Software That Leaves You in Control of Your Data

Ownership is not a slogan; it comes down to a few testable questions.

• Where is the primary copy stored, and who can switch off access to it?
• Can you export everything, in formats other software reads?
• Can you back it up yourself, and restore it without the vendor?
• Does the software send data or usage information anywhere?

Primary copies are on your computer: documents as files, a workspace as a folder, a shop as a business file. Exports use common formats, such as PDF from Aev Word, CSV, Excel, JSON and PDF from Aevornix Forms, and PDF, CSV and Excel reports from Aevornix POS. Backups are yours to place. Several applications state explicitly that they send nothing: Aevornix Browser has no telemetry, analytics or crash reporting; Aevornix Guard sends no telemetry; Aevornix Authenticate makes no network connection.

Ownership includes responsibility. With no vendor cloud holding a copy, a lost laptop without a backup is lost data. Keep at least one backup off the device, and protect the device with Windows sign-in and disk encryption.

Before adopting any application, try these steps with a small amount of real data. They take an afternoon and answer the ownership question better than any claim on a website.

• Create some records, then export them and open the export in a different program.
• Make a backup, move it to another computer, and restore it there.
• Disconnect from the internet and check that you can still open and change everything.
• Find out, from the vendor's own documentation, what the software sends over the network and when.

The local-first software hub explains the approach, local-first versus cloud software compares the models, and keeping business data local looks at it from a company's point of view.