Last updated: 13 September 2026
Set Sail is a screen recorder for macOS and Windows, made by Pip Turner.
Your recordings never leave your computer. Set Sail has no accounts and no advertising, and by default it sends nothing at all. If you choose to, it can send crash reports and anonymous usage stats to help fix and improve the app, and you can send feedback from inside it. Each of those is described below, along with how to turn it off.
Screen contents. Set Sail captures your screen, a single window, or an area you select, only while you have a recording in progress. The capture is used solely to produce the recording file.
Camera. If you turn on the camera bubble, Set Sail shows your webcam in the recording overlay and includes it in the recording. The camera is off unless you switch it on.
Microphone. If you turn the microphone on, Set Sail records it as the recording's audio track. The microphone is off unless you switch it on.
System audio. If you turn it on, Set Sail records the sound your computer is playing into the recording's audio track.
Files. Recordings are written to the folder you choose (by default, a "Set Sail" folder inside your Videos or Movies folder). Set Sail does not read files you have not asked it to work with.
The first time you open Set Sail, it asks whether to share crash reports and usage stats. Both start switched off, and nothing is sent unless you turn one on. You can change either at any time in Settings › Privacy, and turning one off stops it straight away.
When something goes wrong, Set Sail sends a report describing the error: what failed and where in the app's code, the app version, your operating system version, and basic device details such as screen size and memory. Folder paths are shortened so your user name isn't included, and a report never contains your recordings, file names, window titles or anything you have typed. Reports go to Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.), stored in the EU, with storage of IP addresses turned off, and are deleted after 30 days.
Set Sail sends a handful of anonymous events: that a recording was started (with the capture mode and which inputs were on), that one finished (with a rough length such as "2 to 10 minutes", and the file format and quality), that one was discarded or restarted, that one failed (with whether that was while starting, recording or saving, but not the error itself), what was done with a finished recording (copied, dragged, shown in its folder, deleted, or restored after deleting), that Quick Record was used, and that feedback was sent. Each event carries the app version, operating system version and language setting. No identifier for you or your device is sent. Events go to Aptabase, stored in the EU, which tells visits apart using your IP address combined with a key that changes every day and is then thrown away, so activity can't be linked from one day to the next.
If you use Send Feedback, Set Sail sends what you typed, the operating system and screen details shown in the form (which you can edit or clear before sending), the app version, and your email address if you give one. It passes through a Cloudflare Worker and is stored as an issue in a private GitHub repository that only the developer can access. GitHub is based in the US and certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension. Your email address is used only to reply to you. Feedback is kept until it has been dealt with, and is deleted sooner if you ask.
Crash reports and usage stats are sent only with your consent, which you can withdraw at any time in Settings. Feedback is sent only when you choose to send it, and is used to fix problems, consider your suggestion and reply to you.
Your recordings are written to your disk and stay there. Your settings (such as your chosen save folder, quality, and device toggles) are stored in a file on your computer. Background blur for the camera bubble runs entirely on your machine, using a model that ships inside the app rather than one downloaded at runtime.
Apart from the crash reports, usage stats and feedback described above, each of which happens only if you choose it, Set Sail makes no network requests: it does not upload recordings, does not check in with a server, and does not use any advertising service.
Clicking a link in the app's menu or screens opens that page in your normal web browser.
Deleting a recording is up to you: the files are yours, in a folder you chose, and removing the app does not remove them.
If you installed Set Sail from the Microsoft Store or the Mac App Store, those stores may collect their own data about the download and about crashes, under Microsoft's and Apple's privacy policies rather than this one. That happens between you and the store; Set Sail neither sends nor receives any of it.
Set Sail is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect any information from them.
You can ask to see, correct or delete anything you have sent. Because crash reports and usage stats are not linked to you, finding them usually needs some detail from you, such as roughly when a crash happened. If you are in the UK or EU, you can also complain to your data protection authority; in the UK that is the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this address with a new date at the top.
Questions about this policy, or requests to see or delete your data: support@pipturner.co.uk