Privacy in PromptMason
Where your library is kept, when anything leaves your PC, and the settings that keep private work private.
PromptMason keeps your library on your PC. Your blocks, prompts, documents, variables and chats aren’t stored on a PromptMason server, and you don’t need an account to use them. Your text leaves your PC only when you take an action that sends it somewhere: running an AI feature with a cloud provider, connecting an AI agent, typing into a website, or choosing a folder to sync or back up to. This page explains each of those, so you can decide what to share, with whom, and when.
What stays on your PC
- Your library. Blocks, prompts, documents, variables, comments, expected output and attachments are saved on this PC. Their text is encrypted on disk and unlocked by your Windows account. See How your data is protected on this PC for what is and isn’t encrypted.
- Your chats. Chats are saved on this PC only, encrypted. They aren’t synced to your other PCs, and they aren’t in exports or backups.
- Your AI keys. Keys you add for an AI provider are stored encrypted on this PC and are never exported.
- A record of your AI use. PromptMason keeps a log of each AI run (when, which provider and model, and how many tokens), without your text, on this PC. See What AI features send, and where.
PromptMason has no analytics, usage tracking or crash reporting. It checks updates.promptmason.ai for new versions, which receives none of your text.
When something leaves your PC
Nothing in this list happens unless you set it up or start it.
| What you do | What leaves your PC | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Run AI assist, Evaluate or Chat with a cloud provider | The text you’re working on, your instruction, and PromptMason’s instructions for the task. For Chat, the conversation, anything the chat reads from your library, and the parts of PromptMason’s guides it looks up to answer a question about using PromptMason. | That provider (for example OpenAI or Anthropic), under its own terms. |
| Use the local model | None of your text. The model runs on this PC. Downloading it fetches the model file from PromptMason’s download server, which receives no text from you. | Stays on this PC. |
| Connect an AI agent (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code) through PromptMason’s MCP server | What the agent reads from your library, at the level you allow. | The agent’s own service, under its terms. |
| Use the Chrome extension | Nothing goes online. The extension talks only to PromptMason on this PC. | Stays on this PC, until you paste a prompt somewhere. |
| Type into a web tab, or use Run in this tab | What you type or insert into the site. | That website. |
| Sync a library to your other PCs or a team | Encrypted, signed files. | The folder you choose, in cloud storage you already use. The storage company can’t read what’s inside them. |
| Turn on backups | Encrypted backup files. | The folder you choose. |
| Export your library | A file with your library in plain, readable form. | Wherever you save it. |
| Enter a license key | When you activate it: the key, a random ID for this PC, and this PC’s name. When PromptMason starts and every 24 hours after that: the key, the random ID and the reference the service gave this PC when you activated, to check the key is still valid. | The license service run by our payment provider, Polar. Your library is never part of it. A PC with no key makes no checks. See How your license is checked. |
Choosing what to share with AI
You can use cloud AI providers as much as you like. When a block or prompt holds something private, such as client names, figures or contract terms, these habits keep you in control:
- Use the local model for private text. It works offline once it’s downloaded, and none of your text leaves your PC. Pick it in the Model list for that run, or make it your Default AI provider. See Free, private AI on your PC.
- Check before you send. Evaluate → Privacy looks for personal, financial or confidential details. Run it with the local model so the check itself stays on your PC. See Evaluate a block, prompt or document.
- Keep private values in variables. Write
{{client name}}in the block and fill the value in when you copy. AI assist then sees the variable’s name, not its value. See Variables. - Decide whether your other blocks go along. Use my own blocks as examples is off at first. If you turn it on, AI assist with a cloud provider sends a few of your other blocks of the same type as examples. Leave it off, or turn it off again, with Use my own blocks as examples in Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions. See What AI features send, and where.
- Read the line under a chat’s header. It says whether that chat stays on this computer or which provider its messages go to. See Chat and context.
- Set what AI agents can do. Settings → AI & connected apps → What connected apps can do offers Full access (the setting at first), Read-only or Off, and Chat with a cloud provider follows the same setting. See Control what connected apps can do.
What a provider or website does with your text after it arrives is decided by that provider’s terms, not by PromptMason. Check them for the services you use.
