Privacy Policy

Last updated October 5, 2026

The short version: the Tether app collects nothing. It makes no network connections, has no analytics and needs no account. Your files move directly between your Mac and your phone over the USB cable and never pass through us. The only information we ever receive is what you choose to send in a bug report on this website.

This policy covers the Tether app for macOS and the website at tether.cosmics.me, both made by Cosmics ("we", "us"). Questions go to [email protected].

The Tether app

No data collection. The app has no telemetry, crash reporting, analytics or update checks, and opens no network connections.
Your files stay local. Tether reads and writes files on the phone you connect, on your behalf, over USB. Folder listings and downloaded files are kept on your Mac by macOS so Finder can show them. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Export Logs. The menu bar item can save a diagnostics file to your Desktop. It stays on your Mac unless you decide to email it to us. It contains file and folder names from your phone, so look it over first.

This website

Visiting. We don't use cookies, analytics or tracking scripts. The site runs on our own server behind Cloudflare, which handles every request (including your IP address and browser details) to deliver and protect the site, under Cloudflare's privacy policy. Cloudflare may set a strictly necessary security cookie. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, so Google receives your IP address and browser details when the page loads, under Google's privacy policy.

Downloads. The app is served from our server. Like any web server, it can briefly keep technical request details such as your IP address in its logs.

Bug reports and feature requests. When you submit the form, we store:

what you write: the type of report, title, description, and (for bugs) severity and how often it happens
the optional device details you enter: phone model, Mac model and Tether version
your email address, only if you give one
your IP address and browser user agent, to fight spam and abuse (the form is rate limited per IP)

We use this only to understand and fix problems and to reply to you if you left an email. It is stored in a database on our own server, read only by the two of us who make Tether, and never sold, shared or used for marketing. We keep a report for as long as it helps us fix the issue, and we delete it sooner if you ask.

Your rights

You can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing [email protected]. Mentioning the report title or the email you used helps us find it. If you are in the EU, UK or a similar jurisdiction, you also have the right to complain to your data protection authority.

Children

Tether and this website are not directed at children under 13 (16 in the EU), and we don't knowingly collect their information.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update it here and change the date at the top. If the app ever starts sending data anywhere, this page will say so before that release ships.