Effective date: July 17, 2026
HearthWatch is a local-first viewer for the ONVIF/RTSP cameras on your own home network. In plain words: your camera video and your camera passwords stay on your own devices and never reach us. We do not have a server that receives them, there are no accounts, and we do not sell or share your data.
To show your cameras, HearthWatch looks for cameras on your local network using the standard ONVIF discovery protocol, connects to the cameras you choose using the address and credentials you provide, and plays their live RTSP streams on your PC. If you turn on the optional motion-based people and vehicle counting, the detection runs on your own device against the local video. All of this happens entirely on your own devices and network, and none of it is sent to us.
The connection to each camera runs directly between the camera and your PC over your own network. Your video does not pass through the internet, a cloud, or any server of ours, and we have no way to see it. Camera credentials are stored locally on your PC so the app can reconnect, and are used only to open the stream. They are never transmitted to us.
None. The app does not contain analytics, telemetry, usage tracking, advertising identifiers, or crash reporting that sends data to us. We do not build a profile of you and we do not receive your video, images, camera names, camera passwords, IP address, or device identifiers.
You can delete any of the app's own data at any time; uninstalling the app and deleting its data folder removes the rest.
Beyond the local connection between your PC and your own cameras, the only network activity is the following, none of which sends us your video or personal data:
Note that your cameras themselves may reach the internet or a vendor cloud on their own, independently of HearthWatch, under their manufacturer's privacy policy. That is outside our control. HearthWatch only connects to them locally.
The app contains no third-party advertising SDKs, no analytics SDKs, and no cross-app or cross-site tracking. The "More from Hearth" suggestions promote only our own apps and websites and do not profile you.
If you choose to email us (for support, feedback, or a bug report), we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message. We use them only to respond to you and to fix the issue, we do not add you to any mailing list, and we do not share them with anyone. You may ask us to delete the correspondence at any time.
The app is designed for data minimization: it processes your camera video only locally on your own devices, under your control, and we act as neither a controller nor a processor of any personal data on your behalf, because no personal data ever reaches us from the app. As we hold no data about you, requests to access, correct, port, restrict, object to, or erase data held by us have nothing to act on; you can exercise full control by editing or deleting the local files described above. If your cameras capture other people, you are responsible for using them lawfully where you live.
We do not collect, sell, or share personal information, and we have no personal information to disclose. "Sell" and "share" are used here as defined by California law. There is nothing to opt out of because no data is collected.
The app is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children. Because we do not collect personal information, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
The connection to each camera and your camera credentials stay on your own devices and network. Because your data stays with you, its security depends primarily on your own devices, accounts, network and cameras. No method of storage is completely secure, and you are responsible for securing your own devices, your cameras, and your network.
We may update this policy as the app evolves. When we do, we will change the effective date above and post the updated policy at this URL.
For privacy questions, contact us at support@hearth-software.com or support@hearth-software.com.