Privacy settings at a glance
| Setting | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Local model (private) | Settings → AI & connected apps | AI assist, Evaluate and Chat with none of your text sent from your PC. |
| Default AI provider | Settings → AI & connected apps | Which provider a new run or chat starts with. |
| Use my own blocks as examples | Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions | Whether AI assist sends some of your other blocks with a cloud request. |
| Preview what’s sent | Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions | Shows exactly what goes to the model for a task. |
| What connected apps can do | Settings → AI & connected apps | Full access, Read-only or Off for AI agents, the Chrome extension and Chat’s library tools. |
| What AI apps can do in a team library | Settings → Libraries & sharing → Manage → Name and AI apps (primary owner) | Limits what AI agents and Chat can see and change in that library. It doesn’t limit a member’s own AI assist or Evaluate. |
| Regenerate API token / Regenerate extension token | Settings → AI & connected apps | Cuts off an agent or extension you no longer trust. |
| App Lock | Settings → Privacy & security | Locks PromptMason’s window with a password. |
| Remember values on this computer | Settings → Privacy & security | Whether PromptMason remembers the values you type for variables that ask each time. |
| Delete all chats, Browsing history, Clear browsing data | Settings → Chat | Remove chats and what web tabs keep. |
| Clear activity | Settings → AI & connected apps | Deletes the record of AI runs. |
| Delete forever | Archive → Recently deleted | Removes an item from this PC now instead of after 30 days. |
What this approach means for you
Because your library lives on your PC:
- You decide where copies of your library exist. Apart from text you send to a provider, agent or website, your library is on this PC, in folders you choose for sync or backups, and in files you export.
- You choose the AI for each task. The same prompt can go to the local model one time and a cloud provider the next. A provider receives only what that feature sends, as listed above.
- Much of your work doesn’t need the internet. Writing blocks, building and copying prompts, and the local model all work offline.
- Your library isn’t tied to an account. Export everything saves your personal library to a file you can keep or import on another PC. See Export and import.
Where PromptMason’s protection ends
- Text you send to a provider, agent or website is handled under that service’s terms.
- Exported files aren’t encrypted. Keep them somewhere only you can open, or delete them when you’re done.
- Names aren’t encrypted. Names, types, tags, folder names and dates are stored as plain text on this PC, so search works.
- App Lock locks the window, not the library. While PromptMason is locked, connected AI agents and the Chrome extension can still reach your library at the level you allow. To stop them, set What connected apps can do to Off. See Lock PromptMason with a password.
- Anyone with access to your Windows account can open PromptMason as you, unless App Lock is on.
More detail
- How your data is protected on this PC
- What AI features send, and where
- How PromptMason keeps your libraries safe, for sync, team libraries and backups
- Control what connected apps can do
Want a hand?
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant, and it walks you through it step by step.
I work with confidential material and want to use PromptMason without exposing it. Explain what PromptMason keeps on my PC, when my text leaves it, and which settings I should use for sensitive work.
Copy adds a short note about PromptMason and this guide's steps, so the assistant has what it needs.
I work with confidential material and want to use PromptMason without exposing it. Explain what PromptMason keeps on my PC, when my text leaves it, and which settings I should use for sensitive work. About PromptMason: a Windows desktop app for building AI prompts from reusable blocks. A person writes blocks (reusable pieces of prompt text), builds prompts from them on the Build screen (or keeps a Markdown document, such as a Skill), and copies a prompt into an AI tool, runs it in PromptMason’s own Chat, or lets a connected AI agent use it through PromptMason’s built-in MCP server (the Chrome extension copies prompts on any website). AI assist, Evaluate and Chat use a local model that runs on the person’s PC, or their own AI provider. The guides are also on PromptMason’s Help screen, and Chat can answer “how do I” questions from them. Libraries hold the blocks and prompts; a person can sync their personal library to their other PCs and share team libraries, both through a folder in cloud storage they already have (OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox). Everything synced is encrypted and every edit is signed and checked. A recovery kit (a file plus a code) is the spare copy of the person’s keys, for when every PC is lost. The official guide for this is "Privacy in PromptMason": https://promptmason.ai/docs/privacy-overview Its full text follows, between the lines. Use it as the source of truth, and if anything I see differs from it, tell me rather than guessing. --- PromptMason keeps your library on your PC. Your blocks, prompts, documents, variables and chats aren't stored on a PromptMason server, and you don't need an account to use them. Your text leaves your PC only when you take an action that sends it somewhere: running an AI feature with a cloud provider, connecting an AI agent, typing into a website, or choosing a folder to sync or back up to. This page explains each of those, so you can decide what to share, with whom, and when. ## What stays on your PC - **Your library.** Blocks, prompts, documents, variables, comments, expected output and attachments are saved on this PC. Their text is encrypted on disk and unlocked by your Windows account. See [How your data is protected on this PC](https://promptmason.ai/docs/data-on-this-pc) for what is and isn't encrypted. - **Your chats.