Privacy Policy
Effective date: 15 May 2026
This page explains what personal data Thinking Tools Software collects, how it is used, and what choices you have. We have written it to be specific to what our products actually do, not to look like a template.
Who we are
Thinking Tools Software is an indie software business based in Australia. We publish desktop applications for visual thinking — currently Concepticon (a tool for creating and exploring concept maps from plain-text propositions), with additional products planned in our suite. We are the data controller for the personal data described on this page. You can reach us at hello@thinkingtools.software.
When you visit our marketing site
Our marketing site (thinkingtools.software) is a static site hosted on Cloudflare Pages. We do not run analytics, advertising, or behavioural tracking on the site. We do not set cookies for our own purposes.
The site loads the Inter font from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com). When your browser fetches those fonts, Google receives your IP address and standard request metadata under their own privacy terms. If you would prefer not to make that request, a font-blocking browser extension prevents it; the site remains fully readable in your browser's default fonts.
Cloudflare, our hosting provider, processes standard web request data (IP address, user agent, requested URL, timestamp) to operate and protect the site. Cloudflare's data handling is governed by their own privacy policy.
When you use our desktop applications
Our desktop applications run entirely on your computer. The files you create, the artefacts you render, and any documents you import are stored locally on your device in plain-text or other open file formats. We do not have a server that stores, ingests, or processes your content. We do not run telemetry or usage analytics inside our applications.
There are three situations in which our software makes a network request:
1. License validation. When you activate a paid license, our software sends your license key and a machine identifier to Lemon Squeezy's license-validation endpoint to confirm the license is active. The activated license is then stored encrypted on your device using your operating system's secure storage (Electron safeStorage, which uses the macOS Keychain, Windows DPAPI, or libsecret on Linux). A short offline grace period lets our software continue to work if the validation endpoint is unreachable. We do not see, store, or have access to any of your content as part of license validation — only the license key.
2. Update checks. Our software checks GitHub Releases for new versions and notifies you when one is available; updates are not installed automatically without your consent. The update check is a standard HTTPS request to GitHub's release API. GitHub receives the request metadata (IP address, user agent) under its own privacy terms. We do not collect or log update-check requests.
3. AI-assisted features (only when you use them). Where our software offers optional AI features — for example, Concepticon's proposition generation from a document, or its concept-description generation — those features call third-party AI APIs (such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, or LM Studio for Concepticon; the specific provider list for each product is described on its product page) directly from your machine, using an API key you supply. Our software does not perform any AI inference itself, does not have an AI service of its own, and never sees the content of your prompts or responses on our servers (we have no such servers in the AI path). Your use of those AI services is governed by your own agreement with the provider you choose. If you would prefer not to use AI features, leave the API key blank — they remain dormant.
When you buy a license
Purchases are processed by Lemon Squeezy, our merchant of record. Lemon Squeezy collects the personal and billing information needed to complete the transaction, calculate any applicable taxes, and provide receipts. Lemon Squeezy is the data controller for that information; their own privacy policy governs how it is handled.
Once a purchase completes, Lemon Squeezy provides us with the limited information we need to support and contact you about your license: your email address, your name as supplied at checkout, and the license details (license key, plan, status). We use that information to deliver the software, validate licenses, and respond to support enquiries. We do not use your purchase information for advertising, do not share it with unrelated third parties, and do not sell it.
If you cancel a recurring license, your access to paid features ends at the end of the current billing period; the software continues to work in its free mode and your local files remain fully usable.
When you contact us
If you email us at hello@thinkingtools.software (or any <role>@thinkingtools.software address — for example for support, an affiliate enquiry, or a refund), we receive the contents of your message and any attachments you choose to send. We use that information to reply to you and to maintain a record of the conversation. We do not add support correspondents to a marketing list.
Affiliates
Our affiliate programme is managed inside Lemon Squeezy. If you sign up as an affiliate, Lemon Squeezy collects the information needed to issue your unique affiliate link, track referred sales, and pay your commissions. Lemon Squeezy is the data controller for affiliate-account data; we receive aggregated reporting (which sales were attributed to which affiliate) for the purpose of managing the programme.
Cookies
The marketing site does not set cookies for our own purposes. Cloudflare may set strictly-necessary cookies for site protection (for example, during a bot-challenge interaction). The Lemon Squeezy checkout, when you initiate a purchase, will set its own cookies governed by their privacy policy.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal data — for example, to access, correct, export, or delete the personal data we hold about you; to object to certain processing; or to lodge a complaint with a data-protection authority. To exercise any of these rights, email hello@thinkingtools.software and we will respond within a reasonable period (no more than thirty days). For data held by Lemon Squeezy as merchant of record, please also contact Lemon Squeezy directly, since they are the data controller for that information.
Children
Our software is intended for adult professional use. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under sixteen. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
We will update this page if our data practices change. The effective date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. Material changes will be summarised at the top of the page for at least sixty days after they take effect.
Contact
Thinking Tools Software, Australia.