Private by design
We can't see your collection. By design.
Most apps store your data on a server they own. ClearBench doesn't. Here's what that actually means, and why it matters whether you collect minerals, coins, stamps, fossils, anything else, or sell them.
Lives on your computer
Every label and collection record is saved on your hard drive. No server holds a copy of your collection. Sync between your own machines is optional and on the roadmap; if you ever turn it on, your data is encrypted on your device first, so our server only sees an unreadable blob, never your collection.
No tracking
No analytics on what you type, photograph, or print. We don't measure how often you open the app or which menus you click. We can't see your collection because we never receive it.
No lock-in
Your backups are plain JSON files you can open in any text editor, plus CSV, Excel, and plain-text exports for sharing. If we vanish tomorrow, your collection is still yours, in formats other tools can use.
The difference isn't a setting. It's the architecture.
Most collection apps keep your catalogue on a server they control. ClearBench keeps it on your computer. That one decision changes everything downstream.
Most collection apps
- Your catalogue lives on their server
- Staff, partners, or a breach can read your valuations, localities, and photos
- A hack of their database exposes your whole collection
- If they shut down, your data can go with them
- Analytics quietly track what you add and do
ClearBench
- Your catalogue lives on your computer
- We never receive it, so there's nothing for us, or anyone, to read
- A breach of our server exposes nothing — we hold no collection data
- If we vanish, your catalogue is still on your disk in open formats
- No analytics on your collection, ever
Why each type cares.
The architecture is the same for every collector. The reasons it matters change depending on what you collect. Here's the version of this story that probably applies to you.
Minerals
Localities have consequences
A precise mine + pocket name in a searchable database can attract amateurs, devalue specimens, or even put a productive site at risk of cleanout. Your localities never leave your computer.
Read the minerals story →
Coins
Theft and insurance risk
A high-value coin collection is exactly the kind of asset you don't want listed somewhere a third party can read. Slab IDs, valuations, and acquisition costs sit on your machine, nowhere else.
Read the coins story →
Stamps
Rarities are a target
A serious philatelic collection, particularly with classic-era material, is the kind of asset you'd rather not advertise. Catalogue numbers, condition, and valuations stay local.
Read the stamps story →
Fossils
GPS coordinates kill sites
Precise locality data in a searchable database can get a productive site stripped within a season, or expose collectors to scrutiny from regulators. Coordinates physically cannot reach our servers.
Read the fossils story →
Watches
Serial numbers attract attention
A list of high-value watches with serial numbers, photos, and acquisition prices is exactly the kind of asset that shouldn't sit on a third party's server. Serials, valuations, and service history stay on your machine.
Read the watches story →
Vinyl
First pressings are a target
A serious record collection, particularly with valuable first pressings, is the kind of asset you don't want listed on a third party's server. Pressings, matrix details, and grades stay on your computer.
Read the vinyl story →
Trading cards
Slab numbers shouldn't be public
High-value graded cards with cert numbers, photos, and acquisition prices are exactly what you don't want on a marketplace's server. Slab IDs, parallels, and grades stay local.
Read the trading cards story →
Antiquarian books
A library is a target
A serious antiquarian library, particularly with high-spot first editions, is the kind of asset you'd rather not advertise. Catalogue numbers, condition, and provenance stay on your computer.
Read the antiquarian books story →
Meteorites
Recovery sites get stripped
Precise recovery coordinates in a searchable database can attract amateurs to a productive find site or expose collectors to regulatory scrutiny. Locations stay on your machine alone.
Read the meteorites story →
Vintage cameras
Serial numbers stay private
A list of high-value cameras with serial numbers, photos, and acquisition prices is exactly the kind of data you don't want on a third party's server. Serials, models, and valuations stay local.
Read the vintage cameras story →
Antique maps
A portfolio is a target
A serious map portfolio, particularly with high-spot first states, is the kind of asset you'd rather not advertise. Cartographer, condition, and valuations stay on your computer.
Read the antique maps story →
Whisky
A cellar is a high-value target
A serious whisky collection has values that warrant private cataloguing. Distillery names, valuations, fill levels, and acquisition prices stay on your computer, never on a third party's server.
Read the whisky story →
Dealers
Your stock and your books
Stock items, acquisition costs, sale prices, margins, ROI by locality. None of it leaves your computer. We can't read your books because we never receive them; we can't subpoena what we don't hold.
Read the dealers story →
Why does this matter?
Collections are valuable. The acquisition prices, the dealers, the storage locations, the photos. Some of that data should stay yours alone.
Insurance and valuation
A complete cloud catalogue with prices and photos is a target. Yours sits on your computer, behind your password, where you decide who sees it.
Acquisition stories
Some pieces have stories you wouldn't share publicly. The dealer who brought it to your kitchen table at 2am. The trade that didn't quite go to plan. ClearBench keeps that to you.
Estate and inheritance
When the time comes, your catalogue can be handed to family or an executor on your computer. Nobody needs to ask a third party for the keys.
Surviving the company
If ClearBench shuts down, your data is on your computer in a file format you can open. We can't strand you.
The entire list of what ever reaches our servers
Not a sample, not the highlights. This is everything. We're a small business and we hold the bare minimum to run your licence and email you when there's an update.
- ·Your email address (so we can send your licence and major release notes)
- ·Your name (only if you tell us)
- ·A record that you have an active licence and when it expires
- ·Your purchase receipt, held by Lemon Squeezy on our behalf for tax purposes
- ·When sync between your own devices ships (planned for a later release, not in the current version): an encrypted blob containing your ClearBench data. We will not be able to read it. Your passphrase, which is the only thing that can decrypt it, will never reach our server. Today there is no sync, so there is no blob.
- ·Reference databases for specific collection types (LEGO sets from Rebrickable, for example) can be downloaded to your computer to enable lookup by set number, ISBN, or similar. The download is opt-in, the database lives on your computer, and updates are user-initiated. The download itself reaches the upstream provider (not us); item images, if you opt to load them, are fetched from the source CDN one at a time on your request and cached locally. No information about your collection is included in any of these requests.
That's the whole list. We can't see what's in your collection, how many items it contains, your photos, your label designs, your valuations, or, if you sell, your stock list and sales records.