Privacy
Privacy is a set of specific choices, not a slogan
This page describes the principles we apply when deciding what our products collect. The binding detail - what is collected, why, and for how long - lives in the privacy policy, and we point to it rather than paraphrasing it.
Principles we apply
Collect for a stated purpose
Data is collected to make a feature work, and the purpose is written down.
Prefer the device
Where a decision can be made locally, we make it locally rather than sending data to a server.
Keep it for as long as it is needed
Retention periods are set deliberately, not left open-ended.
Make controls findable
Settings that affect data are in the protection panel, described in plain language.
Explain, do not summarise
Where a claim would be hard to verify, we describe the mechanism instead.
Say what we do not know
Limits and exceptions are stated in the policy rather than omitted.
Where to find the specifics
The qikfox privacy policy is the authoritative document. It covers each product, including qikfox Search and qikfox VPN, which are the two most privacy-sensitive.
The cookie policy covers this website. The transparency page describes what we publish about requests for user data.
To exercise a data right, or to ask a question about your data, use the routes listed on the contact page.
Language we avoid
- We do not describe any product as making you anonymous.
- We do not use "no logs" as a marketing claim; retention is described in the policy.
- We do not describe a product as private without saying what that means in practice.
Privacy in depth
Privacy at qikfox means collecting the smallest amount of data that lets a product work, describing each category in ordinary language, and keeping it for a stated period rather than indefinitely. We do not describe our products as making people anonymous, because signing in to any service identifies you regardless of the tooling around it.
Three categories, described plainly
Account data exists because you asked for an account: an identifier, authentication material, and whatever a subscription requires. Operational data exists because software has to run: crash reports, version numbers, the fact that an update was applied, and the abuse-prevention records any service needs to stay usable.
Protection signals are the third and most sensitive category, because they touch what you are doing. Where a check can be done on the device, we prefer that. Where a check needs a service, we aim to send the least that makes the check work, and our privacy policy names each purpose rather than grouping them under improving our services.
- Account data: what an account requires, and nothing decorative.
- Operational data: crash, version and abuse-prevention records.
- Protection signals: kept on the device wherever a check allows it.
What browser privacy controls can and cannot do
Blocking cross-site trackers removes the shared identifier that joins your activity across sites, and reducing the details a browser volunteers narrows fingerprinting. Both make a measurable difference and both are on by default in qikfox Safe Browser.
Neither makes a browser anonymous. Signing in is a direct identification that no setting undoes, and a script inside a page can always observe that page. Being specific about this is not modesty - it is the difference between advice a person can act on and a promise that quietly fails.
The choices we made deliberately
Protection is on by default rather than offered as an upgrade path, because a default is what most people will ever experience. Controls sit on one screen with plain descriptions, including the trade-offs, because a setting that breaks a site without explanation costs more trust than it earns.
And we avoid the three claims that dominate this industry - no logs, complete protection, total anonymity. Each is either unverifiable from outside or false as written. Stating retention periods, coverage and limits gives you something you can actually hold us to.
Frequently asked questions
Related qikfox pages
Privacy Policy
The authoritative document.
Transparency
What we publish about data requests.
Trust Center
Practices and documentation in one place.
Security at qikfox
How the software itself is protected.
Read the policy, not the slogan
The privacy policy is where every specific commitment lives, product by product.