Privacy Policy
Last updated: February 2026
What MonKey Does
MonKey is a macOS menu bar utility with four core functions: keyboard layout autocorrection, text translation, grammar checking, and custom AI actions (AI Wizard). It uses macOS Accessibility permission to read and replace text in applications.
What Data MonKey Accesses
Keyboard Input
MonKey monitors keystrokes via macOS Accessibility API to detect keyboard layout mismatches. This monitoring happens entirely on your Mac. Keystroke data is processed in memory and never saved to disk or sent anywhere.
Selected Text
When you trigger a translation, grammar check, or AI Wizard action, MonKey reads the currently selected text in the active application. This text is used only for the requested operation.
What Stays on Your Mac (Free Tier)
The free tier processes everything locally. No network requests are made for:
- Layout autocorrection — character mapping and dictionary lookup, fully offline
- Translation — Apple's on-device Translation framework (macOS 15+)
- Grammar check — macOS built-in NSSpellChecker
Your keystrokes, corrections, and text never leave your device.
What Uses the Network (Premium Tier)
Premium features send text you explicitly select to cloud services for processing:
| Feature | Service | Data Sent |
|---|---|---|
| AI Translation | OpenAI (GPT-4o-mini) | Selected text + language pair |
| Grammar & Style | LanguageTool | Selected text + language |
| AI Wizard | OpenAI (GPT-4o-mini) | Selected text + your prompt |
- All requests are sent over HTTPS through our secure proxy server
- We do not store your text — it is processed in transit and discarded
- No text is sent unless you explicitly trigger a premium action
- Third-party services (OpenAI, LanguageTool) have their own privacy policies
Learned Corrections
MonKey learns from corrections you accept to reduce false suggestions over time. This learning data (word pairs and frequency counts) is stored locally on your Mac and never transmitted.
Subscription & Payment
Subscriptions are managed by Paddle. We receive your license activation status but never your payment details, billing address, or personal information. Paddle's privacy policy governs all payment processing.
Auto-Updates
MonKey checks for updates via Sparkle. This sends a request to our update server containing only your app version and macOS version. No personal data is included.
Analytics & Telemetry
MonKey does not include any analytics, tracking, crash reporting, or telemetry. We have no way of knowing how you use the app.
Local Data Storage
All app data is stored locally:
- Settings:
~/Library/Application Support/MonKey/ - Logs:
~/Library/Application Support/MonKey/Logs/ - Learned corrections: stored in settings file
Nothing is synced to any cloud. Uninstalling the app and removing this folder deletes all data.
macOS Permissions
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Read keyboard input, detect layout, replace text in apps |
No other permissions (camera, microphone, contacts, location) are requested or used.
Contact
Questions about privacy? hello@getmonkey.cc