MarkDW Privacy Policy

Overview

MarkDW ("the Application") is a markdown viewer and editor available as a desktop app (via Tauri, for Windows, macOS and Linux) and as a browser app. This policy applies to both, and explains exactly what data the Application handles, where it lives, and what happens to it.

What data is processed

MarkDW processes only content you explicitly bring into it:

• Markdown file content — the file(s) you open via Open File or Open Folder are read into memory to render and edit them, and written back to disk when you save.
• Folder listings — when you open a folder, MarkDW lists that folder's top-level .md filenames to populate the sidebar. It does not read subfolders, and does not read the content of files you haven't opened.
• Clipboard text — only when you click "New from Clipboard": the text currently on your system clipboard is read once and opened as a new, unsaved document. MarkDW never reads the clipboard automatically or in the background, and cannot write to the clipboard at all.

MarkDW does not collect your name, account information, usage analytics, or any data about you as a person.

Where data is stored

Nowhere but the file itself, with one exception. MarkDW holds the open file's content in memory while you view or edit it, and writes it back to the same path on save — a document pasted via New from Clipboard has no backing file yet, so saving it prompts you to choose one, the same as saving any new file. The only things MarkDW stores locally are two display preferences — your theme (light or dark) and your design (Harbor or Sage) — on desktop, in the app's own local data folder; in the browser, in that site's localStorage (as the keys theme and designSet). Neither preference reveals anything about you beyond a cosmetic choice, and neither is sent anywhere. No file content is cached or retained outside the files you explicitly save, and nothing is synced to the cloud.

Desktop app: filesystem access

On desktop, MarkDW's Rust backend exposes file list/read/write as direct commands rather than restricting itself to a pre-declared folder allowlist — the standard approach for a local editor that needs to open whatever file or folder you point it at through the native OS dialog. In practice this means MarkDW only ever touches files and folders you explicitly select yourself; it never scans your filesystem on its own, and has no command that lists or reads a path you haven't chosen through Open File or Open Folder.

Browser version: File System Access API

The browser build at markdw.netlify.app uses the browser's own File System Access API in Chrome and Edge, which is permissioned per-site and requires a user gesture (you clicking Open File / Open Folder) before MarkDW can see anything — MarkDW adds no access on top of what that browser API already grants. In browsers without that API (Firefox, Safari), MarkDW falls back to a standard file picker for opening, and saves by triggering a normal file download rather than writing back to the original file.

Exporting

Export ▾ offers three formats, and all three are generated entirely on your device:

• as HTML — builds a single self-contained .html file (markup plus an inline stylesheet) from the file already open in memory. On desktop it's written via the native save dialog; in the browser it downloads like any other file.
• as PDF… — hands the rendered document to your browser's or OS's own print pipeline (window.print()) so you can choose "Save as PDF" from the standard print dialog. MarkDW has no bundled PDF library and no separate PDF-generation code path — nothing about the document is sent anywhere to produce it.
• as Plain Text — extracts the visible, rendered text of the preview locally in memory; nothing is uploaded to convert it.

What MarkDW accesses, and why

Rendering and sanitization

Every markdown file you open is converted to HTML with marked and then passed through DOMPurify.sanitize() before it's displayed — with no exception for any file, since the whole point of MarkDW is opening files from disk that could contain anything. This protects you from a malicious or malformed markdown file executing script content when rendered.

Third parties and analytics

MarkDW does not use analytics, telemetry, crash reporting, advertising, or any third-party service that receives your data. The browser build is hosted on Netlify, which serves the static application files; it does not see the content of the files you open, since nothing about your file content is ever sent to it.

Authentication and payments

MarkDW has no accounts, sign-in, or payment functionality. It is free and open source.

Data retention and deletion

MarkDW itself retains nothing beyond the open file's content in memory during your session, which is cleared when you close the file or the app, and your stored theme and design preferences. Deleting or editing the file through MarkDW (or any other program) is the only way its content changes; uninstalling the desktop app removes the application, its stored preferences, and nothing else, since it kept no separate storage. In the browser, clearing that site's data removes the stored preferences the same way.

Your rights

Because all data stays on your device — or, in the browser, in memory and wherever you choose to save a download — and Ziduri never receives or stores it, there is no remote copy of your data for us to access, export, or delete.

In the app

MarkDW's toolbar has its own About dialog (the ⓘ icon) with a short, plain-language version of this same data-handling explanation for the desktop and web builds — so you can check it without leaving the app.

Changes to this policy

This version reflects v0.2.0's UI revamp — a collapsible sidebar and a second built-in design (Sage, alongside the default Harbor) — and documents that a design preference is now stored locally alongside the existing theme preference. The previous version added clipboard access (New from Clipboard) and the HTML/PDF/plain-text export feature, and reflected the app's rename from Marker to MarkDW. If a future version changes what it accesses or stores — for example, adding an optional update checker or cloud sync — this policy will be updated first, and the version and effective date above will change accordingly.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent through the contact page or by opening an issue on the GitHub repository.