Privacy policy

Mister Download Manager ("MDM") is free, open-source software made by Ahmed Nefzaoui and contributors. Because its whole source code is public at github.com/anefzaoui/misterdownloadmanager, you don't have to take this page's word for it: every network connection described here can be checked in the code.

The app

What stays on your computer

Your download list, settings, logins you save in Sites Logins, the history of each download and the files you download are stored only on your computer: in %APPDATA%\misterdownloadmanager on Windows (or the data folder of the portable copy), and in the usual application-data folder on macOS and Linux. Nothing is uploaded anywhere. Uninstalling offers to delete them.

Who the app talks to, and why

• The servers you download from. To download a file, MDM connects to the server that holds it and sends what any browser would: the request, and the cookies, referrer and browser identification the extension passed along, so downloads that need you to be signed in keep working. Those servers see your IP address, as they would if your browser downloaded the file.
• Your proxy, if you set one in Options → Proxy / Socks, and your network's proxy auto-config script, if you point MDM at one.
• GitHub, to check for updates. Once a week MDM asks GitHub's public API for the latest release of MDM (api.github.com/repos/anefzaoui/misterdownloadmanager/releases/latest). The request carries MDM's version in its User-Agent and nothing else. Turn the weekly check off in Help → Check for updates. If you choose Update now, MDM downloads the new version's file and its signed checksum list from the same GitHub release. GitHub's own privacy statement applies to these requests.
• GitHub, for video helpers. If you use Download video from a page, MDM downloads yt-dlp (and ffmpeg, if you want merged qualities) from their official GitHub releases, checks them, and once per session asks GitHub whether yt-dlp has a newer release. yt-dlp then talks to the video site you asked for, as your browser would.
• Torrent peers and trackers. When you download a torrent, MDM connects to the trackers listed in the torrent, to the BitTorrent DHT network and to other peers, who see your IP address and which pieces you have. To accept connections it may ask your router to open a port (UPnP). This is how BitTorrent works; it ends when the torrent stops.
• Your AI assistant, only if you connect one. MDM's MCP server (misterdownloadmanager-mcp) talks only to the MDM on your computer. But if you add it to an AI assistant (Claude, Cursor, VS Code…) and turn on the automation API, the assistant can read your download list, and what it reads (file names, addresses, folders) goes to that assistant's AI service, under its privacy terms. Nothing of this happens unless you set it up; see AI assistants.

MDM has no analytics, no crash reporting, no telemetry and no advertising. It never sends us your download list, the addresses you download, or anything else.

Reporting a problem

Help → Report a problem opens GitHub's bug report form in your browser with MDM's version, your system and its version, how MDM was installed and your language filled in. Nothing is sent until you choose to submit it on GitHub, where it becomes public; read it before you post.

The automation API

The automation API is off by default. When you turn it on, it listens only on 127.0.0.1 (your own computer) and answers only programs that present the secret token from MDM's data folder.

The browser extension

The Mister Download Manager Integration Module extension for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi and Firefox:

• When you start a download that MDM should take, it passes the download's address, the page it came from, the site's cookies for that address and your browser's User-Agent to MDM on your computer, through the browser's native-messaging channel. Nothing goes over the internet.
• Its Download video button reads the page only to find video elements and place the button. Clicking it passes the page's address to MDM.
• It stores its own settings (on or off, file types, where you dragged the video button) in the browser's extension storage, on your computer.
• It has no remote code, no analytics and no ads, and sends nothing to us or anyone else.

Its permissions, and why: downloads to see and hand over downloads; cookies so signed-in downloads work in MDM; nativeMessaging to talk to MDM; contextMenus for the right-click item; storage for its settings; access to all sites because downloads and videos can come from any site.

This website

misterdownloadmanager.com is a static site. Three companies take part in showing it to you:

• GitHub Pages hosts it. GitHub receives your IP address and browser details when you visit and may keep them in its server logs for security; see the GitHub Privacy Statement. Download links lead to GitHub Releases.
• Cloudflare sits in front of the site: every request passes through its network, which sees your IP address and browser details, protects the site from attacks and may set a cookie needed for that. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
• Statcounter counts visits so we know which pages people read and where they come from. Its script records the page you open, the page that linked to it, your browser, system and screen size, and your approximate location from your IP address, and sets a cookie to tell new visitors from returning ones. We see these as statistics in Statcounter's dashboard; we don't use them to identify you, and we don't sell or share them. See Statcounter's privacy policy. Blocking cookies or scripts for statcounter.com in your browser, or a content blocker, keeps you out of the count; the site works the same.

The site has no ads and no other trackers. Its fonts and scripts are served from the site itself. Your choice of light or dark mode is remembered in your browser's local storage and never sent anywhere.

Children

The app and the extension collect no personal data from anyone, children included. The website's visit counter doesn't know who you are or how old you are.

Your rights

The app and the extension hold no personal data about you, so there is nothing for us to show, correct or delete there. The website's visit statistics are held by Statcounter; to have records of your visits removed, open an issue with the date and time of your visit, or ask Statcounter directly. Data that you send to GitHub (an issue, for example) is handled by GitHub and can be edited or deleted there.

Changes

If MDM or this website ever needs to use a new service, this page will say so first, and the change will be listed in What's new. Past versions of this page are in the project's history on GitHub.

Questions

Open an issue on GitHub. For anything sensitive, use GitHub's private security advisory form.