Private by design: how Bimlyte keeps your BIM models on your device
Bimlyte is a private, local-first IFC viewer and BCF manager. When you open an IFC or BCF file, it is processed entirely by your own browser, on your own device — your models are never uploaded to our servers, and we operate no backend that could store, read, or recover them.
Does Bimlyte upload my IFC files?
No. Bimlyte does not upload your IFC or BCF files to any server in order to open them. Parsing the geometry, reading the model data, and managing BCF issues all run client-side, in your browser, on the machine you are using.
That makes Bimlyte a practical choice when you need a fast IFC review tool but cannot upload project models to a third-party platform — for example confidential models, NDA-protected work, early design files, and internal coordination files. The file simply never leaves your device.
Where is my project data stored?
Your work stays on your own device. Bimlyte saves your models and BCF work in your browser's local storage — including the Origin Private File System (OPFS), a modern browser feature that lets the app handle large files directly and efficiently on your device.
Because the data lives in your browser, how much you can store is limited only by your device — Bimlyte imposes no limits — and clearing your browser storage removes it. When you want a copy you can keep, back up, or hand over, export a .bimlyte package or a report.
Is my BIM data used for AI training or data mining?
No. Your project data is never analyzed by AI, mined, profiled, sold, or copied to an external database. Because Bimlyte has no project-data backend, there is simply no server-side copy of your models to train on or monetize.
This isolation is the whole point of a local-first design: your intellectual property and your clients' confidential information stay under your control, on your hardware.
Can I share a model without uploading it to the cloud?
Yes. When you deliberately choose to hand a project to someone, the .bimlyte format bundles your IFC, BCF, saved views, and viewer settings into a single portable file that you send yourself — there is no shared cloud drive in the middle.
You can optionally protect that .bimlyte file with a password before you share it. The recipient opens it right in their browser, with no BIM software to install.
Do I need an account to use Bimlyte?
No. Bimlyte requires no account, no sign-up, and no login. You open a file and you are already working, with the full toolset available from the first second.
Because there is no account, there is no user profile, no password database, and no personal project history stored on our side — one less place your data could be exposed.
Where can I read Bimlyte's full privacy terms?
This page explains, in plain language, how the Bimlyte app is built to keep your models on your device. For the app's complete, formal privacy terms, open the Bimlyte app's Privacy Policy using the button below.
Whichever way you read it, the principle is the same: Bimlyte runs on your device, and your project files stay under your control.