MapleDeskYour clients' files never reach us.
MapleDesk is built so that we couldn't read your clients' information even if we tried. Here's how, in plain words, with the technical details for anyone who asks.
Last updated 26 October 2026
The trip a document takes
- Your client's phoneLocked before it leaves
Each document is encrypted in the phone's browser, with a key only your MapleDesk holds.
- Our relayHolds locked bytes, briefly
It can't open what it holds. It deletes each document once you collect it, or after 30 days at most.
- Your computerThe only place it's unlocked
MapleDesk opens it and files it with your client, encrypted again with your passphrase.
Where everything lives
| What | Where it's kept | Who can open it |
|---|---|---|
| Clients, files, notes, invoices and payments | Your computer, encrypted | People in your firm, each with their own passphrase |
| Backups | A folder you choose, such as an external drive or your own cloud folder | Someone who knows your firm's passphrase |
| A document your client is sending | Our relay, for 30 days at most | Only your MapleDesk |
| Your plan | Our server: your plan, and a one-way code made from your computer's hardware id | Us. It holds no client information. |
| Your own name, email and billing details | Us, our email provider and our payment processor | Us, to run your account. See Privacy. |
What we can't do
- Recover a forgotten passphrase. Nobody holds a copy, including us.
- Open a document while it waits on our relay.
- See your clients, files or invoices. They never leave your computer.
- Log in to IRCC with a client's GCKey. IRCC forbids it, so MapleDesk never does it.
The technical details
- Encryption on your computer
- AES-256-GCM, on from the moment you set your passphrase (step 3 of day one). The key comes from your passphrase with PBKDF2 (SHA-256, 310,000 rounds).
- Each person
- Has their own key pair (ECDH P-256) that opens the practice's data. Removing someone replaces the data key, so their old passphrase opens nothing.
- Secure links
- Documents are encrypted on your client's phone before they leave. The relay stores only encrypted bytes and deletes them once you collect them, 30 days at most.
- Updates
- Installed only when signed with MapleDesk's own update key (on a Mac, also by our Apple Developer ID), and only when you say so. Your data is never part of an update, and a safety copy is made the first time a new version runs.
- Backups
- Encrypted like the rest, to a folder you choose. MapleDesk can test that a backup restores.
- This website
- No cookies, analytics, tracking pixels or ads. Fonts, scripts and the film are served from this site itself.
What stays in your hands
You are the custodian of your clients' personal information under PIPEDA and the CICC Code of Professional Conduct, including how long you keep records. MapleDesk reminds you when records are due for destruction. We recommend you also:
- Choose a long passphrase, and keep a written copy somewhere safe.
- Keep a backup on a drive or folder you trust, and test it now and then.
- Turn on your computer's disk encryption (FileVault on a Mac, BitLocker or Device Encryption on Windows) and a screen lock.
- Keep your computer's system updates on.
What we haven't done yet
- No outside security audit or certification (such as SOC 2) yet. When there is one, it will be listed here.
- The Windows installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows warns before it runs. Choose More info, then Run anyway, and only download MapleDesk from this website.
- MapleDesk runs on one computer per practice for now.
Found a problem?
If you think you've found a security problem in MapleDesk or this website, write to us. A person reads every message, and we'll tell you what we found and what we changed.