. The beta is currently unsigned, but the runtime is designed around local processing and minimal release-quality metrics.

Typed text stays local Wrong-layout detection, correction, transliteration, dictionaries, and suggestion logic run on your Windows PC.

Beta metrics are narrow The beta API tracks downloads, first-install pings, and at most weekly heartbeats for release quality.

Telemetry can be disabled A local marker file or environment variable stops install and heartbeat telemetry from the desktop client.

What stays local

Keyboard analysis and text correction are performed on your machine. NeuroSwitcher does not need to send typed text to a cloud service to detect a wrong keyboard layout.

Recent typing buffer analysis and layout correction.
Transliteration and dictionary matching.
User dictionary, exclusions, hotkeys, runtime settings, and Pro Console state.
Clipboard workflow and normal text substitution behavior.
Diagnostic logs shown in the local console window when you enable it.

What beta metrics are sent

The beta API is used to understand whether releases are being downloaded, installed, and still active. It is not used for typing analytics.

Download eventInstaller filename, salted IP hash, country header if present, and user agent.

First install pingInstall ID, app version, OS/architecture, locale, and beta channel.

HeartbeatInstall ID and app version, sent no more than once every 7 days.

Server-side IP data is stored as a salted hash for beta counting and deduplication. The desktop heartbeat request does not include typed content or document content.

Where the install ID is stored

The desktop client creates a random UUID the first time telemetry initializes. It is stored locally in your Windows roaming app data folder. On a typical Windows install, %APPDATA% expands to C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming.

C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming\NeuroSwitcher\install_id

The same path can also be opened with the Windows environment variable:

%APPDATA%\NeuroSwitcher\install_id

The same folder also stores the local first-run marker and last-heartbeat timestamp:

C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming\NeuroSwitcher\install_pinged
C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming\NeuroSwitcher\last_heartbeat

The install ID is not an account, license key, or identity document. It is a random identifier for beta install counts.

How to disable telemetry

You can disable desktop install and heartbeat telemetry before launching NeuroSwitcher by using either method below.

Option 1: environment variable

setx KEYSWITCHER_DISABLE_TELEMETRY 1

Restart NeuroSwitcher after setting it.

Option 2: local marker file

Create this marker file in the same roaming app data folder:

C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Roaming\NeuroSwitcher\telemetry_disabled

PowerShell command:

New-Item -ItemType File "$env:APPDATA\NeuroSwitcher\telemetry_disabled" -Force

To enable telemetry again, remove the marker file or unset the environment variable and restart the app.

What is never sent

Keystrokes or raw typed text.
Corrected text, selected text, or document contents.
Clipboard contents.
User dictionary entries or excluded terms.
Passwords, tokens, private messages, file contents, or screenshots.
Names of active windows or a list of running processes.

If you email logs to support, review them first and remove anything sensitive. Support logs are user-supplied, not automatic telemetry.

About the unsigned beta

The current beta build can trigger Windows SmartScreen or antivirus warnings because it is not code-signed yet. Signing is planned before the public release. Until then, the trust model is transparency: local-first behavior, narrow beta metrics, and a clear way to turn telemetry off.

Contact

Questions, false positives, missed corrections, installer warnings, and privacy concerns can be sent to support@neuroswitcher.app.

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