Yay is a native Markdown editor designed to keep your writing and projects on your Mac. This policy explains what Yay stores, what it processes, and when information may leave your Mac.
Yay is a local-first macOS application. It does not require an account and does not operate a Yay cloud service for storing your documents. Yay does not include advertising, analytics, behavioral tracking, or a crash-reporting service.
Your documents stay on your Mac by default. Yay reads and writes files when you open, edit, save, preview, search, or export them. It does not upload document contents to the Yay developer.
Yay processes information needed to provide its editing and file-management features. This information is handled locally unless described below.
Markdown text, images, folders, and other local resources that you choose to open. The app uses this information to edit, render previews, search workspaces, and create PDF, HTML, DOCX, or EPUB exports.
Settings such as editor mode, themes, fonts, line spacing, preview typography, export templates, and PDF/EPUB options are stored in macOS preferences.
macOS document-recents information and local security-scoped bookmarks may be stored so Yay can restore recently opened files, folders, and access to selected resources.
Yay and its rendering/export components may create temporary files and in-memory caches while displaying images or generating exports. These are used for the current operation and are not sent to Yay.
Yay does not send your documents to a Yay server. Network activity can nevertheless occur when your content or an action you choose refers to another service.
If a Markdown document contains an http:// or https:// image, Yay may request that image so it can be shown in the preview or rich editor. The image host may receive the request, your IP address, standard connection information, and the requested URL. Use local images when you do not want an external host contacted.
When you activate a web or email link in a preview, macOS opens it in the browser or mail application you selected. Those applications and the destination service may collect information according to their own policies. Yay does not control that activity.
If you open a file or folder supplied by iCloud Drive or another macOS file provider, macOS may download or synchronize that file according to your provider settings. Yay only accesses the item you select and the local resources needed for the requested operation.
If you print, macOS and your selected printer may receive the document. In the non-App-Store build, if you choose to install the optional yay command-line tool, Yay opens Terminal and runs the bundled installer there. This is initiated by you; Yay does not transmit your documents as part of the installation.
Yay has no Yay-operated account or server database, so Yay does not retain a copy of your documents on its servers. Files, exports, preferences, recent-item records, bookmarks, caches, and temporary data may remain on your Mac until you delete them.
Yay uses macOS App Sandbox file access. Access to files and folders is granted by your selections in macOS file panels. Security-scoped bookmarks are used locally to restore access that you previously granted; they are not uploaded to Yay.
Yay includes local processing libraries for Markdown parsing, syntax highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, KaTeX math, and related rendering. These libraries process content on your Mac.
Depending on the build and features you use, macOS may ask Yay for:
You can review or revoke macOS permissions in System Settings. Revoking access may prevent the related Yay feature from working until access is granted again.
We may update this policy when Yay's features or data practices change. The "Last updated" date above identifies the current version. Continued use of Yay after an update means the updated policy applies to future use.
For privacy questions or to report a concern, please open an issue in the Yay GitHub repository. Please do not include private documents or other sensitive information in a public issue.