if you have them installed via the app?

galaxy?

Yes, if you go into setting you set it to alert you to any updates and whether to automatically download them. You can also set it to alert you if a game tries to send any sensitive data of yours to an third party.

Edit: just make sure any games you want it to update are still in the folder you set it to download and install games to.

Yep, I can confirm thraxman is correct about those settings ... just checked them.

I had no idea Itch even has a client. I'll admit, I don't use that site very much, but still, it seems they're not pushing it too hard. Which is nice.

Its not great, very resource heavy and when using it on a laptop you can steadily feel it it heat up while its running. It really just displays the web pages, allows automatic updates and acts as some DRM for certain games. Its getting better, updated very frequently and is pretty stable.

So it's not entirely optional?

You obviously have not read what “optional” means nowadays.

As for the itch.io client, I do hope it won’t catch on. Running out of places where you don’t have to subscribe, install their spyware, just to play a game.

If optional means you don't need it to play or download DRM-Free games from Itch.io, then I guess it is optional ... I've never used it to do either. In fact I have only installed it to check it out ... and as a local viewing library of sorts.

Like thraxman says though it may be required for the DRM games you get from Itch, and perhaps even the multiplayer part of some DRM-Free games ... I have no idea.

I've found it to be much much zippier than Galaxy ... not really noticed any bloat. It certainly starts up quickly on my low powered PC ... light years faster than other clients I have tried.

Not saying any client is a good thing, but far better this one than the others I have experienced.