{"id":"privacy-safety.what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence","url":"/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence","category":{"id":"privacy-safety","title":"Privacy & safety"},"subcategory":{"id":"what-leaves-your-mac","title":"What leaves your Mac"},"question":"What information is shared when I activate a licence?","alt_questions":["What does licence activation send?","Does activating Storage Studio share personal data?","What do you check when I enter my licence code?","storage studio activation privacy","What happens to my email when I activate?","Is my purchase information sent from my Mac?"],"short_answer":"Activation sends the email you purchased with, your purchase reference and an anonymous machine tag — just enough to confirm your plan on this Mac. Your files and card details are never part of it.","answer_markdown":"Only what's needed to confirm your purchase on this Mac: the email you bought with, your purchase reference, and the anonymous machine tag. Your files are never part of it.\n\nAfter activation, Storage Studio checks in quietly from time to time so subscription renewals keep working without you doing anything. If you're offline, it keeps working for an offline grace period (about two weeks) after a successful check.\n\nYour card details are never seen by Storage Studio or stored on your Mac — payments go through a secure checkout run by a payment processor.\n\nSee [Activating your licence](/manual/activate) and the [Privacy Policy](/legal/privacy).","answer_html":"<p>Only what&#39;s needed to confirm your purchase on this Mac: the email you bought with, your purchase reference, and the anonymous machine tag. Your files are never part of it.</p>\n<p>After activation, Storage Studio checks in quietly from time to time so subscription renewals keep working without you doing anything. If you&#39;re offline, it keeps working for an offline grace period (about two weeks) after a successful check.</p>\n<p>Your card details are never seen by Storage Studio or stored on your Mac — payments go through a secure checkout run by a payment processor.</p>\n<p>See <a href=\"/manual/activate\">Activating your licence</a> and the <a href=\"/legal/privacy\">Privacy Policy</a>.</p>","answer_text":"Only what's needed to confirm your purchase on this Mac: the email you bought with, your purchase reference, and the anonymous machine tag. Your files are never part of it.\n\nAfter activation, Storage Studio checks in quietly from time to time so subscription renewals keep working without you doing anything. If you're offline, it keeps working for an offline grace period (about two weeks) after a successful check.\n\nYour card details are never seen by Storage Studio or stored on your Mac — payments go through a secure checkout run by a payment processor.\n\nSee Activating your licence and the Privacy Policy.","tags":["licence","activation","privacy"],"related":[{"id":"privacy-safety.what-is-the-anonymous-machine-tag","question":"What is the anonymous machine tag, and does it identify me?","url":"/faq/privacy-safety/what-is-the-anonymous-machine-tag"},{"id":"privacy-safety.does-storage-studio-see-my-card-details","question":"Does Storage Studio see or store my card details?","url":"/faq/privacy-safety/does-storage-studio-see-my-card-details"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What information is shared when I activate a licence? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Activation sends the email you purchased with, your purchase reference and an anonymous machine tag — just enough to confirm your plan on this Mac. Your files and card details are never part of it.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Privacy & safety","path":"/faq/privacy-safety/"},{"name":"What information is shared when I activate a licence?","path":"/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What information is shared when I activate a licence?","alternateName":["What does licence activation send?","Does activating Storage Studio share personal data?","What do you check when I enter my licence code?","storage studio activation privacy","What happens to my email when I activate?","Is my purchase information sent from my Mac?"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Only what's needed to confirm your purchase on this Mac: the email you bought with, your purchase reference, and the anonymous machine tag. Your files are never part of it.\n\nAfter activation, Storage Studio checks in quietly from time to time so subscription renewals keep working without you doing anything. If you're offline, it keeps working for an offline grace period (about two weeks) after a successful check.\n\nYour card details are never seen by Storage Studio or stored on your Mac — payments go through a secure checkout run by a payment processor.\n\nSee Activating your licence and the Privacy Policy.