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Privacy Policy

What we collect

  • Server logs. Like every web server we record the request line, the time, the response code and the IP address. This exists to keep the site online, block abuse and debug errors. Logs are rotated and not used to build profiles.
  • Search statistics. The site is registered with Bing Webmaster Tools, which reports aggregated impressions and clicks per query. That data describes pages, not people.
  • Catalogue analytics. We record public page views and installer download starts, the page path (without queries), referring domain, device category, and browser-reported browser and operating-system versions. We estimate the country and continent using a local GeoIP database; visitor IP addresses are not sent to a geolocation service or saved in this dataset. A random per-tab identifier groups visits and expires after 30 minutes of inactivity. This analytics dataset contains no raw IP addresses or full user-agent strings and is retained for up to 180 days. We respect Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control for this collection. Security and download audit logs are separate.
  • Reports and developer submissions. No public account is required. If you send a report, copyright notice or program submission, we store the contact details, content and declarations you provide, a request reference and our moderation decisions. These are available to authorised administrators, not publicly searchable. An approved developer submission publishes the program information, not the sender's private contact details. Copyright notices may be shared with the affected publisher where necessary to investigate or respond to a claim.
  • Abuse prevention. Submission forms use short-lived rate-limit records derived from an IP address and email using a keyed hash. These buckets expire after one hour and are cleaned up on subsequent submissions; the original IP is not stored in the request record. Ordinary server security logs remain separate.

What we do not do

  • No advertising networks, no retargeting pixels, no social widgets that phone home.
  • No selling or sharing of personal data with data brokers.
  • No affiliate parameters stapled to outbound download links. When you click through to a vendor, the request is clean.

Outbound links

Official Download links point to the developer's own site. Once you follow one, that site's privacy policy applies. Direct Download serves files hosted by Freeware Catalog; download requests are recorded. VirusTotal report links open VirusTotal, where its own privacy policy applies.

Your rights

You may request access to or deletion of your submitted personal information through the contact page. Include the request reference where available. Records needed to investigate a claim, meet legal obligations or prevent abuse may need to be retained. We do not promise immediate deletion of an active copyright case.

Changes

If the way the site handles data changes, this page is updated and the change is recorded alongside the rest of the catalog content, so the history stays visible.

Frequently asked questions

Do you use cookies?

The public catalogue does not set analytics cookies. A random, per-tab visit identifier is stored in session storage and renewed after 30 minutes of inactivity. Your theme preference is stored locally. There are no advertising trackers.

Do you sell data?

No. We have no reader profiles to sell, and no third-party advertising or data brokers on the site.

What happens when I click a download link?

Direct Download serves a hosted installer and records a download request. Official Download takes you to the vendor, whose privacy policy then applies. Neither link uses affiliate parameters.

First-party usage statistics

We use an anonymous first-party visitor cookie, lasting up to 180 days, to count returning browsers once in our visit and download statistics. We count distinct network addresses separately using a keyed fingerprint rather than storing raw IP addresses in the analytics dataset. Clearing cookies or using another browser creates a new visitor identity. We respect Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control.

We also count visits to official download pages and web apps. Recent, deduplicated interest over a 30-day window helps order catalogue listings; repeated actions for the same app and UTC day count once. A shared network may be counted as one visitor. These signals are not user reviews and do not confirm completed downloads or installations.

Optional Microsoft Clarity analytics

If you choose “Allow analytics”, we use Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors use our public pages through cookies, usage metrics, heatmaps and session recordings. Microsoft processes this data. We do not load Clarity before your permission, and we do not enable advertising storage through this integration.

You can withdraw permission using “Cookie preferences” at the bottom of any public page. Administrative pages are excluded. See the Microsoft Privacy Statement for details about Microsoft’s processing.