# Privacy Policy
**Effective Date:** 2026-01-22
At Methodwise, we believe that your browsing history, search queries, and personal data belong to you and **only you**. This document outlines our strict "Zero Data Collection" policy.
## 1. No Data Collection
Methodwise does **not** collect, store, transmit, or sell any user data.
* **No Telemetry**: We do not track how you use the browser.
* **No Analytics**: We do not use Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or any other tracking software.
* **No Crash Reporting**: We do not automatically upload crash dumps.
## 2. Local-Only Data
All data generated by Methodwise stays on your local machine:
* **History**: Stored locally in memory (and eventually on disk at `~/.methodwise/history`).
* **Bookmarks**: Stored locally at `~/.methodwise/bookmarks.txt`.
* **Cookies**: Handled in-memory by the session and never uploaded to our servers (because we don't have any servers).
## 3. Network Requests
Methodwise only makes network requests that **you initiate**, with one exception:
* **Startup**: On launch, the browser attempts to fetch the latest homepage from `https://methodwise.com/text.html` to display the Message of the Day (MOTD) and sponsor list.
* **Navigation**: When you type a URL or click a link.
* **Search**: Sent directly to the search engine you selected (e.g., DuckDuckGo).
## 4. Sponsored Links
Any "Sponsored Links" or "Ads" shown on the homepage are **static text links**.
* They do **not** use tracking pixels, unique identifiers, or referral parameters that track your identity.
* Clicking a sponsored link is no different from typing the URL yourself.
## 5. Third-Party Websites
When you visit a website using Methodwise, that website may collect data according to its own privacy policy. Methodwise attempts to minimize this by:
* Not executing JavaScript (by default).
* Blocking trackers (inherent to the text-only nature).
* Spoofing User-Agent headers to blend in.
## 6. Updates
If we ever introduce features that require data transmission (e.g., "Cloud Sync"), they will be **opt-in only**, end-to-end encrypted, and open source.
**In short: We don't want your data. We just want to build a cool terminal browser.**