Doc Sanitizer terms of service
These terms govern your use of Doc Sanitizer (the “app”), a macOS application published by WHITEFORGE TECHNOLOGIES LTD (“Whiteforge”, “we”), a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17224707). By installing or using the app, you agree to these terms.
How Doc Sanitizer handles your data is described separately in the Doc Sanitizer privacy policy.
1. Beta status
Doc Sanitizer is currently distributed as a pre-release (“beta”) version for evaluation and feedback. Beta versions may contain defects, may produce unexpected results, and may be changed or withdrawn at any time. Although every save is verified before completing (see section 5), you should keep a copy of any source document and review every sanitised output before relying on it.
2. Licence
Doc Sanitizer is licensed to you, not sold. Subject to your compliance with these terms, Whiteforge grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use the app on Apple computers running macOS that you own or control.
3. Distribution
Doc Sanitizer is distributed directly by Whiteforge as a Developer ID signed and Apple-notarized disk image (.dmg), outside the Mac App Store. Apple’s notarization confirms only that the app has been scanned for known malicious components and is signed by an identified Apple developer; it is not an endorsement by Apple of the app’s functionality.
4. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- use the app for any unlawful purpose;
- use the app to alter or destroy documents that you are legally required to preserve in their original form, or that you are not authorised to modify;
- reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the app except where applicable law expressly permits it;
- attempt to interfere with, circumvent, or disable any security feature of the app, including the per-save verification step.
5. Sanitisation is best-effort and must be checked
Doc Sanitizer is designed to remove the standard metadata-bearing parts inside an OOXML document — the docProps trio (core.xml, app.xml, custom.xml); Word’s tracked-change wrappers and comments parts; Excel’s comments, pivot caches, external links, data connections, query tables and persons registry; PowerPoint’s speaker notes, comments and ink annotations; and across all three formats: embedded files, VBA macros, and custom XML — and to verify the result by re-inspecting the output and confirming the metadata categories are actually gone before letting the save complete. If verification fails, the save fails — Doc Sanitizer will not write a sanitised file it cannot verify.
However, Office document formats are vast, individual producer tools (Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, Pages export, third-party generators) vary in what they emit, and Whiteforge cannot guarantee that Doc Sanitizer detects or removes every category of hidden data in every document. The app removes hidden metadata categories — it does not modify the visible body content (text, tables, slides, charts). You remain responsible for reviewing every sanitised document before publishing or sharing it.
6. No warranty
Doc Sanitizer is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Whiteforge disclaims all warranties, whether express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that it will detect or remove every kind of hidden data in every document. The app makes no claim of legal or regulatory compliance.
You should not rely on Doc Sanitizer as the sole means of safeguarding sensitive information in documents you publish or share. Always review the sanitised output in an independent tool before distribution.
7. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Whiteforge will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or reputation, arising out of or in connection with your use of Doc Sanitizer — including any damages arising from a sanitised document that nevertheless contains data you intended to remove.
Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, Whiteforge’s total aggregate liability is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid for Doc Sanitizer in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) ten pounds sterling (£10).
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded under the laws of England and Wales, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
8. Third-party components
Doc Sanitizer incorporates the following open-source components. Each is used under the terms of its respective licence, copies of which are included with the app:
- Tauri — Apache License 2.0 / MIT License. Used as the application shell.
- quick-xml, zip-rs — MIT License. Used as the OOXML walker and zip writer.
9. Third-party trademarks
“Apple”, “macOS”, “Mac”, and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. “Microsoft”, “Word”, “Excel”, “PowerPoint” and “Office” are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Doc Sanitizer is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple or Microsoft. Their marks are used in Doc Sanitizer and on this website for descriptive purposes only.
10. Termination
You can stop using Doc Sanitizer at any time by moving the Doc Sanitizer.app bundle to the Trash. We may suspend or end your right to use Doc Sanitizer if you materially breach these terms. The disclaimers, liability limits, and governing-law sections survive termination.
11. Changes
We may update these terms from time to time. Updates will be reflected by the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes will be highlighted at the top for a reasonable period. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised terms.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except where mandatory consumer protection law in your country of residence grants you the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.
13. Contact
Whiteforge Technologies Ltd
support@whiteforgetech.co.uk