Privacy Policy

Version: v1.0
Effective Date: 2026-11-04

This policy explains how Fountrace, a desktop search tool, handles your information. The core conclusion fits in one sentence: your files and your search behaviour stay entirely on your machine, and we collect only your email address and a device fingerprint, and only when you choose to activate a licence.

1. Our Core Commitments

• Indexing is entirely local: file names and content indexes are generated and stored on your own device and are never uploaded to any server.
• No usage telemetry: the product contains no analytics SDK, no advertising SDK and no behavioural instrumentation. We do not record what you click, how many searches you run, or how long you use the application.
• Search content never leaves your machine: query terms are matched only against the local index and are never sent over the network.
• No registration required for the free edition: using the Community Edition (the free feature set) requires no account and no personal information of any kind.

2. Information We Collect (Activation Only)

Only when you actively perform “activate licence”, “start trial”, or the client performs a periodic online re-check (once the re-check deadline passes while offline; grace period 7 days by default) do we collect the following necessary information:

• Email address — used for licence issuance, pre-order e-mail verification (one-time code), after-sales support, licence recovery and expiry reminders.
• Licence key — used for authorisation verification.
• Device fingerprint (Hardware ID) — an irreversible digest derived from local hardware information, used to deter unauthorised sharing, enforce the licensed device limit, and prevent trials from being obtained repeatedly.
• Hardware factor digests — several hardware attributes, each irreversibly hashed before upload, used solely for tolerance matching when your hardware changes. Raw hardware information never leaves your device.
• Application version number — used for compatibility diagnostics.

Beyond the above, the activation flow never asks for your name, telephone number, address or any other identity information. We do not collect raw hardware details — each factor is irreversibly hashed before leaving your device.

3. Purpose and Legal Basis

Information collected is used solely for the following purposes, each with an explicit legal basis (PIPL Article 13):

• Licence issuance and verification (email, key) — necessary for contract performance.
• Device binding and anti-piracy (Hardware ID, hardware factor digests) — necessary for contract performance.
• Hardware change tolerance matching (hardware factor digests) — necessary for contract (protecting user interests).
• Rolling window device management (Hardware ID, last-seen time) — necessary for contract performance.
• After-sales support (email) — necessary for contract performance.
• Trial abuse prevention (Hardware ID, trial markers) — legitimate interest.
• Security auditing and anomaly detection (activation request logs) — legitimate interest.

4. Full Disclosure of Network Activity

The product initiates network connections in the following explicit scenarios only. There is no other background network activity:

• Licence activation / trial request (when you click to do so): sends your email address, device fingerprint and licence key to the activation server.
• Commercial component download (automatically after successful activation): sends the licence token to our component distribution server to obtain the features included in your edition. No information about your files is included.
• Update check (when you click “Check for updates” yourself): sends the current version number to the update server to compare against available releases.
• Purchase entry configuration (when the upgrade page is shown): retrieves the purchase page and download page addresses. No personal information is sent.
• E-mail verification code (before the order is placed): a one-time code is sent to the address you supplied, to establish that the address is yours. The code and its matching address are stored on our activation server only briefly and are cleared automatically once expired.
• E-mail delivery (on successful purchase and as a licence nears expiry): sends the licence file, renewal notices and expiry reminders to your address.

5. What We Explicitly Do Not Do

• We do not upload your files, file contents, file names or directory structure.
• We do not upload your search queries.
• We do not use third-party analytics, advertising or user-profiling services.
• We do not sell, rent or otherwise trade your personal information.
• We do not index critical system directories, the Recycle Bin, or other locations of no value.

6. Third-Party Services

Except for the services explicitly listed below, the Software integrates no third-party SDKs, analytics services, advertising services, or social sharing components:

• WeChat Pay (Tenpay): payment processing (domestic acquiring). Sensitive payment information such as bank card numbers and payment passwords is processed directly by the payment provider; we receive only payment result notifications and order numbers.
• Alipay: payment processing (domestic acquiring). Same as above — we never access or store your sensitive payment information.
• E-mail delivery service: verification codes, licence files and renewal notices are relayed to your mailbox through Tencent Exmail (enterprise e-mail). The provider handles your address and the message content in the course of delivery. We supply it with no personal information beyond what delivery requires, and it may not use the content for any other purpose.
• Activation verification is provided by our self-operated server; no third-party data processors are involved.

