Privacy

PalStudio has no accounts and no user database. We do not ask for your name, your email address, or your Steam or Xbox identity, and there is nothing to log in to.

This page describes the web app at palstudio.app and the PalStudio desktop app. Both are open source, so every claim here can be checked against the code.

Your save files

Save files are read and written on your own device. In the browser they are parsed by WebAssembly running in the page; on the desktop they are parsed by the app itself. Editing a save never uploads it to us, and we never receive a copy.

Before writing to a save, PalStudio copies the original files first — to .ps-backup/ in the browser, or a timestamped folder under backups/ on the desktop. Those backups stay on your machine, and they are never pruned automatically, so you may want to clear out old ones yourself.

Remote sessions

If you pair a phone or another computer with your PC, the two devices connect directly to each other over WebRTC, encrypted end to end. Your PC is the only machine that reads the save: it opens the file from its own disk and sends across only the values you are looking at or changing, such as a Pal's stats or a player's inventory.

The save file itself is never transferred. Operations that would move one — downloading it, importing an archive, or writing an edited copy — are refused over a remote session by design, not merely hidden from the interface.

The exception is mods: if you install one from the paired device, that mod archive is uploaded to your PC, because that is the point of the feature.

When a direct connection is impossible — commonly on mobile hotspots or carrier-grade NAT — the same encrypted traffic is relayed through a TURN server we operate at turn.palstudio.app. A relay changes the route, not the contents: it forwards packets it cannot read, and writes nothing to disk.

Pairing itself goes through a broker that passes sealed messages between the two devices. A pairing room holds only the codes needed to introduce them, and it is deleted after five minutes.

Analytics

The web app loads Cloudflare Web Analytics. It is cookieless and records page views without building a profile of you: no cookie is set for it, no identifier follows you between sites, and the data is not sold or shared. We use it only to see which pages get used.

The desktop app loads no analytics at all.

What is stored on your device

Your settings, presets and recent selections are kept in your browser's local storage, or in a local database in the desktop app. They stay on your device and are not synced anywhere.

One cookie is set: it remembers the language you picked, so the site opens in that language next time. It contains nothing else.

Connections the app makes

Besides loading the site itself, PalStudio may contact:

• GitHub, to check whether a newer release exists and to download mod frameworks.
• Nexus Mods, if you use the built-in mod browser, using the API key you supply.
• Our pairing broker and TURN relay, only while a remote session is being set up or running.

These services receive your IP address because that is how the internet works, and each has its own privacy policy.

Children

PalStudio is a tool for a video game and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes we will update the date above. Questions are welcome on our Discord or as an issue on GitHub.