Clip Exploder Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 3, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Automatic Duck, Inc. ("Automatic Duck", "we", "our", or "us") handles information when you use Clip Exploder for macOS, including its Final Cut Pro workflow extension (collectively, "Clip Exploder" or the "App"). This policy applies to Clip Exploder; our website is covered by our general Privacy Policy.

In short: Your source Final Cut Pro XML, timeline and clip information, generated XML, processing reports, and settings remain on your Mac. Clip Exploder sends anonymous app-usage events and aggregate counts to TelemetryDeck so we can understand feature adoption and reliability. If you choose to join our mailing list, the email address you enter is sent to MailerLite for that purpose. We do not sell personal information, show advertising, or track you across apps or websites.

1. Information processed and stored on your Mac

Clip Exploder processes the information needed to perform the work you request, including:

Final Cut Pro XML you drag from Final Cut Pro or open from Finder, including project, timeline, clip, media, role, effect, timing, and other metadata contained in that XML.
Settings such as handle length, project-naming templates, video-effect removal, and whether you dismissed the FCPXML effect-compatibility warning.
Generated FCPXML containing the new single-clip projects and a local processing report describing warnings, skipped items, and other outcomes.
Diagnostic logs from the standalone App and workflow extension. Logs can include App operations, settings used for a run, error details, generated filenames, and the path where you chose to save output.

Clip Exploder performs its XML analysis and transformation locally. It does not upload your source FCPXML, generated FCPXML, project, timeline, clip, media, role, or effect names, processing reports, settings, or diagnostic logs to Automatic Duck or TelemetryDeck.

The standalone App saves generated FCPXML only where you choose. The workflow extension creates a temporary local FCPXML file so you can drag the result into Final Cut Pro. Processing reports are self-contained local HTML files displayed with a non-persistent web data store; they do not load remote content.

2. Anonymous app analytics

Clip Exploder uses TelemetryDeck, a service provided by TelemetryDeck GmbH in Germany, to collect privacy-focused analytics. TelemetryDeck receives:

An anonymized identifier for the App installation, derived from a random value the analytics SDK creates on first launch. The standalone App and the workflow extension run as separate sandboxed processes, so one installation appears as two identifiers.
Metadata the TelemetryDeck SDK attaches automatically: App version and build; macOS version; Mac model and processor architecture; screen resolution and scale; language, region, and time zone; interface color scheme and, where macOS makes them available, accessibility settings such as Reduce Motion and Invert Colors; the date of first use, session counts and average session length; the local hour, day, and week of the signal; and whether the build is a debug, TestFlight, or App Store build.
A timestamp rounded to the nearest hour and the name of an action performed in the App.
Fixed categories and aggregate counts defined by Automatic Duck, including whether the standalone App or Final Cut Pro extension was used; how the FCPXML arrived (drag or the Open panel); the FCPXML format version number; primary and connected clip counts, generated project counts, and clamp-warning counts; option settings in effect for a run (such as handle length and effect-removal choices, as categories or numbers); a fixed failure-reason code and, for system errors, the error domain name and numeric code; your choice on the effect-compatibility warning; processing-report row counts by severity; and mailing-list invitation and signup outcomes together with the place in the App where you started (the invitation or the Help menu).

Analytics events may describe App or extension launch, successful or failed timeline analysis, rejected drops or cancelled file selection, successful or failed processing, whether generated output was saved or dragged and whether that failed, whether you revealed the log file or chose to send feedback, whether you opened Final Cut Pro from the App, and mailing-list invitation and signup outcomes. We use this information only to measure feature adoption, diagnose broad reliability problems, and improve Clip Exploder.

We do not send source or generated FCPXML; project, timeline, clip, media, role, or effect names; filesystem paths or filenames; media contents or metadata; naming templates or other free-form settings; error message text; processing-report contents; diagnostic logs; email addresses; or other user-provided text to TelemetryDeck.

TelemetryDeck states that it does not store IP addresses, cookies, or identifiers that can be traced back to an individual. Its SDK privacy manifest declares Product Interaction and Device ID for analytics, not linked to the user and not used for tracking. Learn more in TelemetryDeck's Privacy FAQ and Privacy Policy.

3. Optional mailing-list signup

Clip Exploder offers an optional form for joining the Automatic Duck mailing list. If you submit the form, the App sends the email address you entered, a fixed Clip Exploder product identifier, and the signup location within the App over HTTPS to an Automatic Duck endpoint hosted by Netlify. That endpoint passes the email address to MailerLite and adds the subscriber to our general updates group and Clip Exploder product group.

MailerLite sends a confirmation email and manages the subscription. The App does not log or save the submitted email address, and the Automatic Duck relay does not retain it or include it in application logs. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in a mailing-list email. Dismissing the invitation or successfully submitting it stores only a Boolean setting on your Mac so the passive invitation is not shown again.

4. Support and feedback

Choosing Submit Feedback in the standalone App opens your email application with macOS and App version information and a ZIP archive of diagnostic logs attached. Logs can include generated filenames, output paths, run settings, and error details. Nothing is sent until you choose to send the email, and you may remove the attachment or edit the message first. Information you submit is used to respond to your request and improve the App.

5. Sharing and sale of information

We do not sell or rent personal information. Information leaves the App only as described above:

Anonymous analytics signals are processed by TelemetryDeck.
If you join the mailing list, Netlify processes the relay request as our hosting provider and MailerLite processes your email address to manage the subscription and send emails.
Feedback is sent through your chosen email provider only when you choose to send it.
Information may be disclosed when required by law or necessary to protect rights and safety.

We require service providers handling information for us to protect it and use it only for the service they provide.

6. Retention, deletion, and your choices

App settings and diagnostic logs remain on your Mac until the App removes or replaces them through normal operations or you delete the App's data.
Generated FCPXML you save remains where you selected until you delete it. Temporary output and reports are managed locally by macOS and can be removed from its temporary storage.
Support correspondence and attachments are kept only as long as reasonably necessary to resolve the request, maintain support records, or meet legal obligations. You may ask us to delete identifiable support information by emailing us.
The mailing-list relay does not retain submitted email addresses. MailerLite retains the subscription record according to our account settings and its policies until it is no longer needed, you unsubscribe, or you request deletion.
TelemetryDeck states that anonymous cold-storage analytics currently have no fixed deletion schedule and may be retained for approximately 7–10 years. Because the signals cannot be traced back to a person, we cannot locate or delete one person's historical analytics events. You can stop future analytics transmissions by discontinuing use of the App or blocking its network access.

7. Security

Clip Exploder uses the macOS App Sandbox, a shared App Group for the standalone App and workflow extension, and user-selected file permissions to limit access. We and our service providers use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, but no storage or transmission method is guaranteed to be completely secure.

8. Children's privacy

Clip Exploder is a professional post-production utility and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when Clip Exploder's features or data practices change. We will post the revised policy at this URL and update the date above.

10. Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact:
Automatic Duck, Inc.
support@automaticduck.com