Standard builds of Trace desktop and Trace Plugin collect product improvement data by default. Trace uses it to make Trace better, including the AI models that power its features. Privacy mode turns this off for your account. The Privacy Policy is the authoritative statement; this page shows where the controls are.
What is collected
Unless privacy mode is on:
- Design edits: the changes made to your schematics and boards (which items changed and how), and whether you or the AI made them.
- Design copies: copies of your design files at key moments, such as opening or saving a design and around AI requests.
- Checks, saves and exports: design check results, and when you open, save or export a design.
- Feedback: your feedback on AI responses.
- AI conversations: your chats with the AI, including the actions it takes and their results.
Trace does not collect credentials. It records a design file's name and a one-way hash of its location, not the full file path.
This data is stored in Microsoft Azure in the United States (East US 2), in private, encrypted storage, under your account's pseudonymous user ID rather than your name or email address. It is kept until you delete it or delete your account. Trace does not sell it or let third parties use it for their own products.
Turn on privacy mode
Privacy mode is one setting for your Trace account. Turning it on in any of these places turns it on for all of them:
- Trace desktop: Preferences → Privacy.
- Trace Plugin: the Privacy card on the Home screen.
- Web dashboard: Dashboard → Settings, then Privacy mode in the Privacy section.
Wait for the setting to save. The dashboard shows a confirmation, or an error and the previous value if the change did not save.
While privacy mode is on, none of the data above is captured or stored. Chat history you can see keeps working; it is part of using Trace. If you turn privacy mode on in Trace desktop or Trace Plugin, that app also discards data it had queued but not yet sent.
If your version of Trace desktop or Trace Plugin does not show a Privacy page, use the web dashboard. The setting belongs to your account, not to one installation.
Delete your collected data
- Open Dashboard → Settings.
- In Privacy, select Delete Collected Data.
- Read the confirmation, then select Delete Collected Data.
- Wait for the result. The dashboard shows how many edit events, design snapshots and AI runs were deleted.
If the dialog shows an error, nothing was confirmed deleted. Select Try Again, or cancel and try later. Contact hello@buildwithtrace.com if it keeps failing.
Deletion cannot be undone. Recovery copies kept by the storage provider are permanently removed within 14 days. Deleting does not undo improvements already made with the data.
Deleting collected data does not turn on privacy mode. Turn privacy mode on first if you do not want new data collected.
Deleting your account also erases this data. To see the deletion result yourself, use Delete Collected Data before deleting the account. See Profile & Account.
Enterprise builds
Builds of Trace distributed directly to enterprise customers always run in privacy mode. Their Privacy setting is shown on and cannot be changed (Managed by your organization), and no product improvement data is ever collected from them.