Privacy & terms
2Shift is a free Mac app that improves selected text using either 20 included daily requests paid by 2Shift, or your own OpenAI API key. Contact hello@2shift.app about the app, your privacy or data from the former beta.
Included requests and the daily allowance
Free mode sends your selected text and chosen writing mode over HTTPS to the 2Shift server, which forwards the request to OpenAI using a server-side key. That key is never sent to the app or website. The allowance is 20 successful requests per Mac per day, resetting at 00:00 UTC. Requests that return an AI result count even if you later change the selection or do not paste it.
A random installation token is stored in this Mac’s Keychain and sent to our server to check and enforce the allowance. We store hashes of that token and the connection IP address, daily counters and dates. These are pseudonymous usage records, not writing history. Daily records are pruned when new requests arrive, keeping the current and previous UTC day. Infrastructure security logs may have a separate retention period.
Additional limits protect the funded service from abuse: currently 100 attempts per network address per day and 2,000 attempts across the service per day, plus a short-term request limit. Failed attempts count toward these safety limits even when your personal daily allowance is restored. These limits may change. With no login, the allowance is per installation, not verified per person; it cannot prevent every form of identifier or network rotation.
Your own API key
Your key is saved in macOS Keychain on your Mac. It is not stored in the app’s plain-text preferences, embedded in the download or sent to a 2Shift server. It is used to authenticate requests directly to api.openai.com. You can replace or remove it in 2Shift Settings, and revoke it in your OpenAI account.
Your selected text
When you press a writing shortcut, 2Shift reads your selection and sends it, together with the selected writing instruction, to OpenAI over HTTPS. Free mode goes through the 2Shift server; your own-key mode communicates directly with OpenAI. The app may temporarily read the focused field and its contents to check that the original selection is still safe to replace. That surrounding field content is not included in the AI request.
2Shift does not save a writing history to disk or log the selected text or API keys. Free mode records only the quota and safety metadata described above; personal-key requests are not metered by the 2Shift server. Text remains in memory while a request is running. If your selection changes, a result can remain in the menu until you copy it, dismiss it, start another request or quit.
The app uses the system clipboard for copy-and-paste compatibility. It restores a temporary clipboard snapshot when possible, provided no newer copy has replaced it. Image/PDF clipboard snapshots and snapshots larger than 10 MB are not retained; in that case the replacement may remain on the clipboard. Clipboard managers and the destination app can access clipboard content under their own policies.
OpenAI processing
OpenAI receives and processes your selected text under its API terms and data controls (2Shift’s API account for free requests, your account when you use your own key). Requests ask not to store the completion as application state (store: false); this does not guarantee zero retention by OpenAI. See OpenAI’s data controls for retention, abuse monitoring and training policies.
macOS permissions
Accessibility allows 2Shift to read the selection and deliver replacement text to another app after your shortcut. You can revoke this permission in System Settings. Launch at login is optional and can be disabled in 2Shift or macOS Login Items. Closing the app’s window leaves it running; Quit stops it.
The website and download
No account or email address is required to download. The site does not use marketing cookies, tracking pixels or third-party fonts. Hosting infrastructure processes normal connection information, such as an IP address, to deliver pages and downloads, and may retain operational or security logs. Website and download requests do not contain text processed by the Mac app or your API key. The separate free-mode AI endpoint does receive the selected text as described above.
Former beta data
The earlier beta collected email addresses, anonymous installation identifiers and usage metadata. Version 2.1 does not collect emails or use beta licences. New free-mode usage is tracked separately using the allowance metadata described above. Existing beta records have not been automatically erased by this migration. To request access to or deletion of a previous record, contact hello@2shift.app. Do not include your API key.
Price and requirements
The 2Shift app is free. There are no paid 2Shift plans. Free mode includes 20 requests per Mac per day, paid by 2Shift, subject to the service safety limits. Using your own key removes the daily 2Shift quota; OpenAI API usage is then billed to your own OpenAI account and is separate from a ChatGPT subscription. Your API account’s access rules, rate limits and billing apply. The app requires internet access and macOS 14.3 or later.
Review your results
AI output can contain errors or change meaning. Review replacements before sending or relying on them. App compatibility depends on support for Accessibility or standard copy and paste. Some protected fields and custom editors do not support replacement. Service availability and response times depend in part on your network and OpenAI.