— Document

Privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-10-27

Controller under the GDPR: Balane GmbH · Balanstraße 84 · 81541 Munich · Germany Commercial register: HRB 301320, Amtsgericht München · VAT ID: DE455102718 Represented by the managing director Jonas David Höttler support@balane.tech

Balane Slides is the presentation app of Balane Office for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Android and Windows. Your content is created and stored on your device. There is no account, no sign-in and no provider server the app talks to. Connections to the outside only happen when you switch them on yourself: for the optional AI features and for optional editing together.

1. What the app stores — and where

Your presentations are stored as .bslides files on your device, in the place you choose. The app saves automatically and keeps earlier states for restoring. Imported files (PPTX, ODP) are read locally; exports (PPTX, ODP, PDF, PNG) are written to the place you choose. Settings, your own templates and the list of recently opened files are kept in the app's own folder.

This content is not transmitted to the provider.

If you put a file in a folder that iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Google Drive or another service syncs, that service carries it under its own terms, not the provider of this app. The same applies to operating system backups (such as iCloud Backup or Android backup) if you have turned them on.

2. Editing together (optional)

You can share a file with other devices and edit it together. This runs without any provider server, over the open-source network Iroh.

  • The app only starts its network node when you share a file, accept an invitation or open a file that is already shared. Without that step, no connection is made.
  • Content and changes are end-to-end encrypted; only the participating devices can read them.
  • Devices find each other through the public Mainline DHT, a distributed directory run by many independent computers. There the app publishes the device's identifier and the address of its relay, not its IP address. The DHT nodes the device talks to see its IP address.
  • Devices connect directly where possible; in doing so they see each other's IP addresses. On the same network this can happen locally, which is why iOS asks for access to the local network. If no direct connection can be made, relay servers pass on the encrypted data, by default the public relays of n0, the developer of Iroh.
  • Relays and DHT nodes see IP addresses and connection times, never content.
  • You pass on the invitation yourself, by a route of your choice. What the service you use for it (such as email or a messenger) processes follows that service's terms.
  • The other participants see the display name you enter. The device's keys are kept in the operating system's secure storage, and the network state is stored encrypted in the app's own folder.

3. AI features (optional)

The AI features are switched off until you add your own API key in the settings. Before the first request, the app asks for your consent; “Use AI” can be switched off again at any time.

  • Requests go directly from your device to Anthropic (Anthropic PBC, USA), not through any provider server. Only your instruction and the excerpts the app puts together for the request (such as the selection or visible areas) are sent, plus a style guide if you have set one up. The app shows exactly what was sent under “Sent Context”. Nothing is sent without a request.
  • If you enter your own endpoint instead of Anthropic, such as a gateway in your company or a local model server, requests go there. Its operator is responsible for the processing there.
  • The key is kept in the operating system's secure storage (the keychain on macOS and iOS, Android Keystore, protected by DPAPI on Windows), never in your files or in the app's settings files. When you add it, the app checks it with a free request to the service.
  • Processing at Anthropic is governed by Anthropic's terms and privacy notices; billing runs through your account there. The provider of this app receives neither the key nor the content.
  • The app only applies AI suggestions once you accept them.

4. App lock and biometrics

If you like, an app lock protects the app with a code. Only a hash of it (PBKDF2 with a random salt) is stored, in the operating system's secure storage. Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or a fingerprint are checked by the system; the app never sees biometric data, the system only reports whether unlocking succeeded. With “Hide previews” the app shows no content in notifications and preview images.

5. Distribution, updates and store data

The app is distributed through the App Store (Apple), Google Play (Google) and the Microsoft Store (Microsoft). Downloads, installation and updates run through the respective store; the app does not check for updates itself. The store operators process data as independent controllers under their own terms, including crash reports if you have allowed sharing them in your system settings. In the store consoles the provider sees aggregated statistics (such as download counts) and the crash reports you share with developers; these don't tell the provider who you are.

From time to time the app may show the system's rating dialog (on iOS, macOS and Android; not on Windows). Whether it appears is up to the system. Whatever you enter there goes to Apple or Google. The app only remembers on the device when it last asked.

6. No analytics, no telemetry

The app contains no analytics, tracking or crash-reporting libraries. It sends no usage data to the provider, aggregated or otherwise, and there is no account.

7. Your rights

Because the provider receives no personal data through the app, requests for access, rectification or erasure directed at the provider will generally have no subject matter. For email or form support requests, the general privacy policy of this website applies: https://www.balane.app/en/privacy

You remove your local data by deleting your files and uninstalling the app. Entries in the operating system's secure storage (such as an AI key or the app lock code) are best removed in the app's settings first; depending on the system, they may otherwise remain in the keychain after uninstalling.

Back to Balane Slides