Security, privacy and your data
Engineering records often contain a client's intellectual property. FactaLog is designed so that they stay on your machine, under your control, unless you choose otherwise.
Summary
- Your logbook is stored locally, on your computer, as an SQLite database.
- The free version needs no account. We never receive your logbook content.
- The app collects no telemetry, usage analytics or crash reports.
- Optional sync (Pro) is end-to-end encrypted. We do not hold the keys and cannot read it.
- Your data is not used to train AI models. We never receive it in the first place.
Where your data is stored
FactaLog keeps your logbook in a single SQLite database in the application data folder of your Windows user account, with attachments stored alongside it. Your device keys, sync key, licence key and any service credentials you add are kept in the Windows Credential Manager, separate from the database.
SQLite is an open, widely supported format. Any SQLite tool can open the file, so your records are never trapped in FactaLog.
What leaves your machine
| Connection | When | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Update check | When the app starts, or when you check manually | A request for the latest version, with the standard technical details of any web request (such as IP address). Nothing from your logbook. An update is never downloaded or installed without your confirmation. |
| Licence (Pro only) | When you activate or verify a licence | Your licence key and a random device identifier. Nothing from your logbook. |
| Sync (Pro, optional, off by default) | While sync is turned on | Your logbook changes, encrypted on your device first, plus the metadata needed to deliver them (device enrolment, timing and size). |
| Harvest export (optional) | When you export time | Time entries, sent directly from your device to Harvest with your own credentials. It does not pass through us. |
| Local interface / AI tools (Pro, optional) | When a program you authorise connects | Runs on your own computer. If you connect an AI service, content goes between your device and that service and does not pass through us. |
Nothing else. There is no telemetry, analytics or automatic crash reporting in the app.
How sync is encrypted
Sync is an optional part of Individual Pro and is off until you turn it on. When it is on, each change is encrypted on your device before it is sent to our sync service, which runs on Cloudflare infrastructure. The key stays on your enrolled devices; we do not hold it and cannot decrypt your content. Up to 5 devices can be enrolled per logbook.
Encryption details for security reviewers are available on request.
Integrity seals
You can seal one entry, several entries or a whole day. Sealing creates a cryptographic record, on your device and with your device's own signing key, that FactaLog can later use to show whether the sealed content has changed.
A seal shows that the record has not been altered since it was sealed. It does not use an independent time-stamping service, prove who wrote an entry or prove the content is true, and we can't promise how much weight a court, regulator or professional body will give it.
How updates are delivered
Updates are offered from within the app. Each update package is cryptographically signed, and FactaLog checks the signature before installing it. The installer itself is code-signed by FactaLog Limited.
Backups are your responsibility
Your logbook lives on your computer, so protecting it is up to you, the same as for your drawings and
calculations. FactaLog can write scheduled backup archives of the database and attachments to a folder
you choose (a network drive, or a folder your own cloud provider syncs), and it copies the database automatically
before any upgrade changes its structure. You can also export a complete, portable .elog archive at any
time and restore it on another machine. Sync is not a backup: a deletion syncs too.
AI and model training
FactaLog does not include a built-in AI service and does not send your content to one. If you choose to connect an AI tool through the local interface, that tool is a third-party service you control, governed by its own terms. We never receive your logbook content, so nobody, including us, can use it to train a model.
Your records do not depend on our servers
The free logbook runs entirely on your computer and does not need our servers to work. Your records are in an open SQLite format and can be exported to Markdown, PDF and CSV at any time. With sync, every enrolled device holds a complete copy of the logbook.
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Questions and reporting a vulnerability
For security questions, procurement questionnaires or to report a vulnerability, email [email protected]. The full detail is in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service; where this page and those documents differ, they govern.
Start your engineering logbook
Free for individuals, with no account and no expiry. Windows 10 and 11.