How Unmarked keeps your files private

Unmarked makes no network connections of its own, so nothing you write is uploaded, copied, or tracked. It reads and writes only the files you open or print, with no account, no cloud, and no analytics.

You don't have to take that on faith. A Mac app declares what it's allowed to do in its sandbox entitlements, and you can read Unmarked's in the app's own permissions.

What the app is allowed to do

Unmarked's entitlements are short. The app can do three things:

Read and write the files you pick when you open or save.
Remember those files between launches, so Recent works. (That's an app-scoped bookmark.)
Print.

There is no network entitlement on that list, so the app itself makes no network connections. The one part of Unmarked that holds a network permission is the small helper that draws Mermaid diagrams. macOS won't start the web engine it uses without one, and the Mermaid helper blocks every web request. The Security page explains it and shows the command to check. Nothing for analytics, telemetry, or third-party services is bundled in. The privacy here is the absence of the wiring, not a switch you flip in Settings.

Your file is the only copy

When you open a Markdown file, Unmarked edits that file. Saves go back to the original, in place, moments after you stop typing. No hidden working copies. No shadow database, no synced version sitting on a server somewhere.

There's no account and no sign-in, so you never hand over an email to use it. Recent files live on your Mac and point at the real paths on disk. Nothing leaves the machine.

Keep your notes in iCloud Drive or Dropbox? Those services sync the file the way they sync everything else in that folder. That's their copy, on their terms. Unmarked opens the file wherever it already is and writes back to that same spot.

The app doesn't fetch anything from the web, so a remote https:// image shows its alt text (why, and how to fix it).

How to confirm it yourself

macOS shows you what an app reaches for:

Look in System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security. Unmarked doesn't appear under Contacts, Location, or the other data categories, because it never asks for them.
Open a file, edit it, and check it in Finder. The modified date changes on the file you opened, and no new copies appear beside it.