Privacy

Last updated 1 November 2026

Gesso is made by Andrew Wilson, sole proprietor, India. Questions about your data: support@gesso.online.

Gesso is a design app that runs on your computer. Your files stay on your computer. This page says what leaves it, when, and why.

Without an account

You can use Gesso without signing in. Then nothing about you or your designs is sent to us. Your files are saved in the app's folder on your computer, with backups there too.

Two things still reach other companies, because the design needs them:

Fonts from Google Fonts. When you choose a Google font, the app downloads it from Google, which sees your IP address, as with any website that uses Google Fonts.
Pictures from the web. A design that uses a picture's web address loads it from that website.

Agents you run on your own computer (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and others) talk to Gesso directly on your computer. What they send to their own AI company is between you and them, under their terms.

Error reports

When the app hits an error or crashes, it sends us a report so we can fix it: which version of the app, which version of macOS, what went wrong and where in our code. It doesn't include your designs, your account, or your name — file paths in your home folder are blanked out before sending. Turn it off any time: Gesso menu → Send Error Reports.

With an account

Signing in lets agents on the internet (ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor elsewhere) work on your canvas, lets you share links, and lets you send feedback with your name. For that we keep:

What	Why	How long
Email, username, name, and your password (stored only as a one-way hash)	To sign you in	Until you delete your account
Sign-in sessions: when, and the IP address and browser they came from	To keep you signed in, sign out your other computer when you sign in on a new one, and slow down password guessing	Until the session ends or you sign out
The agents you've allowed (their name, when you allowed them)	So they can work on your canvas until you press Disconnect	Until you disconnect them
Links you share: a copy of that one frame, its pictures and fonts, and a view count	So anyone with the link can open it	Until you turn the link off, which deletes it
Feedback you send	To read it and reply	Until it's dealt with

What an agent on the internet sees

When ChatGPT, Claude or another agent works on your canvas, each request passes through our server to your open app, and the answer passes back. We don't store your designs or the content of these requests; they go straight through. Our server log notes only which tool was used (for example "create_artboard"), to keep the service running. The agent's company does receive what it reads, under its own terms. Close the app or press Disconnect and it stops.

Shared links

A shared link is public: anyone who has it can open it, and it isn't listed or indexed. It shows the frame as it was when you shared it. Turn it off in Settings → Links and it's deleted at once.

Who else handles data

Railway runs our server.
Neon runs our database.
Umami (umami.is) counts website visits, as below.
Polar (polar.sh) handles payments as our merchant of record. When you buy a plan, Polar collects your name, email, billing address and card details. We receive your email and which plan you have, never your card.
Google Fonts, as above.

We don't sell data, show ads, or use analytics or tracking in the app (error reports, above, are the only thing the app sends on its own). We don't use your designs to train AI.

The website. On gesso.online (the website, not the app) we count visits with Umami: which pages are viewed, which site you came from, your country and type of device, and clicks on Download and Buy. It uses no cookies and keeps no IP address or anything that identifies you.

Your choices

Use Gesso without an account.
Disconnect any agent, or turn off any link, in Settings.
Ask us for a copy of your account data, or to delete your account and everything above with it: write to support@gesso.online.

Changes

If this changes, the date at the top changes, and anything that matters is announced in What's new.