Prose is a local-first markdown editor for macOS. Your documents live on your Mac, your Anthropic API key goes directly to Anthropic, and almost nothing else leaves your device. Here is exactly what we handle, what we don't, and where it goes.
Prose runs on your Mac. Your documents are plain .md files on your filesystem. solo.ist does not operate a backend for Prose, does not have user accounts, and does not receive your writing, your prompts, or your API key.
When you use AI features, data is sent directly from your Mac to Anthropic using the API key you provided — not through us. Anthropic's own privacy policy and terms govern that data.
The only thing Prose itself can send off your device is anonymous crash reports via Sentry, and that is off by default. You opt in explicitly in Settings.
All of the following lives on your device only. None of it is sent to solo.ist servers.
Plain markdown files in whatever directory you choose. Prose reads and writes them in place. It does not copy them, sync them, or upload them anywhere on its own.
Encrypted using electron.safeStorage, which on macOS derives its encryption key from your login Keychain. The encrypted ciphertext is stored as a file inside Prose's data folder under credentials/. Prose sends your key only to Anthropic — see the next section.
Stored as a plain settings.json file inside Prose's data folder. This includes your theme, editor preferences, recent files, and your AI model selection.
A local IndexedDB database named prose-db, inside Prose's app container, holds your open-tab drafts and recovery state, your chat conversation history keyed by document, AI provenance annotations, inline suggestions, AI-generated tab emoji icons, and AI-generated document summaries. This data never leaves your machine.
No telemetry about what you write, which files you open, what you search for, or how you use the editor.
Prose is "bring your own key." When you use the AI features, Prose sends data directly from your Mac to Anthropic using your key. solo.ist is not in the middle of that connection and does not receive a copy.
Powers the AI chat panel, any AI-assisted edits you invoke, and the optional AI-generated tab emoji icons. When these features run, Prose sends Anthropic:
api.anthropic.com.What Anthropic does with that data — including retention, logging, and whether it is used for training — is governed by Anthropic's privacy policy, not this one. Prose currently only supports Anthropic as an AI provider.
See the next section.
That is the complete list of external services Prose talks to. There is no analytics provider, no advertising network, no user database, no backend API operated by solo.ist.
Error reporting in Prose is provided by Sentry. It is off by default. To turn it on, open Settings → General → Error Reporting and toggle the switch.
When enabled, Sentry collects:
Before any report is sent, Prose scrubs file paths out of error messages and breadcrumbs — any string matching /Users/[name]/... or C:\Users\[name]\... is replaced with a redacted placeholder, so your username and the on-disk locations of your documents are not included. Prose samples roughly 50% of errors to keep volume reasonable; the remainder never leave your Mac.
Prose does not send Sentry the contents of your documents, your prompts, your AI responses, or your API key. Sentry's default capture is limited to exception stack traces plus the breadcrumbs described above; Prose does not attach document text or credentials to any event.
Turning the switch off disables Sentry for both the main process and the renderer. No further error data leaves your Mac.
Prose does not use any analytics, tracking, advertising, fingerprinting, or session-replay services.
The Open Source version of Prose — the direct-download Developer ID build — includes a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server so that Claude Desktop, or other MCP clients you configure, can read the document you currently have open and propose edits to it. The server runs entirely on your machine.
It is reachable in two ways, both local-only:
0600) — no other user on the machine can read or write to it.127.0.0.1:9877. This interface accepts requests only from localhost and is never exposed to your network.No document content or AI context flows through solo.ist servers via this integration. It is a connection between Prose and another local application that you have configured. The Mac App Store build does not ship MCP integration, because Apple's sandbox rules for App Store apps prohibit binding network server ports.
Prose for Mac ships through two channels, which differ in how macOS isolates the app and, therefore, where its data folder lives.
Distributed through Apple's App Store review. Runs inside Apple's App Sandbox. Prose's data folder is:
~/Library/Containers/ist.solo.prose/Signed with an Apple Developer ID certificate and distributed as a DMG. Runs with Apple's hardened runtime enabled but is not sandboxed. Prose's data folder is:
~/Library/Application Support/prose/Both builds share the same bundle identifier (ist.solo.prose) and behave identically with respect to this policy. The path difference only matters if you want to fully remove Prose's local data.
.md files, wherever you saved them, are not touched — they stay where you put them.
Because Prose does not maintain a database of users, there is no account for solo.ist to look up, export, or delete on your behalf. Your data is on your device and in the third-party services you chose to connect to.
.md files in the directory you chose. Copy them anywhere.If you are in the EU, UK, or California, the above is how Prose honors your rights under GDPR, UK GDPR, and the CCPA/CPRA. If you believe solo.ist is holding personal data about you — which, for Prose, would be unusual — contact us at the address below and we will confirm, correct, or delete it.
Prose is not directed at children under 13 and solo.ist does not knowingly collect information from them. Prose does not operate a signup flow or a backend that could collect such information.
Your Anthropic API key is encrypted at rest using electron.safeStorage, which on macOS ties the encryption key to your login Keychain. The Prose application is signed either with an Apple Developer ID certificate (direct download build) or distributed through Apple's App Store review with sandboxing enabled (App Store build).
No system is perfect. If you discover a vulnerability in Prose, please report it privately by email to the address below, rather than filing a public GitHub issue. Prose is open source under the MIT license; the full codebase is available at github.com/solo-ist/prose for independent review.
If solo.ist materially changes how Prose handles data — for example, when optional sync integrations ship in future versions — this page will be updated and the change will be noted in the app's release notes. The "Last updated" date at the top of the page will always reflect the most recent change.
Features that are currently disabled in the shipped app are not covered by this policy. When they become available, they will be described here before you can enable them.
Prose is made by Angel Marino, operating as solo.ist.