Who runs Bandwidth Meter
Bandwidth Meter is developed and published by Abokado Labs, a small dev shop. Contact: [email protected].
What Bandwidth Meter reads
Network counters. macOS exposes per-process byte counters through its network statistics APIs. Bandwidth Meter samples those counters periodically while it is running and computes the deltas to estimate current upload and download rates per app. It does not read packet contents and it does not see what any app is sending or receiving — only the byte totals.
App identity. For each process consuming bandwidth, Bandwidth Meter looks up the process name, app bundle, and signing identity through standard macOS APIs so it can group helper processes under the parent app (Safari/WebKit under Safari, Electron helpers under their host app, common system daemons under System Services).
Network identity. Bandwidth Meter reads your current network interface details (active interface, Wi-Fi signal strength, local IP address) through the standard macOS network APIs. Reading the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) requires macOS Location Services permission because macOS treats SSID access as location-sensitive. The Wi-Fi name display is opt-in — denying the permission leaves the field blank and does not affect any other feature.
Public IP and advertised location. When you ask Bandwidth Meter to refresh its network identity panel, it calls ipapi.co to look up the city, region, and country associated with your current public IP. This is the same kind of lookup most VPN providers' "are you connected?" pages do. The lookup is a standard HTTPS request; ipapi.co sees your public IP as it would for any web request you make.
Speed tests. Bandwidth Meter uses Apple's built-in networkQuality command to run speed tests. networkQuality performs a test against Apple's supported infrastructure. Bandwidth Meter does not run the test against any Abokado-operated endpoint, and the test results are stored only on your Mac.
What Bandwidth Meter does not do
- It does not read packet contents.
- It does not decrypt, route, or filter network traffic.
- It does not install a Network Extension, content filter, VPN profile, packet filter, or kernel/system extension.
- It does not include any analytics SDKs, crash reporters that phone home, or telemetry of any kind.
- It does not transmit your bandwidth history, app activity, network identity, or speed test history anywhere.
Where data is stored
Per-app bandwidth history and speed test results are stored locally on your Mac in a SQLite database managed through Core Data. Nothing is synced to iCloud and nothing is uploaded. You can delete the local database by quitting Bandwidth Meter and removing its data folder from ~/Library/Containers/.
Update checks
Bandwidth Meter uses Sparkle, an open-source macOS update framework, to check for new versions. The app periodically fetches https://abokadolabs.com/bandwidth-meter/appcast.xml over HTTPS. The standard web-server log entry that creates (IP address, timestamp, user agent) is the only record kept on our side, and it is used solely to operate the website. Updates are signed with an EdDSA key whose public half is built into the app; the private half is held by Abokado Labs and never leaves a developer machine.
You can disable update checks in the app's settings if you'd prefer to update manually.
Children
Bandwidth Meter is a developer / power-user utility. It is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect any data, from anyone, of any age.
Changes
If this policy changes, the revised version will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Material changes will be announced in the app's release notes.
Contact
Questions or concerns: [email protected].
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple, Ookla, or any of the network services Bandwidth Meter happens to detect on your machine.