Privacy

Privacy

Open Wallpaper Engine keeps everything on your Mac. It has no server, collects no data or analytics, and it contacts Valve, GitHub for app updates, and the publisher of an optional plugin only when you install it, without sending personal data.

What stays on your Mac

Everything OWE saves: your settings, library, caches and SteamCMD's login.

Data	Where it is kept
Settings, playlists, display assignments, wallpaper properties	The app's preferences
Wallpapers, Workshop downloads, the assets copy	The storage folder
Shader cache	Your Caches folder
Steam account name and Steam Web API key	The macOS Keychain
SteamCMD's login token	SteamCMD's own folder, managed by SteamCMD

Who OWE talks to

Contact	When	Why
Steam (Valve)	When you use the Workshop or install assets	Search, item details, author profiles, downloads (through SteamCMD)
Valve's server	When SteamCMD needs installing	Downloading SteamCMD
GitHub	When the app checks for updates (unless turned off)	Reading the update feed (appcast, served from openwallpaperengine.app) and downloading signed updates from GitHub Releases. No personal data is sent
CEF builds (cef-builds.spotifycdn.com)	Only when you install or update the Chromium web engine plugin	Downloading the pinned Chromium engine
Hugging Face	Only when you install or update the Depth Map Generation plugin	Downloading Apple's Core ML depth model
The address you give	When you use Add Video/Image URL…	Downloading that file

Update checks can be turned off in Settings › Updates; builds from source never check. Web wallpapers are web pages and may load their own online content; that traffic is the wallpaper's, not OWE's. Send Android Exports over Wi-Fi and the MCP Server plugin work only on your local network or your own Mac.

Your Steam login

Important

Your Steam password and Steam Guard code go straight to SteamCMD, Valve's official tool. OWE never stores, logs or sends them anywhere else. It remembers only your account name, to reuse SteamCMD's saved login.

• You can avoid typing your password into OWE entirely by logging in via Terminal.
• The Steam Web API key is checked with Steam, kept in your Keychain, and sent to Steam only in a request header, never in a URL.

Permissions

• System Audio Recording (Screen & System Audio Recording before macOS 14.2) is used only to capture system audio for audio-reactive wallpapers. OWE asks for it only when you click Grant Access.
• Now Playing reads the current track locally from macOS, only while Media integration support is on.
• File access: OWE reads the folders you choose to import or store wallpapers in.

Read more (for developers): Workshop and Steam integration