ynotPDF

What stays on your computer

This page is part of the privacy notice. It lists what ynotPDF keeps on your computer, where, and how to remove it. None of it is sent to us, except a support report you chose to send, which waits here until it goes.

Where it is kept

Most of it is in the ynotPDF data folder:

  • Windows: %APPDATA%\ynotPDF
  • macOS: your home folder, then Library/Application Support/ynotPDF
  • Linux: your home folder, then .config/ynotPDF

A few things are kept elsewhere:

  • Downloaded updates:
    • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ynotpdf-updater
    • macOS: your home folder, then Library/Caches/ynotpdf-updater
    • Linux: your home folder, then .cache/ynotpdf-updater
  • The printer inbox on Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ynotPDF\Printer inbox. With the ynotPDF Printer on Windows 11, also the printer's own Printer inbox folder, under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages. On a Mac and on Linux, the inbox is in the data folder.
  • Temporary files: in your system's temporary folder, in folders whose names start with ynotpdf.
  • On a Mac: the "Open in ynotPDF" entry in the print dialog, in your home folder under Library/PDF Services.
  • Backup copies: if you turn on Keep the previous version as a .bak file (it is off at first), a .bak file is kept beside the document.

This data is not encrypted. Your computer account protects it.

What is kept

  • Settings. These include:
    • your name, initials, organisation (if you enter it) and email address;
    • saved handwritten signatures, which are protected only if you set a passphrase;
    • trusted certificates;
    • your recent signing reasons and your last location;
    • signing styles and logos;
    • custom stamps;
    • the full path of your last folder, and your print settings;
    • window positions.
  • Export Settings copies all of this, signatures included, into a file you choose. Keep that file safe.
  • Recent files:
    • the full paths of the last 10 files you opened, plus any you pinned;
    • Clear unpinned removes the others.
  • Recovery copies:
    • a full copy of each unsaved document, made every 5 minutes;
    • deleted when you save or close the document;
    • for a document protected with certificates, the recovery copy is not protected;
    • to turn this off, set Autosave recovery information every (minutes, 0 to turn off) to 0.
  • Logs:
    • two files at most, 2 MB each;
    • a log can contain file and folder names, so check it before you send it to anyone.
  • Crash reports:
    • they can hold fragments of documents that were open, and they are never sent;
    • to see them, choose Help → Open Crash Report Folder.
  • OCR languages that you downloaded.
  • Support reports (Send Feedback):
    • a report that could not be sent yet, with its attachments, until it is sent or you cancel it in Reports Waiting to Send. At most 20 wait at once;
    • the email address and name you gave, for next time;
    • for each report sent, its ticket number, date, kind and summary, for My Support Tickets (the last 200).
  • The printer inbox:
    • a copy of each document printed to the ynotPDF Printer is kept for about 14 days, and deleted the next time ynotPDF starts after that;
    • a print that could not be opened stays in the folder "Could not open" until you delete it.
  • Temporary files: deleted after each job, or when ynotPDF closes. After a crash, they may stay in your system's temporary folder until it is cleaned.

Digital IDs

  • Your ID files stay where you keep them.
  • Keys are held in memory only: until signing ends, and never more than 10 minutes after they were last used.
  • Passphrases are never stored.

Your data can go into documents you share

A document can contain:

  • your name as a comment author;
  • your name and initials in stamps;
  • your handwritten signature or initials, if you place them;
  • your signer name, reason, location and certificate (which may include your email address);
  • timestamp and revocation answers;
  • "ynotPDF" as the program that made the PDF.

Links

  • ynotPDF opens web links (http and https) in your usual browser. The browser receives only the address, and its own privacy terms then apply.
  • Links on a page, and form buttons: ynotPDF shows you the full address and asks first.
    • If you choose Open, and don't ask again for this address, ynotPDF stops asking for that address until it closes.
    • The setting is in Preferences, under Page marks and links: Ask before opening a link that leaves the document. It is on at first.
  • Bookmarks that point to a web address open without asking.
  • Email links are never opened.

Other programs

  • LibreOffice: ynotPDF runs LibreOffice on your computer to convert Office files. ynotPDF does not ask it to go online. If a document you convert links to pictures on the web, LibreOffice may fetch them. LibreOffice is a separate program, and its own privacy terms apply.
  • Scanners: on Windows, scanning uses Windows' own scanner service. If you use a network scanner, Windows contacts it, not ynotPDF.

To remove everything

  1. Uninstall ynotPDF.
  2. Delete the data folder.
  3. Delete the downloaded-updates folder, and on Windows the printer inbox folder, listed above.
  4. On a Mac, delete "Open in ynotPDF" from Library/PDF Services in your home folder.