Last updated August 13, 2026
BackendStudio does not collect, transmit, or store any personal data. There is no account to create, no analytics, and no server operated by us for the app to talk to. This page explains what that means in practice, and names the few places data does go.
Nothing. The app contains no analytics or crash-reporting SDK, and its privacy manifest declares zero collected data types and zero tracking. We have no way to see which databases you connect to, what queries run against them, or even that you launched the app.
BackendStudio connects directly from your Mac to the database you point it at, and serves API requests from that same machine. Your rows are never routed through infrastructure we control, because none exists. If you connect to a database on another host — your own server, a cloud provider, a machine reached through an SSH tunnel — that traffic goes between your Mac and that host only.
When you start the server, it listens on a port on your Mac. Anyone who can reach that port over your network can reach the API, subject to the API key and CORS settings you configure. Choosing who can reach it is your decision, and a setting restricts it to your own machine only.
Database passwords and SSH private keys are stored in the macOS Keychain, protected by the operating system, and are used only to open the connections you ask for. They are never included in an API response, an error message, or a log line — including when a connection fails. We never receive them.
Connection details, which tables you have hidden, and which tables you have granted write access to are saved locally so the app remembers your setup. Deleting the app removes them. The app declares its use of two Apple APIs for required reasons: reading and writing its own preferences (UserDefaults, reason CA92.1), and reading file timestamps for files inside its own container and for files you explicitly choose in an open dialog (reasons C617.1 and 3B52.1). Neither is used to identify you or your device.
Subscriptions are processed by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details. The app asks Apple whether an active subscription exists and stores only the answer locally. Apple's handling of purchase data is governed by Apple's privacy policy.
There are none. The app embeds open source libraries to speak the PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Redis, MongoDB, and SSH protocols; these run entirely on your Mac and send data only to the hosts you configure. A full list is available under Acknowledgements in the app.
BackendStudio is a developer tool rated 4+. It contains no user-generated content, no advertising, and no web browsing, and it is not directed at children.
If this policy changes, the date at the top of this page changes with it. Because the app collects nothing, we do not expect substantive changes; if we ever added something that collected data, it would be announced here and in the app's release notes before shipping.
Questions about this policy, or a request about data you believe we hold: hello@tokyo-iceman.com.
BackendStudio for macOS · hello@tokyo-iceman.com