Hedgerow
Hourtrail

Hourtrail and your privacy

This page sums up what Hourtrail does with your data. The Hedgerow privacy policy covers every app, the website and purchases in full.

What stays on your PC

  • Settings and data live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Hedgerow\Hourtrail on your PC.
  • An activity database: for each stretch of time, the app in front (its file name and friendly name), its window title, and for supported browsers the site's domain, with start and end times.
  • Your projects, rules, categories, manual entries and time you assigned by hand.
  • The file locations of apps you have used, so the timeline can show their icons.
  • The last 10 crash reports, kept locally whether or not you send them.
  • A trial start date in the registry under your user account.
  • A Start with Windows entry in your user Run key (Direct edition; on by default, turn it off in Settings › General).

When Hourtrail goes online

  • License activation (Direct edition): when you enter a key, Hourtrail sends the key, your PC’s name, the app’s name and an anonymous device ID to our license server. About once a week it checks the license again, sending the key and the activation’s ID.
  • Update checks (Direct edition): only when you choose Check for updates. The request includes the app’s name and version, nothing else.
  • Crash reports: off unless you turn them on. If Hourtrail crashes, it saves a report on your PC; with reports turned on it also sends that report, with file paths removed, to crash.hedgerowapps.com.

Good to know

  • Hourtrail reads the title of the window in front and, in supported browsers, the address bar through Windows accessibility, to record time. Only the site's domain is kept, never the full address. Activity stays on the PC and is never uploaded.
  • Window titles and sites are recorded by default; either can be turned off in Settings › Tracking. Apps and sites on the "never track" lists record nothing at all.
  • Private and incognito browser windows are tracked like any other window. Turn on Hourtrail's private mode to keep their titles and sites out.
  • Activity is kept until you delete it, unless you choose to keep only 1 year or 90 days. Deleted titles are overwritten in the database.
  • Never records keystrokes, screenshots or the contents of documents, pages or messages.

There are no ads, and no analytics or usage tracking.

Microsoft Store edition

The Store edition doesn’t contact our license server or check for updates itself: Microsoft handles the purchase, the license and updates, under Microsoft’s privacy statement.