Watch Import 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 Watch Import for macOS ("Watch Import" or the "App"). This policy applies to Watch Import; our website is covered by our general Privacy Policy.

In short: Your folders, media, Final Cut Pro libraries, event and role names, watch settings, generated FCPXML, and activity reports remain on your Mac. Watch Import 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

Watch Import processes the information needed to perform the work you request, including:

Access permissions, security-scoped bookmarks, paths, and names for folders and Final Cut Pro libraries you select.
Event names, role names, watch options, pause state, interface preferences, and a local cache of whether Watch Import Pro is unlocked.
File names, file sizes, media types, timestamps, and fingerprints used to detect new media, avoid duplicate handoffs, and create local activity reports.
Generated FCPXML and media bookmark data used to hand selected media to Final Cut Pro on the same Mac.

This operational information is stored in the App's sandbox or Application Support data on your Mac. Watch Import does not upload your media, generated FCPXML, local activity reports, or saved watch database to Automatic Duck or TelemetryDeck.

If you choose to export watch settings, the App writes a JSON archive to a location you select. That archive can contain folder and library paths, event and role names, and watch options so you can transfer them. It does not contain sandbox bookmarks, activity history, or generated FCPXML. The archive is not transmitted to us.

2. Anonymous app analytics

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

An anonymized identifier for the App installation.
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.
Aggregate counts, booleans, buckets, and fixed categories defined by Automatic Duck. For example: the number of configured libraries and watches, watches per unnamed library, which Pro option categories are enabled, batch sizes, feature outcomes, whether a permission prompt or folder picker was accepted or dismissed, and non-personal error domain and code values.

Analytics events may describe app launch, watch creation or editing, settings import and export, watcher state, media handoff outcomes, failures and cancellations, activity-report use, support actions, purchase or restore outcomes, whether Final Cut Pro was opened from the App, and mailing-list invitation and signup outcomes together with the place in the App where you started (the main-window invitation, the Help menu, or Settings). We use this information only to measure feature adoption, diagnose broad reliability problems, and improve Watch Import.

We do not send folder, file, library, event, or role names; filesystem paths; filenames; bookmark data; media contents or file-specific metadata; generated FCPXML; settings archives; Apple Account information; StoreKit product or transaction identifiers; 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

Watch Import offers an optional form for joining the Automatic Duck mailing list, reachable from an invitation in its main window and from its Help menu. If you submit the form, the App sends the email address you entered, a fixed Watch Import 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 Watch Import 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 invitation is not shown again; Settings offers a control to show it again.

4. Purchases

Watch Import Pro purchases and restorations are processed by Apple through StoreKit. Apple handles your Apple Account and payment information under Apple's Privacy Policy. Watch Import receives product information and verified entitlement status from Apple so it can unlock Pro features. A transaction identifier may be stored locally to avoid reporting the same anonymous conversion event twice, but it is not sent to TelemetryDeck or Automatic Duck.

5. Support and feedback

Choosing Submit Feedback opens your email application with macOS and App version information and diagnostic log files attached. Those logs may contain information about App operations, including names or paths associated with the problem. Nothing is sent until you choose to send the email, and you may remove the attachments or edit the message first. Information you submit is used to respond to your request and improve the App.

6. 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.
Purchases are processed by Apple.
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.

7. Retention, deletion, and your choices

Local watch data and activity history remain on your Mac until the App removes or replaces them through normal operations or you delete the App's data.
You can revoke a watched folder's ongoing access by removing that watch. You control any settings archives you exported and can delete them in Finder.
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.

8. Security

Watch Import uses the macOS App Sandbox, user-selected folder permissions, and security-scoped bookmarks to limit file access. We and our service providers use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, but no storage or transmission method is guaranteed to be completely secure.

9. Children's privacy

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

10. Changes to this policy

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

11. Contact

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