Privacy policy
Last updated October 7, 2026
The short version. Sentinel runs on your own computer. Your video, recordings, snapshots, detections and camera passwords stay on that computer and are never sent to us. We only hold what's needed to give you the download: your account email, and a record of each download.
This policy explains what information Handoffgrid LLC ("we", "us") collects through sentvms.com, the Sentinel download service, Sentinel for Mac, Sentinel for Linux and the Sentinel VMS app for iPhone and iPad (together, "Sentinel"), and how we use it.
1. Your video stays with you
Sentinel is self-hosted software. Live video, recordings, event snapshots, detection results, alarms, evidence and camera passwords are stored on the computer you install Sentinel on. We don't operate a cloud service for your cameras, and we never receive, view or store your footage. Camera passwords are encrypted on your computer (on Mac, in the macOS Keychain).
2. Information we collect
Your account
To download Sentinel you create a free account with your email address and a password. Our authentication provider (Supabase) stores the password in hashed form; we can't see it. We use your email to confirm your account, let you sign in, and send occasional notices about Sentinel such as updates. We don't send advertising.
Download records
When you download Sentinel we record your account, email address, IP address, browser user-agent, which build you downloaded (Mac, Linux x86-64 or Linux ARM64) and the time. We use this to protect the download service from abuse and to understand which builds people use.
Bug reports you choose to send
Sentinel for Mac has a Send Bug Report option. A report contains your message, an optional email address so we can reply, the app and macOS version, your Mac model, how many cameras you have, whether the app crashed, and recent app activity with passwords and keys stripped out. No camera addresses or credentials are included. Reports are only sent when you choose to send one.
Messages and donations
If you email us, we keep the conversation to help you. If you make an optional donation, it's processed by Stripe, which receives your payment details; we receive confirmation of the donation but never your card number.
The website
sentvms.com uses no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. Fonts and images are served from our own domain. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, processes standard connection data such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the site. The download page remembers which build you picked in your browser's local storage, which never leaves your device.
3. Optional features that use other services
These only run if you turn them on, and the data goes directly between your computer and the service, not through us.
- Remote access. To let your phone reach your server away from home, Sentinel opens an encrypted Cloudflare tunnel from your computer. Cloudflare's network carries that traffic; we don't receive it and it isn't stored.
- AI descriptions and search. If you add your own Anthropic API key, the event frames being described and the event text used for search are sent directly from your computer to Anthropic under your account. Anthropic's terms and privacy policy apply, and Anthropic bills you directly. Your key is stored encrypted on your computer.
- Push notifications. Alerts are sent from your computer to Apple's Push Notification service with your phone's device token and the alert text, so Apple can deliver them.
4. The iPhone and iPad app
The Sentinel VMS app doesn't collect data for us. It connects only to the Sentinel server you pair it with (and to Apple, to receive notifications). Its pairing credentials are stored in your device's Keychain.
5. How we use and share information
We use the information above to provide downloads, run your account, answer support requests, keep our services secure and improve Sentinel. We don't sell personal information and we don't share it for advertising. We share it only with service providers that run parts of our service for us (Supabase for accounts, Cloudflare for hosting and downloads, Resend for account email and Stripe for donations), when the law requires it, or to protect our users and services.
6. How long we keep it
We keep your account and download records while your account exists. Bug reports and emails are kept as long as they're useful for support and fixing problems. You can ask us to delete any of it at any time.
7. Your choices
You can ask to see, correct or delete your information, or close your account, by emailing [email protected]. Deleting your account doesn't affect Sentinel already installed on your computer, which keeps working.
8. Security
We use encrypted connections, short-lived signed download links and access controls to protect what we hold. Because your footage never reaches us, keeping your Sentinel computer and network secure is in your hands; the support page has tips.
9. Children
Sentinel isn't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.
10. Changes
If we change this policy we'll update the date above, and for significant changes we'll let account holders know by email.
11. Contact
Handoffgrid LLC · [email protected]