Stox Privacy Policy
Last updated . Applies to Stox for macOS, version 0.46 and later.
The short version
- No analytics, no accounts, no ads, and no server of mine. I collect nothing.
- Your watchlist, holdings, trades and alerts stay on your Mac — and in your own iCloud Drive if you turn on sync.
- To show prices, Stox requests quotes for the symbols on your watchlist from Tencent Finance, with Sina Finance as a backup. Your holdings are never sent.
- Stox contacts GitHub to check for updates.
Who is responsible
Stox is made and published by whrss9527, an independent developer (“I”, “me”). If you have any question about this policy or your data, email whrss9527@gmail.com.
What I collect
Nothing. Stox has no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising, no tracking and no user accounts. I don’t run a server for Stox, so there is nowhere for your data to be sent to me. I never see what you do in the app.
What stays on your Mac
Stox keeps your data on your Mac:
| Data | Where it’s kept | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Watchlist, groups, notes, holdings, trades, dividends, alerts and settings | UserDefaults (io.github.whrss9527.stox) | Can be exported to a backup file you choose. |
| Log | ~/Library/Application Support/Stox/stox.log and the system log | Technical messages for troubleshooting; stays on your Mac. |
When Stox goes online
Stox connects to the following:
| Service | When | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
Tencent Finance (qt.gtimg.cn, smartbox.gtimg.cn, web.ifzq.gtimg.cn, proxy.finance.qq.com) | While Stox is running: every few seconds during trading hours, once a minute when markets are closed; paused while the Mac sleeps. Also when you search, open a chart or the rankings. | The stock symbols whose quotes or charts are needed, or the search text you type. No holdings, amounts or personal information. |
Sina Finance (hq.sinajs.cn, stock2.finance.sina.com.cn) | Automatically, as a backup when Tencent’s quotes can’t be reached, and for futures intraday charts. | The symbols whose quotes are needed. |
| Exchange rates (Tencent Finance) | When you hold stocks in more than one currency. | A request for USD/CNY and HKD/CNY rates. |
GitHub (api.github.com, github.com and GitHub’s download servers) | At launch and every 6 hours, unless you turn automatic checks off in About & Updates; and when you install an update. | A request for the latest release information and, when you install an update, the download of the release archive and its checksum file. The request identifies the app and version (Stox/<version> (macOS)). Nothing about you or your data is included. |
| Xueqiu and other finance sites | Only when you choose “View on Xueqiu” (or a similar link) for a stock. | The page opens in your default browser; Stox itself doesn’t contact the site. |
Like any internet request, these connections reveal your IP address to the server you’re connecting to. Those services are run by third parties under their own privacy policies; I don’t receive anything from them about you.
iCloud
If you turn on iCloud sync, Stox writes your watchlist (with groups, short names, holdings and alerts) and a few display settings to a file in your own iCloud Drive, Stox/sync.json, together with your Mac’s name and the time of the change, so your other Macs can merge it. Settings that only concern one Mac are not synced. The file is stored by Apple under your iCloud account; I have no access to it. Turning sync off stops writing; you can delete the file in Finder.
Permissions
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Notifications | For price alerts, the optional closing summary and update notices. |
| iCloud Drive | Only if you turn on sync. |
| Accessibility, Screen Recording | Not used. Stox’s global shortcut uses the standard hot-key API, which needs no permission. |
You can revoke any of these in System Settings › Privacy & Security at any time.
Market data
Quotes are provided by third parties for reference only. Hong Kong quotes are delayed about 15 minutes. Nothing in Stox is investment advice.
Where you got Stox
This policy covers Stox however you obtained it — from GitHub, from this website, or through a store or subscription service such as the Mac App Store or Setapp. Such a service handles your purchase or subscription and may process data under its own privacy policy; Stox itself behaves as described here. If an edition ever works differently, this policy will be updated before that edition is released.
Deleting your data
Use Settings to remove your watchlist, or delete Stox together with ~/Library/Preferences/io.github.whrss9527.stox.plist and ~/Library/Application Support/Stox/. If you used sync, also delete the Stox folder in iCloud Drive.
Children
Stox is a general-purpose utility, not directed at children, and collects no personal information from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be published on this page with a new date. Stox is open source, so you can also check its behavior in the source code.
Contact
whrss9527 · whrss9527@gmail.com · Stox issues on GitHub