LIWC
LIWC Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 13, 2026
LIWC-22 analyzes your text entirely on your own computer: we never receive, see, or store the text you analyze or the results you produce.
This policy is issued by Pennebaker Conglomerates, Inc., a Texas corporation ("we," "us"), which owns and sells the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. It covers:
- the LIWC-22 desktop application and command-line interface (CLI) for Windows, macOS, and Linux;
- purchases and licenses of LIWC-22;
- the website at liwc.app; and
- your communications with us.
This policy applies to individual and academic purchasers of LIWC-22. If you hold a commercial license through another vendor, that vendor's own agreement and privacy terms govern your relationship with them.
As a brief summary and more informal policy: we (Pennebaker Conglomerates) don't track what you do with LIWC-22, and we never see the text you analyze unless you explicitly send it to us. Purchases are made through the FastSpring point-of-sale system, which gives us your order details but never your credit card or payment details. The app checks your license with our licensing provider, and our website uses cookieless Google Analytics to count visits. We keep records of sales and emails for record-keeping purposes, and we never sell them or use them for advertising.
What the LIWC-22 application sends
The application makes only two kinds of network connection, and neither contains your text, files, or results.
| Connection | Destination | What is sent | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| License activation and validation | Keygen (api.keygen.sh), our licensing provider | Your serial number, a machine fingerprint (an identifier derived from your computer), and basic technical details such as operating system and app version. Like any internet request, it also reveals your IP address. | At activation, deactivation, and about once an hour while the app is running |
| Update check | liwc.app/version-number | A request for the latest version number. No license or personal information is included. | When the app checks for updates |
All connections use encrypted HTTPS. The application does not send:
- any text, documents, or files you load or analyze;
- any analysis output, dictionaries, or settings;
- usage analytics, telemetry, or crash reports.
An internet connection is needed to activate LIWC-22 and to keep the license valid. Your data still never leaves your computer.
Information we collect
We collect only what we need to sell, license, and support LIWC.
| Category | Examples | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase information | Name, email address, institution or organization, country, billing address, order and license details | You, through our reseller FastSpring |
| License records | Serial number, license type and term, activation status, machine fingerprints, and activation dates | The LIWC-22 app, through Keygen |
| Website logs | IP address, browser type, referring page, pages visited, date and time | Your browser, via our web host (server logs) and Google Analytics |
| Communications | Your name, email address, and whatever you write to us | You, when you email us or use the contact form |
We do not collect or receive payment card numbers. FastSpring processes all payments and shows us only the order details listed above.
We do not collect demographic, biometric, health, or financial-account information, and we do not buy data about you from other sources.
How we use information
We use your information only to provide LIWC to you, and never for advertising or profiling.
| Purpose | Legal basis (for GDPR and UK GDPR) |
|---|---|
| Fulfilling orders, issuing serial numbers, and validating licenses | Performance of our contract with you |
| Providing support and answering questions | Performance of contract; legitimate interests |
| Sending essential notices about your license, security, or major changes to LIWC | Performance of contract; legitimate interests |
| Preventing license misuse and fraud | Legitimate interests |
| Keeping tax, accounting, and legal records | Legal obligation |
| Operating and securing the website | Legitimate interests |
We do not use your information for automated decision-making that has legal or similarly significant effects on you. We do not train machine-learning or AI models on your information.
Who we share information with
We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
We share information only with the service providers that help us run LIWC, and only as much as each needs:
- FastSpring is our reseller and merchant of record. It processes orders and payments under its own privacy policy.
- Keygen issues and validates license keys.
- Our website hosting provider serves liwc.app and keeps standard server logs.
- Google Analytics measures traffic to the liwc.app website. It does not receive any information from the LIWC-22 application.
- Our contracted developers may see license and support records when they need them to fix a problem.
We may also disclose information:
- to an acquirer or successor, if LIWC or our business is sold or transferred, under terms that keep this policy's protections; and
- to law enforcement or government agencies, only when we are served with a valid subpoena, warrant, or court order, or when the law requires it. We do not disclose information voluntarily without legal process.
Because we never receive the text you analyze with LIWC-22, we cannot disclose it to anyone.
Cookies and website tracking
The liwc.app website uses Google Analytics in a cookieless mode: it stores no analytics cookies in your browser and is used only to count visits and see which pages are viewed. Google Analytics receives basic information such as pages visited, browser type, and general location. The website shows no advertising and runs no advertising trackers. The website may use a small number of cookies needed for it to work and to remember your preferences.
The LIWC-22 application uses no cookies, tracking pixels, or analytics.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The website will still work, though some preferences may not be remembered. You can also opt out of Google Analytics on all websites with Google's opt-out browser add-on.
How long we keep information
We keep purchase, license, and support records for as long as they remain useful for running LIWC: verifying licenses, answering support questions, and meeting tax and accounting requirements. In practice, this means we keep sales records and support emails long-term, and we do not delete them on a fixed schedule.
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Purchase and license records | Long-term, as business, licensing, and tax records |
| Machine activation records | Until you deactivate that computer or your license ends |
| Website server logs | Up to 12 months; typically cleared far more often |
| Support emails | Long-term, as a record of past support |
FastSpring keeps its own records of your purchase under its privacy policy, and we may receive copies of those records in data exports from FastSpring.
You can ask us to delete your purchase, license, or support records at any time. We will do so unless we must keep them to meet a legal, tax, or accounting obligation, in which case we will keep only what is required.
Security
Our strongest protection is the design of LIWC-22: your text is processed only on your computer, so there is no copy of it on our side to breach.
For the limited information we do hold:
- all network traffic, from the app and from the website, is encrypted with HTTPS/TLS;
- payment data stays with FastSpring and never reaches us;
- access to purchase and license records is limited to the few people who need it; and
- the macOS app is signed and notarized by Apple, and we scan releases for malware before publishing them.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.
Your rights
You can ask us at any time to see, correct, export, or delete the personal information we hold about you.
Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to:
- object to or restrict how we use your information;
- withdraw consent you have given;
- receive your information in a portable format; and
- complain to your data protection authority (in the EEA or UK).
Residents of US states with consumer privacy laws, such as California (CCPA/CPRA) and Texas (TDPSA), have similar rights to access, correct, and delete their information. We do not sell or "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those laws define it.
To make a request, email info@liwc.app. We may need to confirm your identity, and we will respond within 30 days. We will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.
For institutions and researchers
Institutions and researchers keep full control of their data, because LIWC-22 never transmits it to us or anyone else.
This means:
- text containing student records (FERPA), health information (HIPAA), or research participant data stays on the computer where you analyze it, under your institution's controls;
- we are not a processor or subprocessor of the data you analyze, and we have no access to it;
- the security of that data depends on your own computer and network, for example disk encryption and access controls; and
- you remain responsible for meeting your IRB, ethics, and data-protection obligations for that data.
For security questionnaires such as the HECVAT, or questions about site or network licenses, email info@liwc.app.
International users
We are based in the United States, and the limited information we hold (purchase, license, and website records) is stored and processed there.
If you buy LIWC from outside the US, your purchase and license information is transferred to the US so we can fulfill your order and validate your license. Our service providers protect that information with safeguards appropriate under applicable law. The text you analyze is never transferred, because it never leaves your computer.
Children
LIWC is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA and UK). If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the new version here and update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we handle your information, we will also email active license holders before it takes effect.
Contact us
Pennebaker Conglomerates, Inc.
Austin, Texas, USA
Email: info@liwc.app
Web: liwc.app/contact