Privacy policy for FiRender and FiAlign
Publisher: Maddisys Limited, Suite 3, 1-3 Warren Court, Park Road, Crowborough TN6 2QX, United Kingdom. Contact: info@maddisys.co.uk. Effective date: 3 October 2026 (free edition check-in and automatic updates added).
Summary
FiRender and FiAlign run entirely on your computer. They do not collect, store or transmit personal information, they contain no accounts, advertising, analytics or telemetry, and they never upload your images or data. The free edition of FiRender checks in with the Maddisys licence server using an anonymous identifier (see "Free edition check-in" under Network access below).
The one exception is optional: if your lab or facility gives you an organisation licence and you sign in with it, the licence server stores your work e-mail address and a small amount of licence data, as described in Organisation licences below. If you buy from the Microsoft Store, or never sign in with an organisation licence, that section does not apply to you.
Data the apps process
The apps open image files that you choose (for example TIFF, NIfTI, NRRD or Bio-Rad PIC volumes) and write output files only where you tell them to. All processing happens locally. Your files never leave your device unless you copy them elsewhere yourself.
Settings stored on your device
Each app keeps a small settings file under your Windows user profile (for example the last folders you used, window layout, theme and recent files). This file stays on your device and can be deleted at any time by uninstalling the app or removing the folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\Maddisys.
Network access
Apart from an organisation licence sign-in (see Organisation licences) and, in copies installed without the Microsoft Store, the update check described below, the only network activity is the optional "Sample data" feature. When you open the Sample data dialog, the app fetches a small catalogue file (the list of available datasets) from a Google Cloud Storage bucket controlled by Maddisys Limited (storage.googleapis.com/maddisys-fisuite-demo), and when you choose a dataset it downloads that dataset from the same bucket or, for a few datasets that Maddisys does not redistribute, from the dataset's original host. These requests carry no personal information beyond what any web download sends: your IP address and the standard HTTP headers. Maddisys does not use the bucket's access logs to identify users, and the apps send nothing else to Maddisys. The host and licence of each dataset are shown in the Sample data dialog and in the product documentation; the bucket address can be changed in the app's settings file.
Update check (copies installed without the Microsoft Store only). Copies installed from the Maddisys installer (MSI) or zip file check at most once a day whether a newer version exists by downloading one small public file (storage.googleapis.com/maddisys-fisuite-demo/downloads/versions.json) from the same bucket. The request carries no personal information beyond your IP address and standard HTTP headers, and nothing about you or your data is sent. When a newer version exists, copies installed with the MSI download its installer from the same Maddisys downloads bucket and install it when you close the app (Windows asks for permission first); the installer is used only if its checksum matches and it is signed by Maddisys Limited. You can turn automatic installation off in the update notice, turn the check off in the notice or in Help, or turn both off for a whole organisation with the installer option UPDATECHECK=0 or Group Policy. Microsoft Store copies never make this check; the Store updates them.
Free edition check-in. The free edition of FiRender (no Standard or Pro licence) checks in with the Maddisys licence server when it starts and once a day, and needs to do so at least once every 30 days; without a check-in it asks you to connect or enter a licence. Each check-in sends only: an anonymous identifier of your computer (a one-way hash derived from the Windows machine identifier; the identifier itself never leaves your computer, and the server hashes it again), the app name, its version and the platform (Windows or Mac). The server keeps, for each identifier, the app, version, platform and the dates of the first and last check-in, to issue the free licence and to count active installations. No name, e-mail address, account, file or image is involved, and your IP address appears only in the server's request logs (kept 30 days). FiAlign does the same while it is in view-only mode (its trial has ended or it has not been bought); FiAlign during a Microsoft Store trial does not. Paid licences (Microsoft Store, online or organisation) never make this check.
Purchases and licensing
Purchases and trials are handled by the Microsoft Store under Microsoft's privacy statement. The apps do not receive your payment details.
Organisation licences
*This section applies only to people who sign in with an organisation licence issued to their lab, facility or institution (from the app version that introduces organisation licences). It does not apply to Microsoft Store purchases.*
Who is responsible. Maddisys Limited (address above) is the controller of the licence data. Your organisation's licence administrator asks Maddisys to create your licence account.
What is stored, and why. To check that your organisation's licence covers you and to keep to its number of seats, the Maddisys licence server stores:
- your work e-mail address, the organisation it belongs to, whether your account is invited, active or withdrawn, which named seats are assigned to you, and when it was created and first activated;
- for each seat in use: which product (FiRender Full or FiAlign), a seat number, when the seat was taken and when it expires, and a one-way hash of an identifier of your computer. The app derives that identifier from the Windows machine identifier and hashes it before sending; the server hashes it again. Neither the machine identifier nor your computer's name ever leaves your computer;
- an audit trail of licence events (activation, seat taken, refused or released, and administrator changes), recorded with an internal user number rather than your e-mail address;
- activation codes and sign-in tokens only as irreversible hashes. There are no passwords.
Like any web service, the server's hosting keeps technical request logs that include your IP address. Nothing else is sent: no images or data you work with, no usage statistics, no hardware details.
On your computer. The app keeps your sign-in token and a signed offline licence token in a file under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Maddisys\<app>, encrypted with Windows data protection for your Windows account. Signing out in the app deletes it.
Where and by whom it is processed. The licence server runs on Google Cloud (Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC) as Maddisys's processor under Google's Cloud Data Processing Addendum. The data is stored in the europe-west2 region (London, United Kingdom).
How long it is kept. Your licence account is kept while your organisation's licence is active and deleted within 90 days after it ends or when your administrator removes you. Seat records are replaced as seats are used and are deleted with your account. Used or expired activation codes and audit entries older than 13 months are deleted. Request logs are kept for 30 days.
Your rights. You can ask for a copy of your licence data, for corrections, or for deletion, through your organisation's licence administrator or by writing to info@maddisys.co.uk. Deletion removes your account, sign-in tokens and seats; audit entries then keep only an internal number that no longer identifies you. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Children
The apps are scientific tools and are not directed at children; apart from the organisation licences described above, which are issued to adults through their institution, they collect no data from anyone.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes, the new version is published with the next app update and at the support address above. Questions: info@maddisys.co.uk.