Privacy & Security
Last Updated: February 15, 2026
Credentials never leave your device
No code path uploads SSH keys or server passwords in readable form. Not for backup, not for sync, not for support.
AES-256 encrypted at rest
Every secret is encrypted before it touches the disk, in files readable only by your user account.
Team shares expire in 10 minutes
Relayed as ciphertext we cannot read, accepted once, then permanently deleted.
Free, and not funded by your data
No ads, no data brokers, no selling anything to anyone. There is no business model that depends on you.
1Who is behind KnoticSSH
KnoticSSH is built by Niraj Rawal — a working engineer who wanted a better way to manage servers, and kept building it because people kept finding it useful. It is a passion project, made in Nepal, and shared with everyone for free.
That shapes this policy more than any legal template could. There are no investors asking for growth metrics, no advertising business that needs your attention, and nothing to gain from knowing more about you than is strictly required to make the software work. Collecting less is simply easier — and it happens to be the right thing to do.
The application is free to download and free to use. Every protection described below applies to everyone; none of it sits behind a paid tier.
For the formalities: because KnoticSSH is one person's project rather than a company, Niraj Rawal is the data controller for the information described here, and is personally responsible for handling it as described. Throughout this page, "we" and "us" mean exactly that one person. By using KnoticSSH, you agree to the handling set out below.
2Information we collect
An account is optional. KnoticSSH is fully usable without one. If you never sign in, we hold no personal information about you at all.
If you do create an account, we collect:
- Profile name: to identify you in team and community features.
- Email address: for authentication, account recovery, and important service or security notices.
- Anonymous usage counts: an installation identifier and app version, so we can see which features are used and whether a release is stable. No hostnames, no commands, no content.
- Team membership and public keys: if you use Team Shield, so teammates can find and send to you.
Never collected, under any circumstances: SSH private keys, server or VPN passwords, terminal session content or command history, files transferred over SFTP, your app PIN, or your Team Shield private key.
3How we use it
- To authenticate you and keep your account secure.
- To deliver team features you explicitly use, such as sharing a host with a teammate.
- To notify you about security issues and significant updates.
- To understand which features get used, so limited development time goes to the right places.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your information. We do not run advertising, and we do not share your data with data brokers or analytics resellers.
4How your data is protected
| Layer | Protection |
|---|---|
| Local secrets at rest | AES-256, key derived from a device secret held in your OS keychain |
| Team share payload | AES-256 with a one-time key, sealed to the recipient with RSA-4096 (OAEP) |
| Encrypted profile export (.knp) | AES-256-GCM, key from your password via PBKDF2-SHA256 at 600,000 iterations |
| App PIN | PBKDF2-SHA512 salted hash — the PIN itself is never stored or transmitted |
| Network transport | TLS 1.2 or higher for all communication with our servers |
When you share a host with a teammate, a fresh AES-256 key is generated for that one share and sealed with your teammate's public key. Our server receives only the sealed key and the ciphertext — it holds no private key and cannot decrypt either. The share is valid for ten minutes, can be accepted once, and is purged afterwards whether or not it was collected.
5Where your data is stored, and for how long
Account and team data is stored with Supabase, our hosting and authentication provider, acting as a data processor on our behalf. This may involve storage on servers outside your country, including the United States.
- Account data: kept while your account is active, and deleted when you delete your account.
- Pending team shares: deleted automatically ten minutes after creation.
- Anonymous usage counts: retained in aggregate and not linked to your identity.
- Everything on your device: stays until you remove it. Uninstalling or deleting the app data directory removes it permanently — we hold no copy to restore.
6Your rights
Wherever you live, and regardless of whether local law compels it, you may:
- Access a copy of the personal data held about you.
- Correct anything inaccurate.
- Delete your account and the data attached to it.
- Export your data in a portable format.
- Object to a particular use, or withdraw consent.
Email nirajcr03@gmail.com and we will action it. If you are in the UK or EU and are unhappy with the response, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
KnoticSSH is not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data.
7What this does not protect against
Stated plainly, because a user who assumes more than is true will make worse security decisions than one who knows the boundary.
Local encryption is bound to your device, not to your PIN. That protects files copied elsewhere — a backup, a stolen drive, a synced folder — because the key does not travel with them. It cannot protect against a compromised machine: malware, or anyone with access to your user account, can read whatever the app can read while it runs. Turn on full-disk encryption (FileVault on macOS, BitLocker on Windows) alongside it.
An exported .knp file is only as strong as its password. It contains every credential you own in one file. Treat it as you would the credentials inside it.
A teammate you share with can see what you shared. Encryption protects a host in transit and from us. It does not restrict what the intended recipient does afterwards.
8Reporting a security issue
If you find a vulnerability, please report it privately to nirajcr03@gmail.com before disclosing it publicly, so it can be fixed for everyone first. Reports are welcome from anyone, and there is no legal threat attached to reporting one in good faith.
This project is built by one person, in the open, and it gets stronger every time someone takes the time to point out what is weak.
9Changes and contact
If this policy changes materially, the in-app disclosure is versioned and will ask you to review it again rather than assuming your earlier agreement still applies.
Questions about any of this: nirajcr03@gmail.com