Perch
Privacy Policy
Last updated: September 17, 2026
The short version
Perch is a Windows app that runs on your device. It has no account, no analytics, and no telemetry. There is no Desk Anvil server that Perch talks to. The sections below cover exactly what stays on your machine, and the specific, optional cases where the app makes a direct network request on your behalf.
What is stored, and where
Perch keeps its data locally at %LOCALAPPDATA%\DeskAnvil\Perch\:
- a small SQLite database of workspace metadata — selected screenshot folder paths, screenshot/Pocket reference paths, timestamps, pin state, and expiry. Image and file bytes are never copied into it — Perch stores a reference to where your file already lives, not the file itself.
- the current list of connected agent sessions (Claude Code / Codex), so the session list survives an app restart
- a local crash log, written only when something goes wrong, to explain the failure rather than leaving you with no trace of it
None of this is sent to us. Uninstalling the app removes it (the folder itself is not automatically deleted on uninstall — you can delete it yourself).
The agent bridge (Claude Code / Codex)
Perch can show live status for Claude Code and Codex sessions running on your machine. To do this, it runs a small local server that only listens on 127.0.0.1 (loopback) — it is not reachable from your network or the internet. Claude Code and Codex send their own turn-level events (working, needs input, done, failed) directly to this local server when you turn the connection on in Settings. A per-user access token, generated on first run, is required for any request to be accepted.
This is local inter-process communication on your own machine, not a network request that leaves your device. Perch never reads your prompts, your code, or your files through this bridge — only the status events the CLI itself chooses to report (what it's doing, not what it's doing it on).
Network requests you choose
Perch's core function — the agent strip, the Pocket shelf, and screenshot tracking — makes no network request. Two optional widgets do, and only when you add one:
- Market data widget (stocks/crypto, if you add one): fetches a public price quote directly from your browser-equivalent HTTP client to the relevant provider (Yahoo Finance, CoinGecko, Kraken, or Coinbase, depending on the asset) using only the ticker or asset ID you chose. No personal data is attached to the request.
- Sports score widget (if you add one): fetches public fixture/score data from TheSportsDB using only the team or league you chose.
Both widgets are opt-in — Perch ships with none configured. Neither request goes through a Desk Anvil server; your device talks directly to that provider, the same as if you'd opened their page in a browser tab.
What we never do
- No analytics, usage tracking, or telemetry of any kind
- No account, login, or email collection
- No selling, sharing, or transferring of your data to us or to third parties
- No reading of your prompts, code, or file contents through the agent bridge — only the status events Claude Code/Codex themselves report
- No upload of your screenshots, Pocket files, or their contents — only their local file paths are ever stored
Children
Perch is a tool for developers and is not directed at children.
Changes
Any change to this policy will be published on this page with a new date. A change that affects what data is handled will also be noted in the app's release notes.