Privacy policy
Last updated 30 September 2026
PhotosFS doesn't collect, store or share any information about you. It reads your Photos library on your Mac to show it as a disk, and nothing it reads is sent anywhere.
What PhotosFS reads
With your permission, PhotosFS reads your Photos library through Apple's Photos framework: the photos and videos, and details such as their dates, albums, keywords, captions, ratings, favourites and locations. It uses them only to show your library as a disk on your Mac. PhotosFS never changes your library.
What PhotosFS keeps on your Mac
PhotosFS keeps an index of your library, a cache of photos downloaded from iCloud and a list of pending downloads in a hidden folder named .PhotosFS, inside the folder you choose during setup (usually your Pictures folder). Its settings, such as the cache size, are kept in the app's preferences. None of this leaves your Mac.
You can clear the download cache from the menu at any time, and deleting the .PhotosFS folder removes the rest.
The disk and metadata.jsonl
While the disk is mounted, apps on your Mac can read the files on it, as they can on any disk. That includes metadata.jsonl at the top of the disk, which lists every photo with its dates, size, dimensions, rating, caption, keywords, albums, path and, where Photos has one, its location. You can unmount the disk from the menu bar whenever you don't want it available.
Spotlight is kept away from the disk, so its contents aren't added to your Mac's search index.
iCloud Photos
If your library uses iCloud Photos with Optimize Mac Storage, opening a photo that isn't on your Mac asks Apple's Photos framework to download it from your iCloud Photos library. That download happens between your Mac and Apple, under Apple's privacy policy. Turn off Download Photos When Opened in the menu if you only want to use what is already on your Mac.
No network connection of its own
PhotosFS has no servers and no networking code of its own. Apart from the iCloud Photos downloads above, which go through Apple's Photos framework, it doesn't connect to the internet.
Permissions
- Photos, to read your library. Full access is needed to list all of it, and PhotosFS only reads.
- File System Extension, which macOS asks you to switch on in System Settings for any file system extension.
- The folder you choose, to keep the index and download cache.
- Control of Photos, used only by Services › Open in Photos, which asks Photos to show a photo you picked on the disk. macOS asks once, the first time you use it.
- Notifications, which are optional and asked for only when a download runs longer than a few seconds.
No accounts
There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to sign in to.
No analytics, advertising or tracking
PhotosFS contains no analytics, advertising, crash reporting or other third-party code. It never asks to track you across other companies' apps or websites.
Children
PhotosFS collects no data from anyone, so it collects no data from children.
Apple and the App Store
Downloads through the App Store are handled by Apple under Apple's privacy policy. Apple may give us aggregated, anonymous figures, such as download numbers and, if you have chosen to share analytics with app developers, anonymous crash reports. None of this identifies you.
This website
This site doesn't use cookies, analytics or trackers, and it doesn't load anything from other companies. It's hosted by Cloudflare, which processes standard technical information such as IP addresses to deliver the pages and protect them from abuse. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
Changes
If any of this changes, this page will change first, along with the date at the top.
Contact
Questions about privacy: apps@terminalvelocity.co.nz