Server-signed licenses
Licenses are signed with ES256 on our server; the private key never leaves it. The app contains only the public key.
Security
Your Work Stays On Your Computer
Protolith Studio runs locally. This page lists exactly what the app sends, what it never sends, and how we protect it.
What the app sends
| What | When | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| License activation and checks | At activation, at start and about once a day while the app is used | License key or account, a hashed device fingerprint, the device's public key, app and OS version. If the server can't be reached, the app keeps working for 30 days. |
| Update check | With the license check, only when a newer version exists | Reads our signed release manifest. An update is installed only if the signature and the file's SHA-256 match. |
| Anonymous usage data and crash reports | About every four hours and when the app closes (Free and Pro, can be turned off) | Which features are used, plan limits reached, counts rounded into ranges, and cleaned crash stacks. Details below. |
| License protection reports | Only when the app detects tampering with its licensing | A short security event tied to the installation. Sent even when usage data is turned off, because it protects the licensing itself. |
Never sent
- Your protocol and parser definitions
- Data you send to or receive from your devices
- Device, channel, project or file names
- Recordings, flows, reports or any other content of your work
- Your Windows user name or computer name (removed from crash reports on your computer)
Where data is kept
- License and usage data
- Our server at Hetzner Online in Finland
- Network
- Cloudflare (connection protection and content delivery)
- E-mail (sign-in codes, license keys)
- Google Workspace, sent from info@protolithstudio.com
- Backups
- Encrypted before they leave the server; kept 30 days on the server and off-site (Backblaze B2)
- Payments
- Our reseller (merchant of record); we never receive card details
Protection
How We Protect It
Hashed hardware identifiers
Processor, motherboard and disk serial numbers are hashed (SHA-256) on your computer. The raw values are never sent.
Verified downloads
The download page shows each installer's SHA-256, and in-app updates check a signed manifest. Our code-signing certificate is on its way; until then Windows may show an unknown-publisher warning.
Own server, short retention
Data is processed on our own server in Finland. IP addresses are kept only hashed, for at most two days, for abuse protection; download logs for 90 days.
Anonymous usage data
Usage data helps us see which features are used and where plan limits get in the way. It is on by default on Free and Pro and off on Enterprise and Runtime. Turn it off at any time on the License page of the app with Send anonymous usage data; anything not yet sent is discarded.
What is collected
- A random installation ID created on first start (not derived from your hardware or your name)
- App version, Windows version and your plan
- Which features and pages are used, with counts rounded into ranges (for example "10–20 nodes")
- Plan limits reached, upgrade prompts shown and the option chosen, trial start and end, license changes, session length in ranges
- Crash reports: error type and program locations, with file paths, user name and computer name removed on your computer
How it is handled
- Sent in batches about every four hours and when the app closes; failures are silent and never slow the app down.
- No third-party analytics: the data goes only to our own server.
- Linked to an account only on the server and only while the app holds a valid license.
- The team sees it through an internal dashboard that cannot see e-mail addresses (only their domain), license keys or device fingerprints.
- Kept 13 months; after that only daily totals without installation IDs remain.
Full details are in the Privacy Notice.
Report a vulnerability
If you find a security issue in the app, the website or the license server, write to info@protolithstudio.com with "Security report" in the subject. Please give us a reasonable time to fix it before making it public. We reply within two business days. Our contact is also published in security.txt.