HeyMateWhat HeyMate captures
- Screen context for interactions that need it, including Talk, guided walkthroughs, contextual dictation, onboarding demonstrations, and the optional local-control interface. Text-only questions can skip capture.
- HeyMate chat history does not store screenshot or audio bytes. Some CLI integrations write temporary image files, cleaned up when the request or process ends. The optional local-control interface schedules screenshot cleanup after ten minutes and removes stale files on a later capture. Interrupted cleanup can leave temporary files behind.
- Password managers and System Settings are excluded by default.
- You can limit capture to the frontmost window.
- Apple Speech uses on-device recognition when the selected language supports it; otherwise it can use Apple's speech service. A Mac voice speaks locally. Downloaded Parakeet listening and bundled Phonon speaking process voice on supported Apple silicon Macs; fallback to Apple Speech follows the same language limitation.
Every macOS permission HeyMate can ask for, and what it does with each one, is on the permissions page.
What it stores, and where
Everything below is on your Mac, under ~/Library/Application Support/heymate/.
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
| chats.json | Chat history. Text only. No screenshot or audio bytes. |
| memory.json | Things HeyMate decided were worth remembering. You can clear it. |
| mates.json | Mate names, jobs, personalities, and settings. |
| routines.json | Schedules for mates. |
| behavior-contract.md | The rules you can edit. |
| skills/ | Your Markdown skills. |
| faces/ | Custom mate faces you imported. |
API keys and connector tokens go in a separate file only your Mac account can read (secrets/connector-secrets.json, permissions 0600), the way the Claude, Codex, and GitHub command-line tools keep theirs. Clipboard history stays in memory and is dropped when you quit.
What leaves your Mac
- Talk and coding-agent turns go through Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, or a Custom API endpoint you configure. Relevant screen images can go to that provider. Provider retention and the CLI's own session history are separate from HeyMate's local chat history.
- The optional Apple Intelligence brain answers text questions locally on supported Macs. It cannot process screen images.
- ElevenLabs receives audio for transcription or text for speech when you configure and select it. Apple Speech can contact Apple when on-device recognition is unavailable.
- Composio and other connectors only call the apps you connect, and anything that sends, deletes, or pays asks first.
- Optional notch usage rings read the default Codex, Claude Code or Cursor sign-in on this Mac and request usage only from that provider. Credentials are never sent to HeyMate analytics. Only numerical usage readings and reset times are cached locally.
- App usage analytics is off by default. In configured builds you can opt in during onboarding or in Settings → Privacy & Data, and turn it off there at any time. PostHog receives event names, timestamps, app version, counts and bounded error metadata linked by a random install ID so we can measure active use and return visits. We do not send chat text, screenshots, files, account details or session recordings, and request that PostHog disable location enrichment and person profiles. Turning analytics off cancels pending sends and clears the local ID; events already received by PostHog remain subject to its retention settings. Analytics measures participating installations, not all users.
This website
The homepage does not load Vercel Web Analytics or Hotjar session recordings. Interactive preview messages stay in your browser and are not sent to an AI provider or stored by HeyMate. The buddy setting and recent public GitHub totals are cached in session storage until that browser session ends.
Other pages on sayheymate.vercel.app include Hotjar for page interaction tracking, heatmaps, and session replays. It can set Hotjar cookies. This website tracking is separate from the Mac app. For Hotjar's privacy controls, see Hotjar's opt-out information.
The site also sends Hotjar a short event name when someone clicks a download or GitHub link or copies an install command. These measure interest, not completed installations. Vercel Web Analytics is currently disabled on this website.
How to delete everything
In the app, clear memory from the Memory section. To remove HeyMate's local application data, stop jobs and routines, quit HeyMate, and delete ~/Library/Application Support/heymate/. Workspaces under ~/Projects/heymate/, exported files, temporary files, and provider CLI histories are separate. Deleting HeyMate data does not delete copies held by a provider or connected service. Older versions kept keys in the Keychain; any items named com.heymate.app.connector can be removed in Keychain Access.