ProductPrivacy
Why Voidcanvas runs in your browser, and what never leaves it
Voidcanvas has no account and never uploads your files. Here is why it is built that way, what stays on your device, and the short list of things that do go over the network.
Voidcanvas is a free design suite: Studio for client jobs, the Editor for layered design, and Effects for one-click image treatments. All of it runs inside your browser. There is no account to make, and your images and designs are never uploaded. This post explains why I built it that way and exactly where the line sits between your device and the network.
Where this comes from
Voidcanvas is made by MotionPlay Labs, a design and software studio between Lagos and Kent. It is the follow-up to Art Director Studio, which I built for designers in Nigeria. Voidcanvas keeps the same focus on the working designer and takes a firm position on files: they stay with you.
The reasoning is simple. Much of what designers handle is not theirs to share. Campaigns before launch, event artwork before the announcement, a client's logo files under an NDA. A tool that sends every file to a server asks you to trust that server, its staff and its security. A tool that never sends the file removes the question.
There is a practical side too. When editing happens on your own machine, there is no upload to wait for before you can start on a large PSD, and nothing slows down because a server is busy. Once you have visited, the app keeps a copy of itself and works offline. See Install Voidcanvas as an app.
What stays on your device
Editing, effects, the AI tools, Studio boards and every export run in the browser. These are never sent anywhere:
- Your images, photos, PSDs and PDFs.
- Your designs, layers, text and anything you type into them.
- File names and design names.
- Studio jobs, briefs, references, brands and brand guidelines.
- Fonts you add from files on your computer. They are never requested from Google.
Your work is saved in a database inside the browser (IndexedDB, named voidcanvas). The Editor autosaves about two seconds after each change. Even the handoff between modules stays local: when Effects sends a photo to the Editor, it writes to a small inbox in the same browser storage, and the Editor picks it up from there.
What does go over the network
Running in a browser does not mean nothing ever loads. Here is the complete list.
| What | Why | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| The app itself | To load the pages and, once installed, update them. | Ordinary page requests. |
| Web fonts from Google Fonts | So text layers can use fonts such as Inter or Playfair Display. | The font family name. No text or design. |
| AI model files, first use only | The on-device AI tools need their model downloaded once. | A download from jsDelivr and Hugging Face. Your image is not sent. |
| Anonymous usage counts | To see which tools get used and what breaks. | Event names and small settings. Details below. |
| Feedback and bug reports | Only when you press send. | What you type, plus basic device context. |
Usage counts record events such as 'a design was exported as PNG'. Each carries the event name, small settings like a file type or export size, the page, the device type, browser, operating system, time zone, language and screen size, and a random id for the browser and the visit. They never contain images, file names, text or layer content. At most 600 events are sent in one visit, and error messages have web addresses removed.
Turning usage counts off
- In the Editor, open Help, Your privacy. It is also in the V menu and in the header of the home page.
- Switch off Share anonymous usage counts.
They are also off automatically in a private session, and when your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control.
The AI tools run here too
Remove background, Select subject, Object select, Remove object and Expand with AI fill all run the model inside your browser. The first time you use one, it asks before downloading. After that the model is cached and works offline. The models range from MODNet at 26 MB to LaMa at 208 MB, and Help, AI on this device lists them with Remove downloaded models if you want the space back. There are no credits: the tools are free because the work happens on your hardware. Browser support explains what WebGPU changes.
The trade-off, stated plainly
No cloud copy means your work lives in this browser, on this device. Open Voidcanvas in another browser or on another computer and your designs are not there. Clearing the site's data in your browser settings deletes them for good.
So backups are a file you keep. File, Download project file (.void) saves the whole editable design as one file, and the export dialog's Save editable file makes a .void.png that previews as a normal image and opens with every layer. Both are how you move a design to another machine. Saving and your files covers the details.
On your own machine, Delete all my data removes the whole Voidcanvas database from the browser in one step. It asks first, and it cannot be undone.
Why I think it is the right trade
A design tool that holds your files for you can offer sync and sharing. It also has to be trusted with everything you make. I would rather be clear that backups are your job and never be in a position to lose, leak or look at your work. Everything else in Voidcanvas, from the Studio brief reader to the effects, is built on that starting point. What Voidcanvas sends is the reference page, and it is kept to the same standard as the code.
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