Loupe Shader · Privacy Policy
Privacy
The short version
Loupe Shader runs entirely on your computer. It does not connect to the internet, and it does not collect, send, sell or share any information about you, your computer or your work. It has no accounts, no license-key check, no analytics, no telemetry, no crash reporting and no advertising.
We only receive information about you if you choose to contact us (for example, to ask for support), or when you buy Loupe Shader through a store. Both are covered below.
1. What the add-on stores on your computer
To draw its previews, Loupe Shader writes files on your own computer. None of them leave your computer unless you send them to someone yourself.
| What | Where | How long it stays |
|---|---|---|
| Rendered preview thumbnails (small images of your node outputs) | Your system's temporary folder, in a loupe_shader_cache… folder | Deleted automatically once they are older than Cache Age (14 days by default) or the cache is bigger than Cache Size (750 MB by default). Clear in the add-on's Performance settings deletes them all at once. |
| Working copies of the material being previewed, and of the mesh used by Object Shape or a Custom Object | Your system's temporary folder, in a loupe_shader_… folder | While Blender runs. Deleted when Loupe Shader stops, or the next time it starts if Blender closed unexpectedly. |
| Background render logs (these can include material, node and object names, and file paths) | The same loupe_shader_… folder | Same as above |
| The manual as a web page | Your temporary folder, LoupeShader_Manual.html | Until your system cleans the temporary folder |
| A first-run flag and the last Loupe Shader version you ran | Blender's configuration folder, loupe_shader/state.json | Until you delete it |
| Your add-on preferences (GPU choice, shortcuts, cache limits and so on) | Blender's own preferences | Until you change or reset them |
| Per-node and per-material preview settings (thumbnail angle, zoom, pan, chosen output, labels) | Inside your .blend file, as custom properties whose names start with sp_ | Saved with your file, like any other file data |
Loupe Shader starts extra background copies of Blender on your computer to render previews (the render workers and, with Cycles, a hidden live Cycles viewport). They talk to your Blender session through local pipes on the same computer only. To decide how many of them fit on your graphics card, Loupe Shader asks your graphics driver's own command-line tool (on NVIDIA cards) how much GPU memory is free. That reading stays on your computer.
2. Copy Diagnostics
Copy Diagnostics puts a support report on your clipboard. It does not send anything. The report contains the Loupe Shader, Blender and operating-system versions, your graphics card and driver details, Loupe Shader's settings and status, the path of its temporary folder (which can include your user name), and the last lines of the background render logs (which can include material, node and object names).
Read the report before you paste it anywhere, and remove anything you would rather not share.
3. Opening the manual
Open Manual writes the manual to a local HTML file and asks your web browser to open it. Loupe Shader sends nothing when it does this. Your browser applies its own privacy settings.
4. When you contact us
If you email us (the panel's Email Support button only opens a new message in your own mail app; nothing is sent until you send it) or use a support channel, we receive what you send: your name, email address, your message, and any files, screenshots or diagnostics you attach. We use it only to answer you and to fix problems in Loupe Shader. We keep it for as long as we need it for that, and for any record-keeping the law requires, then delete it. We do not sell it or use it for marketing unless you separately agree to that.
Please do not send us client or confidential .blend files unless we specifically ask and you have the right to share them. A diagnostics report or a small file that shows the problem is almost always enough.
5. When you buy Loupe Shader
Loupe Shader is sold on our website, where the checkout is run by Lemon Squeezy, and on Gumroad. The checkout provider handles your payment and account details under its own privacy policy, published on its website. From it we receive what it shares with sellers to complete the sale (usually your name, email address, country and order details). We use that to deliver the product, provide updates and support, and keep the sales and tax records the law requires.
6. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the EU/UK GDPR or Canadian, Californian or other privacy laws), you may have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, or to object to how we use it. Email support@blacklykhen.com and we will reply within the time the law requires. You can also complain to your local data-protection authority.
7. Children
Loupe Shader is a professional tool. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
8. Changes
If a future version of Loupe Shader changes what it stores or starts sending anything over the internet, we will update this policy before that version is released, and say so in the changelog.