The Window Switcher

Privacy Policy

Last updated: App version: 0.1

1. What the app does

The Window Switcher shows a gadget on each monitor with the icons of the windows open on that monitor, and lets you switch to a window with one click.

2. Information used while it is running

To work, the app asks Windows for the following information. It is used only in memory while the app is running, and it is not stored:

  • Open windows: title, window type, position, state (for example, minimized) and the monitor it is on. The title is shown as a tooltip when you hover over an icon.
  • The app behind each window: the program path and, for Microsoft Store apps, their app identifier. These are used only to get the icon.
  • Application icons.
  • Connected monitors: name, resolution, work area, scale and device identifiers (manufacturer, model and connection), to know which monitor each window is on and to recognize the same monitor next time.
  • Cursor position, only while you drag the gadget.

The app does not read the contents of windows (documents, emails, messages), does not capture the screen and does not record what you type.

Window titles may contain personal information, such as an email subject or a document name. The app uses them only to show them in the gadget.

3. Information stored on your computer

Preferences (settings.json)

  • whether you completed the first-run wizard;
  • icon size, margin and orientation of the gadget;
  • for each monitor the app has detected: its identifiers (name, manufacturer, model, connection and device path), whether the gadget is enabled, the chosen corner and, if you dragged it, its position.

If the preferences file is damaged, the app renames it (settings.json.unreadable-<date>) and starts with new preferences.

Error log (errors.log)

It is written only if an error occurs. It contains the date, a description and the technical details of the error. It does not include window titles, although the technical details may include file paths on your computer. When it exceeds 512 KB it is deleted and starts over.

Location

  • Microsoft Store version: the app data folder managed by Windows (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\PabloCriscione.TheWindowSwitcher_…\).
  • Version installed outside the Store: %LOCALAPPDATA%\WindowSwitcher\.

Diagnostic report

The app has a diagnostic mode used from the command line (--diagnose). It runs only if you explicitly request it. It produces a report of the monitors and open windows, including their titles, and shows it in the console or saves it to the file you specify. It is never sent anywhere.

4. Transmission and disclosure

The app does not send any information to external servers: no window titles, open applications, monitor data or preferences. It includes no analytics, advertising or tracking services, and no third-party components that collect data. We do not sell or share information with anyone.

If a feature that needs to send information is added in the future, this policy will be updated before that feature is released.

5. Microsoft Store and Windows

Downloads, installation and updates of the Store version are handled by Microsoft. Microsoft may collect diagnostic data according to your Windows privacy settings and its own privacy statement, and may provide the developer with aggregated reports of downloads, installations and crashes in the Store developer dashboard. The app adds no data to those reports.

6. Permissions

The app is a Windows desktop program with full access to system features (runFullTrust). It needs this to list the windows of other applications, know which monitor each one is on and switch to them when you click. It runs with your user permissions and does not ask for administrator rights.

7. Control and deletion

  • In the settings you can turn off the gadget on each monitor. From the system tray icon you can close the app.
  • You can delete the preferences and the error log by deleting their files while the app is closed (see the location in section 3). The app has no button to reset preferences.
  • When you uninstall the Microsoft Store version, Windows also deletes its data folder. If you installed the app outside the Store, the %LOCALAPPDATA%\WindowSwitcher\ folder remains and you can delete it manually.

8. Children

The app does not collect personal information from any user, including children, and does not ask for age.

9. Changes to this policy

If the app changes in a way that affects this policy, this document and its date will be updated.

10. Contact

For privacy questions: Pablo Criscione, pcriscione@hotmail.com.