Privacy
Universal Game Launcher is engineered to keep your gaming data strictly on your machine. This document explicitly outlines what is processed locally and what minimal network activity may occur.
🏠 Local by Default
- All library discovery, collection organization, categorizations, and playtime calculations run 100% locally on your machine.
- There is no telemetry, no usage tracking, no remote logging, no user account system, and no first-party telemetry server.
- Your gaming library, installed paths, playtime records, and account identifiers are never uploaded to HELIX Origin or any central cloud service.
🌐 Network Communication
Universal Game Launcher operates fully offline. The only outbound HTTP requests that ever occur are metadata and artwork lookups you trigger, and they connect directly to the respective third-party provider — never through an intermediary proxy:
| Destination | When Triggered | API Key Required |
|---|---|---|
store.steampowered.com |
Fetching official Steam Store details & CDN artwork | ❌ No |
embed.gog.com |
Fetching official GOG catalog descriptions & covers | ❌ No |
store-content.ak.epicgames.com |
Fetching Epic Games Store catalog manifests & keyart | ❌ No |
itch.io/api |
Fetching itch.io indie game details & creator profiles | ❌ No |
api.thegamesdb.net |
Fetching retro console ROM metadata & authentic box art | ❌ No (Optional dev key) |
screenscraper.fr |
Fetching multi-console ROM box art, wheel logos & video snaps | ❌ No |
howlongtobeat.com |
Fetching community gameplay completion times | ❌ No |
www.pcgamingwiki.com |
Fetching game engine, FOV/widescreen fixes, and save locations | ❌ No |
www.protondb.com |
Fetching Linux & Steam Deck compatibility ratings | ❌ No |
www.gamerpower.com |
Fetching 100% free game giveaways, promotions, and patch notes | ❌ No |
api.steamgriddb.com |
Fetching community capsule covers, heroes, logos, and square icons | ✅ Yes (Optional) |
id.twitch.tv / api.igdb.com |
Fetching IGDB game taxonomy, franchise links, and critic ratings | ✅ Yes (Optional) |
Each provider endpoint receives only what its specific API query requires — typically a game title string or numeric app ID, along with your user-configured API key (if keyed).
🗄️ Local Persistence
- Local SQLite Database (
database.sqlite): Persists custom collections, user title overrides, favorite flags, and cached metadata records locally on your system. - In-Memory KV Cache (
mem_kv): Sub-millisecond transient key-value cache persisted to disk on shutdown. - Settings (
settings.json): Application preferences and localized UI selections stored in your user configuration directory. - Backups (
backups/): Timestamped backups taken prior to physical file relocations.
You can purge or reset the metadata and artwork cache at any time under Settings → Local Storage & Cache Architecture.
➡️ Next Steps
- Security Model — non-invasive invariants and credential boundaries.
- Metadata Providers Reference — provider details and capabilities.