# Spectacle privacy rating

KDE's screenshot and screen recording app for Linux. It captures the desktop, a monitor, a window or a region, with annotation tools, and saves, copies or shares the result.

## Summary

Spectacle scores 85 out of 100 (grade B) on the screenshots and screen recording criteria. It meets 5 of 6 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, saved locally by default and no account needed. It does not meet independent audit. It is based in Germany: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR).

- Website: https://apps.kde.org/spectacle/
- Source code: https://invent.kde.org/plasma/spectacle
- Jurisdiction: Germany. Fourteen Eyes member. EU member (GDPR).
- Platforms: Linux
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [Screenshots and screen recording](https://privacyratings.com/screen-recording/)
- Also rated: [KMail](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/kmail/) (Email clients), [Kleopatra](https://privacyratings.com/pgp-tools/kleopatra/) (PGP tools), [Filelight](https://privacyratings.com/disk-usage-analyzers/filelight/) (Disk usage analyzers), [KRunner](https://privacyratings.com/launchers/krunner/) (App launchers), [Ark](https://privacyratings.com/archivers/ark/) (File archivers), [Okular](https://privacyratings.com/pdf-tools/okular/) (PDF readers and editors), [Konsole](https://privacyratings.com/terminals/konsole/) (Terminals), [Kasts](https://privacyratings.com/media-players/kasts/) (Media and podcast players)
- Grade: B (85/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | GPL-2.0-or-later and LGPL, with some files under BSD-3-Clause. | https://invent.kde.org/plasma/spectacle/-/tree/master/LICENSES |
| No trackers or telemetry | Yes | No third-party trackers, and KDE app telemetry is opt-in. KDE websites use self-hosted Matomo with cookies disabled and IP addresses anonymized. | https://kde.org/privacypolicy/ |
| No ads or data sales | Yes | Free open-source app with no ads, funded by donations to KDE e.V. | https://kde.org/donate/ |
| Independent audit | No | No independent audit is published. |  |
| Saved locally by default | Yes | Captures are saved locally. KDE apps only send data as a result of an explicit user action, such as sharing a capture. | https://kde.org/privacypolicy-apps/ |
| No account needed | Yes | No account is needed. | https://apps.kde.org/spectacle/ |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/screen-recording/spectacle/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/screen-recording/spectacle.md