Privacy policy

Last updated: September 27th, 2026

1. Overview

Geist is a macOS utility that enables hands-free authentication using the Mac’s camera and on-device verification.

Geist is designed to perform authentication-related processing locally on your Mac. Camera images, facial representations, authentication results, and your macOS login password stay on your Mac.

Geist does not operate a cloud service for biometric authentication.

2. Camera and Biometric Processing

Geist requires access to your Mac’s camera to provide its authentication functionality.

Camera frames may be processed locally to:

  • detect the presence of a face;

  • verify whether the detected face matches the enrolled user;

  • detect potential spoofing or presentation attacks;

  • evaluate whether authentication should be permitted.

This processing occurs on your device.

Geist does not upload camera frames, photographs, facial embeddings, face templates, liveness information, or biometric authentication results. They never leave your Mac.

A face template needed for Face Unlock is stored in this Mac’s Keychain. Before the first scan, Geist asks for your explicit agreement to local biometric face processing. You can decline and continue using the normal macOS login, or remove your face template later in Face settings.

3. Login Credentials

To perform automatic login, Geist may require you to provide your macOS login password.

Your login password is stored locally using the security mechanisms provided by macOS, such as the macOS Keychain.

Your login password is never transmitted, neither to us nor to analytics providers or other third parties.

We cannot view or recover your macOS login password.

4. Location

If you enable location-based features, such as Trusted Locations, Geist may request permission to access your current location.

Location information is used locally to determine whether location-dependent functionality should be active.

Geist does not send your location to us or to any third party. Stored trusted-location information, such as coordinates and related configuration, remains on your Mac.

Location functionality is optional and can be disabled.

5. Network Connections

Geist’s core authentication functionality runs entirely on your Mac and does not need a network connection.

The main Geist app has no network permission. A separate, restricted license service connects to Polar for license activation and validation. Face data and your macOS login password are not included in those requests.

For licensing, the separate service sends the license key, organization identifier and a device label when activating; validation also sends the activation identifier. Polar and its infrastructure may process technical connection data such as your IP address. Purchases open Polar’s checkout in your browser.

No biometric data, camera images, facial templates or macOS login credentials are included in these license requests.

6. Analytics and Tracking

Geist does not use biometric information for advertising, profiling, or cross-app tracking.

Geist does not sell biometric information or macOS login credentials.

The release app does not transmit usage analytics or crash reports. Local authentication score journaling and optional frame archives are restricted to internal debug builds.

7. Data Stored on Your Mac

Depending on the features you use, Geist may store information locally, including:

  • application preferences and settings;

  • enrolled facial representations required for authentication;

  • trusted-location configurations;

  • authentication and security configuration;

  • your macOS login password within the macOS Keychain;

  • a local record of your choice to enable biometric face processing; and other settings required for local operation.

This information is primarily controlled through your device and the security mechanisms provided by macOS.

8. Data We Do Not Sell

We do not sell your personal data.

In particular, we do not sell, rent, license, or otherwise monetize:

  • biometric information;

  • facial representations;

  • camera images;

  • macOS login credentials;

  • location information.

9. Third-Party Services

Framer hosts the website and receives waitlist form submissions. Google stores the waitlist in Google Sheets, and Resend sends our emails. Polar provides checkout and license services.

Those providers may independently process technical information when you interact with their services. Their processing is governed by their respective privacy policies.

Framer, Google, Resend and Polar do not receive Geist’s locally processed face templates, camera images or macOS login password through these website and licensing flows.

10. Website

When you visit the Geist website, the hosting provider may automatically process standard server information such as your IP address, browser information, requested pages, timestamps, and technical request data.

The waitlist form is handled as described in section 11. Purchases use Polar’s checkout.

Where legally required, optional tracking technologies will only be used after obtaining the necessary consent.

11. Waitlist and Emails

If you join the Geist waitlist on our website, we process the email address you enter and the consent you give with the checkbox. We use this information only to tell you about early access to Geist, its release and closely related announcements.

The legal basis for this processing is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Joining the waitlist is voluntary. Without an email address and your consent, you cannot join.

Waitlist submissions are received by Framer and stored in a Google Sheet. After you sign up, we send you an email with a confirmation link, and you only join the waitlist once you confirm (double opt-in). If you do not confirm within 7 days, we delete your address. We keep your email address, the times you signed up and confirmed, your consent and whether the welcome email was sent. Our emails are sent through Resend. We do not sell your email address or share it with third parties for their own marketing.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by emailing hello@geistformac.app or using the unsubscribe link in our emails. We then remove your address from the waitlist. Once Geist is released, we delete all waitlist email addresses.

12. Data Retention

Your face template remains in this Mac’s Keychain until you use Remove your face in Face settings. The saved Mac password has a separate Remove Password control, and known places can be removed in location settings. A local record of your face-processing choice is removed when you remove your face. The release app does not create an authentication score journal.

Information processed by external providers, where applicable, is retained according to the applicable provider’s retention policies and legal requirements.

13. Security

Geist is designed to minimize the amount of sensitive information leaving your device.

Local processing, macOS security mechanisms, and restricted handling of authentication information are used to reduce unnecessary exposure of sensitive data.

However, no software or security mechanism can guarantee absolute security.

14. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, including under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you may have rights regarding personal data processed by us, including the right to request access, correction, deletion, restriction of processing, data portability, or to object to certain processing.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time with effect for the future.

You may also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.

Many of Geist’s most sensitive data categories are processed exclusively on your Mac. Where we never receive such information, we generally cannot access, retrieve, export, or delete it remotely.

15. Legal Bases for Processing

Where the GDPR applies and Geist processes personal data for which we act as controller, processing may be based on:

  • performance of a contract or steps taken at your request before entering into a contract;

  • our legitimate interests in providing, securing, maintaining, and improving Geist;

  • compliance with legal obligations; or

  • your consent, where consent is required.

Where we act as controller under the GDPR, optional face processing is based on your explicit consent (Art. 6(1)(a) and Art. 9(2)(a)); you can withdraw it at any time by removing your face. Waitlist emails are based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)). License activation and purchases are processed to perform a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)).

16. Children’s Privacy

Geist is not specifically directed at children. We do not knowingly collect biometric information from children through a Geist-operated online service.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when Geist’s functionality, technical architecture, third-party services, or legal requirements change.

The current version will be made available through the Geist website or application.

18. Controller and Contact

The controller responsible for personal data processed directly by Geist is:

Burak Ugurelli
Malerstr. 21, 88250 Weingarten, Germany

hello@geistformac.app

For privacy-related questions or requests, please contact us using the email address above.