Data and privacy
What Beam Bench collects, where it goes, how to turn it off.
The short version: Beam Bench does not upload your projects, your machine traffic, or any usage data. Two things do reach the network with default settings: an update check on startup, and the local API server, which ships running and reachable from other devices on your network. Both are documented below; both can be turned off.
What stays on your machine
Your projects, your layer settings, your art library, your machine connection, your console traffic. None of this is uploaded anywhere.
What happens when you send a feedback report
If you use Help → Report a Bug (Feedback Report dialog), the dialog packages:
- The title and description you wrote.
- The app version and build identifier.
- Recent logs (only what is relevant, the bundle is generally a few KB).
- Optionally, your current
.lzrprojproject (the checkbox is opt-in, and shows the project's size). - Optionally, your reply-to email.
Before submitting, the Preview toggle in the dialog shows you the exact JSON that will go over the wire. Nothing is sent that is not in that preview.
Reports go to the Beam Bench feedback endpoint (beambench.com/api/feedback/report).
What about update checks
If Settings → General → Check for updates on startup is enabled, the app makes a single HTTPS request to the update server to see if a new version is available. The request contains the current version and the OS / target. No usage data.
Turn it off if you want zero network activity from Beam Bench.
What about the camera
The Camera panel reads from the OS camera API directly. No frames leave your machine unless you bundle them into a feedback report.
What about the local HTTP API
Beam Bench ships with the local HTTP API on by default, on port 5900, with Allow network devices to connect also on. The server binds to 0.0.0.0 and is reachable from any device on your network. The API is unauthenticated and can drive the machine.
This is not a typical default for a desktop app. If you do not use the API, turn it off:
- Edit → Settings → General.
- Turn Local API off, or leave it on and turn Allow network devices to connect off (which restricts it to
127.0.0.1).
Changes apply immediately, no restart needed. See Settings → General and the HTTP API page for the full surface and security notes.
Crash reports
If Beam Bench crashes, no automatic report is sent. The crash leaves an autosave file you can recover from via the Recovery dialog on next launch. To tell me about the crash, manually use Send Feedback.
What about analytics
There is none in the desktop app. No telemetry. No tracking pixels.
What about the docs site
The website (beambench.com, including these docs) uses Google Analytics to see which pages get visited, behind a cookie consent banner. Nothing loads and no cookie is set unless you accept, and the site works the same if you decline. It counts pages, not people: no ad targeting, no cross-site tracking. Details, the exact cookie names, and a change-your-mind button are in the privacy policy.