Privacy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 31 July 2026

The short version Canvas Downloader runs 100% on your own computer. It has no backend, no servers, no accounts, no analytics, and no telemetry. Your Canvas Access Token and your files never leave your device, except when the app talks directly to your own university's Canvas server to download your content. We - the developer - never see, receive, or store any of your data.

Who this policy applies to

This policy covers the Canvas Downloader desktop application for Windows (including the version distributed through the Microsoft Store) and macOS, and the project website. Canvas Downloader is a free, open-source app built by a student. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Instructure, Inc. or Canvas LMS.

Information the app accesses

Canvas Downloader only handles the information it needs to download your own course materials. Specifically:

Your Canvas Access Token. You generate this yourself in your Canvas account settings and paste it into the app. It is used solely to authenticate to your university's Canvas server on your behalf.
Your own Canvas course data. When you start a download or sync, the app requests the courses, files, assignments, announcements, and similar content that your account already has access to.
Your course's Panopto lecture recordings (optional). If you enable lecture recording downloads, the app follows the Panopto links in your Canvas courses and fetches the recordings your account can already watch, directly from your university's Panopto server. Transcription of those recordings happens entirely on your own computer - audio is never uploaded anywhere.
The files you choose to download. These are saved to the folder you select on your own computer.
Local app settings. Your preferences, saved sync folders, and download history are stored locally so the app remembers your setup between sessions.

The app does not ask for your name, email, password, payment details, location, or contacts. Your Canvas login password is never entered into or seen by the app - only the Canvas Access Token you create.

How your information is used

Your information is used for one purpose only: to let the app authenticate to your university's Canvas server and download the content you ask for, onto your computer. There is no other processing, profiling, or secondary use.

Where your data is stored

Canvas Access Token: stored securely in your operating system's credential vault - Windows Credential Manager on Windows, the Keychain on macOS. It is never written to a plain text file and never transmitted to the developer.
Downloaded files & settings: stored only on your local disk, in the locations you choose (for files) and in your user profile (for app settings).

Because everything is local, there is no developer-controlled database or cloud account that holds your data.

What we do not do

We do not collect, receive, or store any of your data on any server. The app has no backend.
We do not use analytics, tracking, advertising, or telemetry of any kind.
We do not sell, rent, or share your information with anyone.
We do not modify, submit, or upload anything to your Canvas account - the app only reads and downloads.

Third parties

Your university's Canvas (Instructure). The app connects directly to the Canvas server your token belongs to in order to fetch your content. Your use of Canvas is governed by your institution's and Instructure's own privacy policies.
Your university's Panopto server (optional). Only if you enable lecture recording downloads: the app connects to the Panopto instance your university links from Canvas, authenticated through your own Canvas session, to fetch recordings you already have access to. Your use of Panopto is governed by your institution's and Panopto's own privacy policies.
Hugging Face (optional, one-time model download). Only if you set up local transcription: the app downloads the speech-recognition model you pick from Hugging Face's public model hub, the same way a browser downloads a file. No personal data, no account, and none of your content is sent - after the download, transcription runs fully offline.
PyPI (optional, one-time library download). Only if you opt into GPU acceleration for transcription on a Windows PC with an NVIDIA card: the app downloads NVIDIA's official CUDA library packages from the Python Package Index. Again, a plain file download - no account, nothing sent.
GitHub (version check). When the app starts, it asks GitHub's public releases API whether a newer version has been published, so it can show you an update notice. The request carries nothing but the request itself - no token, no course data, no identifier of any kind - and GitHub sees only what any website sees when you visit it. If it fails or you are offline, the app simply shows no notice. The Downloads & Releases page makes the same call in your browser.
Microsoft Store (Windows). If you install the app from the Microsoft Store, Microsoft handles distribution and updates. Any data Microsoft collects as the store operator is governed by the Microsoft Privacy Statement. The app itself sends Microsoft nothing.

This website

This policy says it covers the project website, so here is exactly what the website itself does. It is a set of static pages hosted on GitHub Pages. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and has no tracking of any kind - there is no script here that records who you are or what you clicked.

Fonts are served from this site, not from Google. They used to be loaded from Google Fonts, which meant your IP address reached Google before the page had even rendered. They are now part of the site.
GitHub. The download buttons ask GitHub's public API which release is newest, so the links never point at a stale file. GitHub sees that request the same way it sees any visit.
YouTube. Two pages embed a short how-to video. Nothing is requested from YouTube until you click play - the video is a still image until then, so simply reading the page contacts no one.
Microsoft. The "Get it from Microsoft" badge is an image served by Microsoft, and the button links to the Store listing.

Your browser contacts GitHub and Microsoft only for the reasons above. Nothing on this website is sent to the developer, because there is no developer server to send it to.

Data retention and deletion

You are always in full control of your data because it lives on your machine:

Remove your saved token at any time from within the app, or by deleting the "Canvas Downloader" entry in your OS credential vault.
Delete downloaded files like any other files on your computer.
Uninstalling the app removes its local settings. Files you already downloaded remain yours and are not touched.

Children's privacy

Canvas Downloader is intended for students using their own university Canvas accounts. It is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, regardless of age.

Open source

Canvas Downloader is fully open source. You don't have to take our word for any of the above - the complete source code is publicly readable on GitHub.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new "last updated" date. Material changes will be noted in the project's release notes.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Open an issue on GitHub and we'll respond there.