Privacy Policy for Net Flow
Last Updated: September 17, 2026
Author / Maintainer: Rishabh Kumar (admin@rockerrishabh.me)
Net Flow is an open-source, non-commercial, individual-maintained network telemetry monitor and native Windows 11 widget. This Privacy Policy outlines how Net Flow operates and explains our strict commitment to user privacy, data minimization, and transparency.
1. Summary: 100% Offline & Zero Data Collection
Net Flow adheres to a strict zero-telemetry, zero-collection policy:
- No Outbound Network Requests: Net Flow does not send telemetry, analytics, crash reports, or diagnostics over the internet. It makes zero outbound network connections.
- No Personal Data Collection: Net Flow does not collect, log, store, or transmit personal identifiers, browsing history, DNS queries, packet contents, IP addresses, or location data.
- Local-Only Processing: All bandwidth computations, telemetry waveform rendering, and process attribution occur exclusively in-memory on your local machine.
2. Why Windows Mentions “Precise Location”
When running Net Flow on Windows 11, Windows may show Net Flow under Settings → Privacy & security → Location or display a location icon in the taskbar notification area.
Technical Explanation
- Friendly Wi-Fi Network Name: In the widget card header, Net Flow displays the name of your active Wi-Fi network (for example,
Home-5G or Office-Guest) instead of an unhelpful generic device string.
- The Win32 Wi-Fi API: To read the active SSID, Net Flow queries the Windows Native Wi-Fi API (
wlanapi.dll via WlanQueryInterface).
- Microsoft’s Privacy Grouping: Because Wi-Fi network identifiers (SSIDs and BSSIDs) can theoretically be cross-referenced against global Wi-Fi positioning databases to estimate geographic position, Windows 10 and Windows 11 group all native Wi-Fi query APIs under the “Precise Location” permission umbrella.
Our Guarantee
- Net Flow does not track or estimate your geographic location.
- Net Flow contains no GPS code, no geolocation libraries, and no reverse-geocoding calls.
- The SSID is read solely to render the human-readable text label in the widget header and is never written to disk or sent anywhere.
Running Without Location Permission
If you prefer not to grant location access:
- Open Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Location.
- Turn off location access globally or for desktop applications.
- Net Flow will continue to operate with 100% functionality. It gracefully falls back to displaying the generic adapter name (
Wi-Fi) in the card header.
3. Local Data & Session Persistence
Net Flow persists minimal state locally on your computer to support its widget capabilities:
- Widget Configuration: User preferences configured in the card settings (selected speed unit, chart timeframe, and interface filters) are saved locally using standard Windows App SDK widget state storage.
- Cumulative Session Counters: Total bytes sent and received during the current session are saved locally in
%LocalAppData% so your cumulative totals persist across system reboots or widget reloads.
- Diagnostic Logging: A lightweight, thread-safe diagnostic log (
%TEMP%\netflow_widget.log) records widget lifecycle events (initialization, activation, shutdown). It is capped at 1 MB, automatically rotates to .old, is never transmitted off your machine, and can be deleted at any time.
- Inline Reset: You can clear cumulative session totals at any time by clicking the inline Reset button directly on the widget card.
- Data Deletion: Uninstalling the Net Flow package completely removes all associated local settings and session data from your machine.
4. Third-Party Services & Dependencies
Net Flow is an independent open-source project and does not integrate with any third-party analytics, advertising networks, tracking SDKs, or cloud services.
5. Security & Elevation
- Net Flow runs strictly as a non-elevated standard user application.
- It does not require administrator privileges (UAC elevation).
- Network transfer rates are polled via read-only Windows IP Helper APIs (
GetIfTable2), ensuring your system configuration is never modified.
6. Open Source Transparency
Because Net Flow is open-source under the MIT OR Apache-2.0 dual license, the entire codebase is publicly auditable. You can inspect the complete source code, review API calls, and build the project from scratch at:
👉 https://github.com/rockerrishabh/Net-Flow
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy or Net Flow’s privacy practices, please contact: