Chapter 26 of 26
Metrics and Telemetry
What we collect and why
We collect three pieces of information about PatchMon instances in the field:
- Quantity of installations / live setups
- Quantity of hosts being monitored
- Version number of the instance
This lets us produce a live statistic on patchmon.net showing adoption across the community, and (more importantly) lets us know how many instances are running an older version if a security issue is found.
This was discussed with the community on Discord; the original conversation is pinned in the Security channel.
What we do not collect
- IP addresses. IPs are not written to any log or stored when your instance reaches out to us.
- Host, user, or package data. Only the three fields above, plus a random instance UUID that identifies your install across reports.
How to opt out
Go to Settings → Metrics in the web UI and toggle the schedule off. From that moment, your instance stops sending telemetry.
FAQ
How do I delete the information you have about my instance?
Email support@patchmon.net with your UUID and we will remove your entry from the database. This is the only time we can associate your UUID with your instance, so once it is deleted we have no further link back to you.
What happens if I regenerate my instance ID?
A new instance ID appears in our reports and is counted as a new instance. We have no way to know which instance it replaced. Our website metric counts only instances active in the last 7 days, so old UUIDs drop out after a week.
Can I see the code for this?
Yes, PatchMon is open source. You can inspect the metrics collector in the PatchMon repository.