I know some people won't use it because it's from China.
I wonder if those are the same who are perfectly fine with US software, written under a jurisdiction that spies on you.
I sounds like you are focusing on the country more than the unknowns about the developer.
Did you run Bloom on your computer?
The government of the USA is a long way from perfect, but they are far less repressive than China. The communists in China continuously spy on all their citizens, and morally bankrupt companies like Google are happy to help. I avoid all of them like the plague.I wonder if those are the same who are perfectly fine with US software, written under a jurisdiction that spies on you.
The communists in China continuously spy on all their citizens, and morally bankrupt companies like Google are happy to help.
You said “China”, as if that was relevant. I don’t know most developers of any software I use.
Not yet, I’m out of town for the weekend. I plan to do it next week.
Many users have said they don't recommend it for privacy or security reasons. It seems they are not being honest with the privacy documentation.I'm taking look at qspace - looks impressive.
I saw a blurb about that, maybe in this thread - can you expound on it? Sounds like they send telemetry back to the mothership?they don't recommend it for privacy or security reasons.
Many users have said they don't recommend it for privacy or security reasons. It seems they are not being honest with the privacy documentation.
Which part is dishonest?
"QSpace version and account email address, macOS version and language, IP address, user ID and device ID."
"The information we collected is only used for QSpace functions and will not share with any third-parties."
"We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If there are updates, you can receive notifications in QSpace 4.0 and above."
"PayPal payment related information: name, email address and address."
"Others: Google Drive Privacy Policy"
🔴 1️⃣ They collect more data than seems strictly necessary
- Why it’s a red flag:
They collect device ID and IP address, which together can uniquely track a user across networks and devices — beyond what you'd expect for a file manager or productivity app.
🔴 2️⃣ Vague data usage explanation
- Why it’s a red flag:
They don’t define "QSpace functions" — it’s too broad.
What exactly are those functions? Updates? Analytics? Error reporting? Marketing?
A policy should explicitly describe specific uses.
🔴 3️⃣ No clear retention policy
- Why it’s a red flag:
They don’t say how long they keep your data.
A responsible policy explains if data is kept permanently, only while the account is active, or a specific number of years.
🔴 4️⃣ No mention of security measures
- Why it’s a red flag:
No mention of data encryption, secure storage practices, or compliance with security standards (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).
They just leave you guessing if they’re protecting your data or not.
🔴 5️⃣ Overly broad update clause
- Why it’s a red flag:
They can change the policy without requiring you to accept or even properly review it.
Also, "receive notifications" is vague — will it be a popup? An email? A subtle mention you might not see?
🔴 6️⃣ Lack of opt-out or control options
- Why it’s a red flag:
There’s no mention of allowing you to access, correct, or delete your data.
No opt-out of specific data collection (e.g., telemetry or analytics).
Modern privacy standards almost always include these rights.
🔴 7️⃣ They mention PayPal data but no security details
- Why it’s a red flag:
They mention collecting sensitive payment data, but they don’t clarify how it is secured or whether they store it or just pass it to PayPal.
Payment data needs strong security guarantees.
🔴 8️⃣ Mysterious "Others" section
- Why it’s a red flag:
It’s left hanging without context.
Do they integrate with Google Drive? Do they sync your files? Do they collect Google Drive metadata?
There’s no explanation of what data is transferred, stored, or accessed.
In short:
✅ The policy is super minimal — too simple for the amount of data they collect.
✅ It uses broad terms and lacks details on usage, sharing, security, and retention.
✅ It doesn’t give you any real control.
✅ It opens the door to future changes without meaningful consent.
Are you for real?
I am an absolute fan of QSpace. I know some people won't use it because it's from China. But, the QSpace developer doesn't hide that at all. Bloom's site doesn't mention where they're from, but the developer is in China. I do not hold that against them and plan on trying it in the future.
On the other hand, any software website that doesn't have something like "about us" on it worries me. I will give Bloom a few years to get a bit of a reputation before I risk installing it. Brand new (the first release was a month ago), anonymous software is a serious risk, especially when it's given full access to all of your files.
Bloom's website shows the name INCHMAN1900 and the email asiafu1900@gmail.com. On https://github.com/INCHMAN1900/ you can see the location of Beijing and the domain asiafu.com (registered in 2018). The person is a pretty new developer with a few tiny projects on Github starting in 2017. I'm definitely going to give it a few years before testing it. At least give it long enough for Apple's security software to become aware of any problems in it.
I wonder if those are the same who are perfectly fine with US software, written under a jurisdiction that spies on you.
Certain telemetry goes back to the developer, from what I can remember it is debugging data only. IO've tried (I tyhink) all alternative file managers out there and I keep on coming back to QSpace Pro. It is fully featured and regularly updated. Any bugs I've reported are quickly fixed.
If China spies on you, what can they do?
In any case, a file manager is very dangerous because it will see all your files and you never know what is reported back
If you want to know what is being sent back and forth from your Mac, use Little Snitch or Lulu. Said apps can also give you more granular control over data packet use as well as specifically denying connections to and from your Mac.actually China is better than USA. If China spies on you, what can they do? but if USA spies on you and you are in USA they can use it against you.
In any case, a file manager is very dangerous because it will see all your files and you never know what is reported back
how do you know what info goes back? they can be scanning your whole HDD and making copies
Start with what China is doing with the Uyghurs....If China spies on you, what can they do?...
If you want to know what is being sent back and forth from your Mac, use Little Snitch or Lulu.
Deny internet access. Done.
Have you been able to figure out what actual data is transmitted? Applications probably use TLS (aka SSL) when communicating to their servers and that encrypted traffic is what is visible to Little Snitch. Correct me if I'm wrong. So, it would be hard to distinguish between my email address being sent versus my bank account number.
It is possible to set up man-in-the-middle interception and I've done it in the past using Fiddler. But, it's not entirely trivial and wouldn't be easy for the layman.