Updated September 29, 2026
Drawbly stores one working draft in this browser, plus a previous draft for recovery. Drawing content and titles are not uploaded to our analytics service. Export a PNG to share or an editable drawing file to keep. Each drawing file includes an identifier so continuing the same drawing does not count as starting another one. Older files receive a stable identifier when opened. Clearing browser data removes local drawings and preferences.
Layout views are part of the browser draft and editable drawing file. If you choose Copy share link, Drawbly compresses the drawing into the URL fragment on this device. Anyone you send that link to can view its contents and edit a separate copy. The fragment is not uploaded to Drawbly or stored as a cloud drawing; sharing apps and browsers may retain the link. Links cannot include imported images or very large drawings. Use an image or editable file for those.
When production accounts are available, Clerk handles sign-up and sign-in. Signing up alone does not enable cloud saving or credit removal. A paid subscriber can choose Save to account, which stores the compressed editable drawing and title in Drawbly's hosted database under their Clerk user ID. Saved drawings can be reopened on another device after sign-in. Up to 30 saved drawings are allowed per account. If a subscription ends, existing drawings remain accessible for opening and deletion; new cloud saves require a paid plan. When Clerk sends a verified account-deletion event, Drawbly deletes that account's saved drawings and usage record. The localhost trial uses a separate private file on this computer and is not cloud sync.
When AI enhancement is available, choosing Generate sends a rendered PNG of the current drawing to OpenRouter and its image model for an edit. The returned preview stays in this browser unless you download it; Drawbly does not save the generated image. The original editable drawing is unchanged. OpenRouter and the model provider may process the image under their own API terms. Paid use counts and free trial use counts are stored with the account.
Images you import stay on this device and become part of your browser draft and editable drawing file. Large images are resized to keep drafts manageable. Microphone access is requested only when you start a live recording with narration enabled. The canvas video and microphone audio are processed in this browser, never uploaded by Drawbly. Pause excludes that time from the video. Stop ends microphone access. Recordings are held in memory until you save or share them, start a new recording, or leave the page; they are not included in autosave or editable drawing files. Save your video before leaving. Sharing hands the file to the app you choose.
Recipes, background images and supplied narration are processed locally. Recipes do not replace your current canvas and are not autosaved. Save the recipe and keep the original narration file beside it. No AI service, speech API or cloud rendering is called. The optional command-line renderer also works locally. Files are not uploaded by Drawbly.
Our self-hosted Umami service measures visits across Drawbly pages, referral sites, campaign tags, browser and device types, and approximate location. Its tracker does not set a cookie. It processes a network address to derive session and location information, but does not store the raw address in its analytics database. We limit the page address sent to its path and validated campaign tags; we reduce referring addresses to their site origin. Search terms, other query parameters, fragments, drawing content, titles and file names are not sent. Fixed article topics, intended audience categories and diagram types can be linked to later canvas actions in the same tab for up to two hours. These labels describe the page, not the person or their drawing. We also count fixed video-guide actions such as prompt copying and renderer-kit download clicks. A topic typed into that guide stays on the page and is never included in analytics. Download clicks do not prove that a video was completed locally. We do not enable session replay or heatmaps.
We also keep our original private activity counters for successful template openings, drawing edits and PNG, editable-file and video download/share handoffs. A secure first-party cookie recognizes a browser for up to 90 days. The database stores keyed hashes of browser and drawing identifiers, sessions, event types, fixed template IDs, UTC dates, validated campaign labels and coarse referrer categories, including recognized AI assistants. Continuing the same identified drawing does not create another new drawing. Umami's visitors and visits use different definitions, so its totals will not match the original report. Both reports require owner authentication; no public dashboard is enabled.
On a first visit, some desktop browsers may see a one-time question when the mouse leaves through the top of the page. A local marker remembers that the site and question were shown, and a random no-question group helps us check whether asking affects downloads. If you choose an answer or dismiss the card, the original private counter stores only the choice or dismissal event, browser/session hashes and date. It never receives the drawing or a typed answer. The question follows the same usage-count opt-out and Global Privacy Control setting.
The original activity counter keeps event detail for the latest 90 UTC dates and removes inactive browser and drawing identifiers after 90 days. Cleanup occurs on measured visits or owner login. Self-hosted Umami currently retains its page and event data until the owner removes it; it has no automatic 90-day expiry. Earlier daily aggregate-only totals remain separate historical data.
To limit abuse of the original counter, the server derives short-lived keyed hashes from the hosting network address header. Raw addresses are not saved in that analytics database. Rate-limit records expire within an hour and are removed during cleanup. Original-report owner sessions expire after eight hours; signing out revokes the session. Umami has separate password-protected owner access.
Open Help & privacy in the canvas and select Turn off usage counts; template pages have the same control in their footer. This stops future collection in both systems and requests removal of the original measurement cookie. Global Privacy Control also stops both. The legacy Do Not Track setting does not stop these usage counts. The setting applies to this browser; clearing browser data resets it. Turning counts off does not erase earlier events or your drawing. Contact drawbly.ops@gmail.com about previously recorded data.
When you send feedback, your browser sends your message and optional reply email through FormSubmit to drawbly.ops@gmail.com. No drawing, title, analytics identifier or attachment is included. Your email is used to respond to your feedback. Feedback is kept in the ops mailbox for support; contact that address to request deletion. FormSubmit receives the browser network request (including its IP address) and processes the submission under its own privacy policy, and Gmail stores the delivered email. Short-lived keyed network hashes limit spam; feedback works even when usage counts are off.
The hosting service processes network requests, including IP addresses and browser headers, to deliver the site. Its service logs are separate from the analytics database and follow its own retention policies. Google Fonts receives requests to load the app’s typefaces. Only an explicit AI enhance action makes an AI request. Drawbly uses no advertising trackers or cross-site tracking cookies.