Privacy

Last updated 14 September 2026

Clearing is a tasks, notes and calendar app for the web, Windows and Android. Google sign-in and an internet connection are required before you first use the app. After signing in, your saved tasks, notes and checklists remain available offline. Your work is saved on your device. Connected features can also send data to Google, Clearing's servers or a separately configured service. This page explains those transfers and the account information the server keeps.

What stays on your device

Tasks, notes, checklists, attachments, ritual entries and settings are saved in the local database of the browser or installed app you are using. Calendar caches, saved sign-ins and drafts are also kept locally. Each browser or app installation has its own storage; signing in and syncing connects those separate copies. Downloaded backup files are saved wherever you choose and are separate from the app's database.

What leaves your device, and why

• Sync. Google Drive sync stores a readable copy of your synced records and attachments in the app's private folder in your Google Drive. Signing in can enable Drive sync when no other sync connection or explicit opt-out is saved. An existing Clearing Sync connection is kept: it encrypts records and attachments on your device using your sync code before uploading them. Its storage provider receives encrypted content, its size and modification information. Turning sync off pauses it on that device; it does not delete the shared copy.
• Google sign-in. The server exchanges authorization codes and refresh tokens with Google and checks access tokens for protected requests. Saved credentials remain in your local app or browser storage. The server keeps an account registry containing your Google email address, first and latest recorded online access, recorded activity and sign-in counts, and any owner-set blocked or archived status. Registration and activity recording work independently of task sync, including when sync is turned off.
• Connecting an installed app. Google sign-in takes place in your system browser. When you authorize the connection, that browser encrypts an account, credentials and sync-pairing handoff for the installed app. Our server stores the encrypted handoff; its decryption key is carried in the connection link's fragment, which is not sent in the HTTP request. The connection record is available through the handoff endpoint for up to ten minutes.
• Google Calendar. With your permission the app reads your selected calendars to show your day. When you choose to publish a focus block, its title and associated task notes are sent to Google Calendar. A publish request made offline can be queued and retried online. Suggestions alone are not published. Calendar removal controls apply to blocks created by Clearing.
• Google Tasks. Read-only, and only when you use Import. Nothing is written back.
• Inbox from other tools. If you connect an external tool through your inbox link, items you send are stored on our server in plain text until your app collects, saves and acknowledges them. Regenerating the link requests deletion of the previous queue; this requires a successful server request. The external tool also processes what you send under its own policies.

Account records and owner notifications

Only the app owner can view the account dashboard and export registered email addresses. It shows lifetime unique registered emails and accounts active online within the last 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days. Active counts exclude blocked accounts and do not measure offline use. Account history is retained when an account is blocked, archived or disconnected, or a device is erased, so lifetime registrations remain recorded.

A new unique registration queues an owner notification. When email delivery is configured, Clearing may send owner registration notifications containing the registered email address, account activity totals and a protected dashboard link through its email provider. Delivery status and retry information are kept on the server; notifications remain queued if delivery is unavailable. These notifications do not include your tasks, notes, checklists or calendar content. Contact us about access to or deletion of server-held account records.

Optional AI services and audio

Clearing does not bundle an AI model or a speech-recognition model. Saving and editing your work does not require either. AI integrations depend on a separately configured provider or endpoint, which may be a hosted API or a service running on your own computer.

If automatic sorting is enabled, captured note text and relevant task and calendar context can be sent to Clearing's server to request classification, including before the app learns that a provider is unavailable. Where an AI provider is configured, the server forwards the request to it. Connected chat features can send your message, recent conversation, selected task and note context, and search results; mail results are included only when mail access has been granted and a mail lookup is used. Opening an uncached weekly or monthly summary can send ritual responses and completed-task titles to request a summary. A configured local chat endpoint receives its requests directly. These services are optional external integrations, not models included in the app download.

Audio files you attach are stored, played and, when sync is enabled, transferred like other attachments. The app does not include a voice transcription model.

Google user data

Clearing's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Google data is used for the connected features described above, including any applicable external-service requests, and is not used for advertising. The owner can view the account registration and access information described above. Your task, note and calendar content is not read by humans except with your explicit consent for support or as required by law. Standard sign-in requests calendar access, your Google identity and the app's private Drive folder; Google Tasks import and mail features require their additional permissions. You can revoke Google permissions from your Google Account. Disconnecting inside Clearing forgets the account on that device without revoking the grant used by your other devices.

Storage and data use

• The app does not add advertising or tracking pixels. Account activity counts serve the access dashboard described above.
• We do not sell your data or share it for advertising. Connected services receive data as described above.
• Server storage is used for the encrypted sync and sign-in handoffs, connector inbox, account registry and notification records described above; local storage is not the only copy when these features are used.
• Drive sync uses the app's private folder, not general access to your other Drive files. Disconnecting or erasing one device does not delete shared Google data.

Deleting your data

Erase in Settings clears this browser or app installation's local database, saved sign-ins, sync code, drafts and caches. It does not revoke Google permissions, delete shared sync copies, erase another device, or remove downloaded backup files. Turning off sync or disconnecting an account also leaves shared data intact. A device erase does not remove the server's access registry or any waiting connector inbox items. Contact us about server-held data; use your Google Account to manage Google permissions.

Contact

Clearing is an independent, one-person project. Questions about privacy: privacy@clearing.today.