7. Data Stored Locally

All of the following data is kept on your device, under your control, and is not accessible to us:

• Index files: per-volume local file-name and path indexes, stored in the index directory (relocatable from Settings).
• Content indexes: text indexes generated when full-text search is enabled, stored in the local index directory.
• Search history: query terms you have typed, result counts and search modes, stored under C:\ProgramData\Fountrace. Each entry can be deleted individually, or cleared in one action, from Settings.
• User preferences and interface cache: theme, language, result count limits, tab layout, stored in a local database file and localStorage.
• Crash reports: diagnostic files generated on fatal exceptions, stored under C:\ProgramData\Fountrace\crash_reports. They remain local and are never uploaded automatically.
• Licence and anti-piracy verification data: the app stores on-device technical information used for licence verification, integrity checks, and prevention of trial reset / time tampering (local licence files and verification markers). It is used solely for licence protection, involves none of your file contents, and some markers are not user-deletable.

8. Data Security

We take the following measures to protect your information:

• Transport encryption: all network communication is encrypted over HTTPS (TLS 1.2+).
• Commercial component protection: closed-source commercial components are distributed in encrypted form and are decrypted for use on your device only after an authorisation check passes.
• Licence integrity: licence files are signed with Ed25519 digital signatures to prevent tampering and forgery.
• Update package verification: automatic update packages are verified against an Ed25519 signature; any package that fails verification is discarded outright.
• Irreversible processing: hardware information is irreversibly hashed before leaving your device; raw values never leave your machine.
• Access control and rate limiting: strict server-side data access controls; activation endpoints enforce request frequency limits and a 1MB request body size limit.

9. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties, except:

• With your explicit consent.
• As required by law: in accordance with laws, regulations, litigation dispute resolution needs, or requirements lawfully made by administrative or judicial authorities.
• Protection of legitimate interests: in connection with mergers, acquisitions or bankruptcy, if personal information transfer is involved, we will require the new holder to remain bound by this policy.

10. Your Rights

Under the PRC Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access and rectification: you may at any time contact us at support@fountrace.com to query activation records we hold about you and request correction of inaccurate information. Response within 15 working days.
• Erasure: you may request deletion of your email and device fingerprint records. Note: after deletion the corresponding licence can no longer pass online verification, which may affect purchased features.
• Withdrawal of consent: uninstalling the application and deleting local data directories (including the index directory and C:\ProgramData\Fountrace) removes all data retained on your machine. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of prior processing.
• Account cancellation: email support@fountrace.com with subject “Account Cancellation”. All personal data will be deleted or anonymised within 30 days. The licence is immediately invalidated and irrecoverable.
• Data portability (PIPL Art. 45): you may request a copy of your personal data, which we will provide in JSON format.
• Automated decision explanation (PIPL Art. 24): the rolling window device management involves automated decision-making. You may request an explanation of the decision logic, re-activate an evicted device, or reject automated decisions in favour of manual device management.
• Object to non-essential processing: you may choose never to activate and use only free features, in which case we process no personal information about you at all.

11. Protection of Minors

This product is aimed at adult professional users and is not designed for children under the age of 14. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a minor, please use the product under the guidance of a parent or guardian, and let that parent or guardian decide whether to activate a licence. Minors must not purchase paid licences independently; if a minor completes a purchase without guardian consent, the guardian may contact us for a refund.

12. Changes to This Policy

This policy may be adjusted as features evolve. Material changes (such as adding new categories of collected personal information, adding new network endpoints, changing usage purposes, or materially changing user rights exercise methods) require 30 days advance notice and your explicit re-consent before taking effect. General changes (editorial corrections, contact updates) take effect 7 days after notice. Changes are communicated via in-app prompt, official website announcement, or registered email. If you do not agree to changes, you may stop using the product and exercise your deletion rights under Section 10.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related enquiries, complaints, or requests to exercise your rights, please contact: Personal Information Protection Officer: the operator of 仁怀市缃帙软件开发工作室 personally (a sole proprietorship; contact via email) Email: support@fountrace.com Mailing address: No. 37, Unit 3-2, Shanli Xincun, Gaofeng Community, Xuekong Town, Renhuai City, Zunyi, Guizhou, China (registered address of 仁怀市缃帙软件开发工作室) Website: https://fountrace.com/en/ We will respond within 15 working days of receiving a request. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you may file complaints with the cyberspace administration, telecommunications, public security, or market supervision authorities, or initiate litigation at a competent court.