Privacy Policy
The short version.
- There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics and no tracking.
- What you do on your Mac through Silo 26 (your screen, clicks, typing, clipboard and Mac password) is end-to-end encrypted between your iPhone and your Mac. We can't see it.
- If you turn on internet access on your Mac, our relay keeps a small record of which devices connected through it and when, so it can route connections and stop abuse. It does not store your IP address with that record. Our server logs may contain IP addresses for up to 14 days.
- We don't sell or share any of it. You can ask us to delete it at any time.
- Who we are
- On your devices
- The relay
- What we don't collect
- Retention
- Sharing
- Your choices
- Children
- Contact
Who we are
Silo 26 is made by Mohammad Hisham, publishing as 249apps ("we", "us"). We are responsible for the data described here. You can reach us at support@249apps.com.
What stays on your devices
Most of what Silo 26 handles never leaves your iPhone and your Mac, and none of it is readable by us.
- Pairing keys. Each device creates its own identity key. The private half never leaves the device. Your iPhone and Mac remember each other's public key so they can recognize each other later.
- Your Mac password, if you choose to save it for unlocking. It is stored in your iPhone's Keychain, protected by Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. It is sent to your Mac, encrypted, only when you tap Unlock. The Mac uses it to type into the lock screen and does not keep it.
- Screen, input and clipboard. The live picture of your Mac's screen, your pointer movements, clicks, keystrokes and any clipboard text you send travel directly between your devices, encrypted end to end. They are not stored by Silo 26.
- Settings and shortcuts you create are stored in the app on your iPhone.
On your local network, your iPhone and Mac connect to each other directly. No data passes through us.
What the relay keeps, and why
The relay is a server we run so that a paired iPhone can reach its Mac from another network. It is only used if you turn on "Allow over the internet" in the Mac app. The Mac then keeps a connection to the relay open, and your iPhone connects through it when it reaches the Mac that way.
The relay records a device only when both of these are true: the Mac has "Allow over the internet" turned on, and the device actually connects to the relay (the Mac to stay reachable, the iPhone to reach that Mac). If internet access is off on your Mac, your iPhone doesn't contact the relay for it, and neither device is recorded.
Everything sent through the relay is encrypted on one of your devices and decrypted on the other, using X25519 key agreement and ChaCha20-Poly1305. The relay only forwards those encrypted bytes. It cannot read them and cannot send commands to your Mac.
To do its job, the relay stores:
| Data | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Each device's public key | A long random string generated by the app | To recognize a device and connect a phone to the right Mac |
| Device name and model | Name: "Studio Mac". Model: "iPhone" or "Mac" | So we can tell devices apart when investigating a problem or abuse |
| App version | 1.0 | To keep older versions working and find bugs |
| First and last time a device connected | Dates and times | To delete devices that are no longer used (after 180 days without connecting) |
| Sessions: which Mac and which phone, start and end time, number of bytes forwarded | Phone A to Mac B, 20 minutes, 180 MB | To run the service, spot abuse and plan capacity |
| An audit log of actions we take on the relay | "Device blocked" | So changes we make are accountable |
The iPhone app sends the generic name "iPhone", not the name you gave your phone. The Mac app sends your Mac's computer name, as set in System Settings > General > Sharing. If that name includes your name (for example "Anna's MacBook Air"), the relay will store it. You can rename the Mac there before turning on internet access if you prefer.
The relay sees your IP address while you are connected, as any internet server must, and uses it in memory to limit how many connections one address can open. It does not store IP addresses in its device records, and its log lines about devices don't include them. Server logs, both the web server's and the relay's system journal, may still contain IP addresses; they are deleted after 14 days.
When we sign in to the relay's admin dashboard, the sign-in (successful or not) is logged with the IP address it came from. That is our own address, not yours, and it is kept in the audit log for up to 365 days.
We use this data only to provide and protect the internet connection feature. We do not use it for advertising, profiling, or to track you across other apps or websites.
This website and Mac app updates
When you visit this website, download the Mac app, or the Mac app checks for updates, our web server receives the standard information every web request includes, such as your IP address, the page requested and your browser or app version. We keep these server logs for no more than 14 days, only to keep the site running and secure. The update check does not send any information about your Mac beyond the app version. This site uses no cookies and no analytics.
What we don't collect
- No account, email address, phone number or name is asked for.
- No location.
- No contacts, photos or files.
- No advertising identifiers. No analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs are included in either app.
- No content of what you do on your Mac: not your screen, keystrokes, clipboard or password.
How long we keep it
- Session records: deleted after 90 days.
- Audit log: deleted after 365 days.
- Device records (public key, name, model, app version, first and last seen): deleted automatically once a device hasn't connected to the relay for 180 days and has no session records left. A device we have blocked for abuse is kept until we unblock it. We also delete device records on request.
- Server logs (the web server's logs and the relay's system journal, which may contain IP addresses): no more than 14 days.
Who we share it with
Nobody. We don't sell, rent or share your data with third parties, and there are no third-party SDKs in the apps. The relay runs on a server we rent from a hosting company, which stores the data on our behalf and has no right to use it. We would only disclose data if the law required us to.
Apple handles App Store purchases and downloads under its own privacy policy. If you have chosen to share crash reports and analytics with app developers in your iPhone's settings, Apple may send us anonymous crash reports.
Your choices
- Don't use the relay. Leave "Allow over the internet" off on your Mac. Silo 26 then works only on your local network and the relay stores nothing about you.
- Remove a pairing. On the Mac, open the Silo 26 menu, click the options button next to a device and choose Forget This Device. On the iPhone, go to More, then Forget This Mac.
- Remove your saved Mac password. On the iPhone, go to More, then Remove Saved Password.
- Ask us to delete relay data. Email support@249apps.com with the names of your devices as they appear in Silo 26. We'll delete the matching device and session records within 30 days and confirm by email. You can also ask us what we hold about your devices.
Depending on where you live, you may have further rights, such as to access, correct or object to processing of your data, and to complain to a data protection authority. Email us and we'll help.
Security
All traffic between your devices is end-to-end encrypted. Connections to the relay use TLS. Devices are pinned after pairing, so a new device can only be added by approving it on your Mac, on your own network. Relay data is stored on a server only we can access.
Children
Silo 26 is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used the relay and want its records removed, email us and we'll delete them.
Changes to this policy
If we change what we collect, we'll update this page and the effective date before the change takes effect, and mention it in the app's release notes.
Contact
Mohammad Hisham, 249apps
support@249apps.com