Hover is local-first by design.

Last updated: 2026-05-26. Hover does not track, store, sell, or upload your interactions to a Hover server. Hover is a macOS app that runs on your Mac and sends prompts only to the model provider you configure.

What Hover stores locally

Provider choice, base URL, model name, feature toggles, and system prompt in local app settings.
API keys in macOS Keychain using a non-syncing item on this Mac.
No prompt history, response history, screenshots, voice recordings, transcripts, or analytics events by default.

What can leave your Mac

Provider choice	What may be sent	Who controls it after sending
LM Studio or Ollama on localhost	Your prompt and enabled context go to your local model server.	You and your local setup.
OpenAI, Featherless, or custom remote endpoint	Your prompt, selected text, screen text, and optional screenshot context if enabled.	The provider you chose, under its privacy policy and terms.

Provider policies

Why Hover asks for permissions

Accessibility and Input Monitoring: global shortcut, right-click trigger, and copying selected text on demand.
Screen Recording: optional screenshot context for vision-capable models.
Microphone and Speech Recognition: push-to-talk voice input only.
Local Network: local model server detection for LM Studio and Ollama.
Automation: normal copy and paste actions in the active app.

Telemetry

The Hover macOS app does not include telemetry, analytics, crash reporting, advertising IDs, or tracking pixels by default. The marketing website may use basic page analytics if configured, but those website analytics are separate from Hover app interactions.

Open-source and paid builds

Hover can be open-source for transparency while official DMG downloads are sold for convenience, support, and stable distribution. Paid distribution does not require a Hover cloud account.

Contact

For support or privacy questions, email kotra[at]holikau.org.