Private Time Tracking on Mac: How Drifty Handles Your Data

You’re an accountant reviewing a client’s financial records. Or a lawyer working on a confidential case. You want to understand where your working hours go, but you don’t want sensitive activity details uploaded to a cloud service. You want that history to stay on your Mac.

What is the best private local time tracker for Mac?

Quick answer: Drifty is a good fit if you want automatic time tracking with local storage and on device AI. Your activity history stays on your Mac by default. Choose Local AI to keep classification on your device, leave Device Sync off, and disable product analytics in Settings → Privacy.

Those controls are separate. Choosing Local AI alone does not stop analytics or activity syncing. See Drifty’s privacy settings to understand what each option shares.

Product details checked against Drifty’s documentation and privacy policy on September 14, 2026.

What does Drifty observe while you work?

Drifty records activity in the background so you can review your day without starting a timer for every task. What it can capture depends on your permissions and the app or browser you are using. How automatic recording works.

The available detail varies by app and permission. Recording context, data collected.

For a software engineer, an editor window title might identify a repository. For an accountant, a spreadsheet title might include a client’s name. Those details can help you remember the work, but they can also be sensitive without revealing the file’s contents.

Drifty does not record your screen or save screenshots. Its policy says it does not intentionally collect keystroke contents or raw document and message bodies for activity classification. Recording FAQ, activity data policy.

Which Mac permissions affect recording?

Accessibility gives Drifty access to window titles. The setup documentation requires it to complete onboarding. If you turn it off later, app-level tracking can continue, but window titles are no longer available.

You can review that permission in macOS under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

Safari history import is a separate, optional feature. It needs Full Disk Access and can add browser context from the previous 48 hours. Live tracking does not require that import.

Drifty also documents a local check of whether the foreground app has audio activity. That check does not record microphone or system audio. Recording permissions.

Idle detection uses system input inactivity to identify time away. It cannot tell whether you spent that break discussing a design with a colleague or making coffee. How Drifty records your day.

Where is your activity history stored?

The complete timeline is stored in a local database on your Mac. Signing in does not publish it, and basic local tracking can work without an account. Account and local tracking.

The paid Device Sync Preview changes where a copy is stored. If you enable it, raw activity segments are copied to private storage associated with your account so your Macs can merge their activity. Sync is off by default and must be enabled on each Mac. Local storage and optional sync.

That makes sync different from remote AI. Sync can copy activity records. A classification request contains selected fields used to label an activity. Choosing Local AI does not turn Device Sync off.

What does AI processing receive?

Classification adds meaning to a recorded block, such as whether it was focused work or a distraction. It writes labels back to the existing history. How Drifty classifies work.

You can choose where that processing happens:

Local AI sends no classification request off the Mac. Cloud and OpenRouter need an internet connection; local capture can continue while they are offline. Choose your AI.

Which fields can you limit?

Drifty’s AI privacy settings let you control Page address, Window title, Content context and Work profile. App name, site domain and duration are required fields for classification.

When Page address is enabled, the request can include the protocol, host and path, capped at 300 characters. Credentials, query strings and fragments are removed. Window titles are capped at 160 characters. AI request fields.

A shortened address can still contain a client name. For example, a path such as /clients/acme-audit reveals something even without its query string. Review the fields you allow before using remote AI for confidential work.

These settings govern classification requests. To limit what the local tracker records, review recording permissions or pause tracking.

What other information can leave your Mac?

Local AI covers one processing task. Analytics and public sharing have their own settings.

Product analytics

Product analytics is on by default. You can disable it in Settings → Privacy without losing core app functionality. Analytics control.

PostHog receives limited events and bounded summaries using an installation identifier. Raw activity history is excluded. The September 13, 2026 policy states that desktop analytics events can be retained for up to seven years. Turning analytics off stops future events; it does not delete earlier ones. Account deletion does not automatically remove those earlier events either. Analytics and retention policy.

Account information and Google Calendar

Account services can hold sign-in information. Basic Google sign-in does not grant access to Gmail or Drive.

Google Calendar requires separate permission. Calendar events are processed in memory and excluded from the tracker database and AI requests. Disconnecting it in Settings removes the local credential and calendar data. Revoke Google Account authorization separately if needed. Account and Calendar privacy.

Public profiles and leaderboard totals

Joining the leaderboard is optional. It can show your display name, avatar and aggregate focus time. It does not publish your underlying app or website history.

Profile visibility is a separate choice. You can leave the leaderboard without deleting your local history. Leaderboard and profile controls.

Even a total can reveal something about your routine. Keep public sharing off if you do not want others to see your focus hours.

How do you pause tracking or delete data?

Start with the information you want to stop recording or remove:

• Pause new recording: Use the menu bar to pause Drifty before a private task. Pause control.

• Delete local activity: Open History, find the relevant sessions and select rows to delete from that Mac. The “Delete history…” control removes a broader local range. History controls.

• Remove the synced cloud copy: Use the in-app Device Sync controls to purge it. The documentation says this remains available to the signed-in owner after Pro access expires. Activity stored on each Mac remains there. Device Sync deletion.

• Request account or analytics deletion: Contact support through the privacy policy.

Treat these as separate actions. Removing a local session is not evidence that an earlier remote request or analytics event has also been erased.

Changing an activity’s label is different from deleting it. The Classification tab changes how work is categorized; History is where you remove local records. Classification controls.

A practical setup for private work

For work you want to keep on one Mac, start with Local AI and leave Device Sync off. Turn off product analytics if you do not want those events sent. Keep public sharing disabled unless you choose to publish your totals.

Before tracking a client session, try a harmless document with an obvious title. Check what appears in History. Then pause tracking and confirm that new activity stops appearing. This gives you a useful check of recording behavior; it does not prove that the app makes no network requests.

Use the private Mac time tracker overview to review the product’s main data choices. The AI time tracking page explains how classification uses work context.

Frequently asked questions

Does Local AI mean nothing ever leaves my Mac?

No. It means classification requests stay on your Mac. Device Sync and product analytics are separate settings, so review both if you want to limit external data transfers. Drifty’s data choices.

Can I use Drifty without an account?

Yes. Local tracking and on-device classification can work without an account. Cloud AI and optional account features require sign-in. Account requirements.

Does private time tracking work offline?

Drifty can capture activity locally without internet. Local AI can classify it after the model is installed and ready. Cloud and OpenRouter classification wait for a connection. Offline behavior.

Can Drifty use data to improve its AI?

Yes. Drifty’s policy allows certain user data and generated outputs to improve its internal AI features. AI data use.