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence"}}]},"fragment":"<div class=\"wrap fl-wrap\"><div class=\"fl-layout\"><aside class=\"fl-side\" aria-label=\"FAQ topics\"><details open><summary>All topics</summary><ul class=\"fl-tree\"><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/\">Getting started</a> <span>70</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/\">Freeing up space</a> <span>182</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/moving-folders/\">Moving folders</a> <span>144</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/apps/\">Apps</a> <span>146</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/external-drives/\">External drives</a> <span>169</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/finder-location/\">Finding things in Finder</a> <span>70</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/cloud-accounts/\">Cloud accounts</a> <span>158</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/icloud/\">iCloud &amp; iCloud Photos</a> <span>168</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/data-transfers/\">Data Transfers</a> <span>119</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/backups/\">Backups &amp; restore points</a> <span>126</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/delta-drive/\">Delta Drive, Delta Trust &amp; My Drive</a> <span>125</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/bridge-devices/\">Bridge &amp; your devices</a> <span>111</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/duplicates/\">Duplicate files</a> <span>74</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/junk-yard/\">Junk Yard</a> <span>113</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/tuhi-assistant/\">Tuhi, your storage assistant</a> <span>105</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/settings/\">Settings &amp; keep-time</a> <span>88</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/performance-battery/\">Performance &amp; battery</a> <span>62</span></li><li class=\"fl-open\"><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/\" aria-current=\"true\">Privacy &amp; safety</a> <span>85</span><ul><li class=\"fl-on\"><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#what-leaves-your-mac\">What leaves your Mac</a> <span>25</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#permissions\">Permissions and access</a> <span>6</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#file-safety\">Keeping your files safe</a> <span>14</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#undo-and-recovery\">Undo and recovery</a> <span>4</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#accounts-and-credentials\">Accounts, passwords and keys</a> <span>6</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#clipboard-and-devices\">Clipboard, Junk Yard and your devices</a> <span>3</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#ai-privacy\">Tuhi, Apple Intelligence and AI access</a> <span>2</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#trust-and-security\">App trust, updates and security</a> <span>12</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#your-data-and-rights\">Your data, uninstalling and your rights</a> <span>13</span></li></ul></li><li><a href=\"/faq/licensing-payments/\">Licensing &amp; payments</a> <span>131</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/troubleshooting/\">Troubleshooting &amp; messages</a> <span>180</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/comparisons/\">Comparisons &amp; alternatives</a> <span>75</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/mac-storage-basics/\">Mac storage basics</a> <span>315</span></li></ul></details></aside><div class=\"fl-main\"><nav class=\"fl-crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><ol><li><a href=\"/\">Home</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/\">FAQ</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/\">Privacy &amp; safety</a></li><li aria-current=\"page\">What information is shared when I activate a licence?</li></ol></nav>\n<form class=\"fl-search\" action=\"/faq/search\" method=\"get\" role=\"search\" data-fl-search>\n<label class=\"fl-visually-hidden\" for=\"fl-q\">Search the FAQ</label>\n<input id=\"fl-q\" type=\"search\" name=\"q\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Search 2,816 questions…\" autocomplete=\"off\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<button type=\"submit\">Search</button>\n<div class=\"fl-suggest\" role=\"listbox\" hidden></div>\n</form>\n<article class=\"fl-entry\">\n<p class=\"eyebrow fl-eyebrow\"><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/\">Privacy &amp; safety</a> · <a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/#what-leaves-your-mac\">What leaves your Mac</a></p>\n<h1>What information is shared when I activate a licence?</h1>\n<p class=\"fl-short\"><strong>Short answer:</strong> Activation sends the email you purchased with, your purchase reference and an anonymous machine tag — just enough to confirm your plan on this Mac. Your files and card details are never part of it.</p>\n<div class=\"fl-answer\"><p>Only what&#39;s needed to confirm your purchase on this Mac: the email you bought with, your purchase reference, and the anonymous machine tag. Your files are never part of it.</p>\n<p>After activation, Storage Studio checks in quietly from time to time so subscription renewals keep working without you doing anything. If you&#39;re offline, it keeps working for an offline grace period (about two weeks) after a successful check.</p>\n<p>Your card details are never seen by Storage Studio or stored on your Mac — payments go through a secure checkout run by a payment processor.</p>\n<p>See <a href=\"/manual/activate\">Activating your licence</a> and the <a href=\"/legal/privacy\">Privacy Policy</a>.</p></div>\n\n<p class=\"fl-meta\">Last reviewed <time datetime=\"2026-10-01\">October 1, 2026</time></p>\n\n<section class=\"fl-related\"><h2>Related questions</h2><ul><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/what-is-the-anonymous-machine-tag\">What is the anonymous machine tag, and does it identify me?</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/does-storage-studio-see-my-card-details\">Does Storage Studio see or store my card details?</a></li></ul></section>\n<p class=\"fl-formats\">Also available as <a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence.md\">Markdown</a> and <a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/what-information-is-shared-when-i-activate-a-licence.json\">JSON</a>.</p>\n</article></div></div></div>"}