** Chats are saved on this PC only, encrypted. They aren't synced to your other PCs, and they aren't in exports or backups. - **Your AI keys.** Keys you add for an AI provider are stored encrypted on this PC and are never exported. - **A record of your AI use.** PromptMason keeps a log of each AI run (when, which provider and model, and how many tokens), without your text, on this PC. See [What AI features send, and where](https://promptmason.ai/docs/ai-privacy). PromptMason has no analytics, usage tracking or crash reporting. It checks updates.promptmason.ai for new versions, which receives none of your text. ## When something leaves your PC Nothing in this list happens unless you set it up or start it. | What you do | What leaves your PC | Where it goes | |---|---|---| | Run AI assist, Evaluate or Chat with a **cloud provider** | The text you're working on, your instruction, and PromptMason's instructions for the task. For Chat, the conversation, anything the chat reads from your library, and the parts of PromptMason's guides it looks up to answer a question about using PromptMason. | That provider (for example OpenAI or Anthropic), under its own terms. | | Use the **local model** | None of your text. The model runs on this PC. Downloading it fetches the model file from PromptMason's download server, which receives no text from you. | Stays on this PC. | | Connect an **AI agent** (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code) through PromptMason's [MCP server](https://promptmason.ai/docs/mcp-server) | What the agent reads from your library, at the level you allow. | The agent's own service, under its terms. | | Use the **Chrome extension** | Nothing goes online. The extension talks only to PromptMason on this PC. | Stays on this PC, until you paste a prompt somewhere. | | Type into a **web tab**, or use **Run in this tab** | What you type or insert into the site. | That website. | | **Sync** a library to your other PCs or a team | Encrypted, signed files. | The folder you choose, in cloud storage you already use. The storage company can't read what's inside them. | | Turn on **backups** | Encrypted backup files. | The folder you choose. | | **Export** your library | A file with your library in plain, readable form. | Wherever you save it. | | Enter a **license key** | When you activate it: the key, a random ID for this PC, and this PC's name. When PromptMason starts and every 24 hours after that: the key, the random ID and the reference the service gave this PC when you activated, to check the key is still valid. | The license service run by our payment provider, Polar. Your library is never part of it. A PC with no key makes no checks. See [How your license is checked](https://promptmason.ai/docs/license#how-your-license-is-checked). | ## Choosing what to share with AI You can use cloud AI providers as much as you like. When a block or prompt holds something private, such as client names, figures or contract terms, these habits keep you in control: 1. **Use the local model for private text.** It works offline once it's downloaded, and none of your text leaves your PC. Pick it in the **Model** list for that run, or make it your **Default AI provider**. See [Free, private AI on your PC](https://promptmason.ai/docs/local-model). 2. **Check before you send.** **Evaluate → Privacy** looks for personal, financial or confidential details. Run it with the local model so the check itself stays on your PC. See [Evaluate a block, prompt or document](https://promptmason.ai/docs/evaluate). 3. **Keep private values in variables.** Write `{{client name}}` in the block and fill the value in when you copy. AI assist then sees the variable's name, not its value. See [Variables](https://promptmason.ai/docs/variables). 4. **Decide whether your other blocks go along.** **Use my own blocks as examples** is off at first. If you turn it on, AI assist with a cloud provider sends a few of your other blocks of the same type as examples. Leave it off, or turn it off again, with **Use my own blocks as examples** in **Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions**. See [What AI features send, and where](https://promptmason.ai/docs/ai-privacy#send-less-with-ai-assist). 5. **Read the line under a chat's header.** It says whether that chat stays on this computer or which provider its messages go to. See [Chat and context](https://promptmason.ai/docs/chat). 6. **Set what AI agents can do.** **Settings → AI & connected apps → What connected apps can do** offers **Full access** (the setting at first), **Read-only** or **Off**, and Chat with a cloud provider follows the same setting. See [Control what connected apps can do](https://promptmason.ai/docs/agent-access). What a provider or website does with your text after it arrives is decided by that provider's terms, not by PromptMason. Check them for the services you use. ## Privacy settings at a glance | Setting | Where | What it does | |---|---|---| | **Local model (private)** | Settings → AI & connected apps | AI assist, Evaluate and Chat with none of your text sent from your PC. | | **Default AI provider** | Settings → AI & connected apps | Which provider a new run or chat starts with. | | **Use my own blocks as examples** | Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions | Whether AI assist sends some of your other blocks with a cloud request. | | **Preview what's sent** | Settings → AI & connected apps → AI assist instructions | Shows exactly what goes to the model for a task. | | **What connected apps can do** | Settings → AI & connected apps | **Full access**, **Read-only** or **Off** for AI agents, the Chrome extension and Chat's library tools. | | **What AI apps can do in** a team library | Settings → Libraries & sharing → Manage → **Name and AI apps** (primary owner) | Limits what AI agents and Chat can see and change in that library. It doesn't limit a member's own AI assist or Evaluate. | | **Regenerate API token** / **Regenerate extension token** | Settings → AI & connected apps | Cuts off an agent or extension you no longer trust. | | **App Lock** | Settings → Privacy & security | Locks PromptMason's window with a password. | | **Remember values on this computer** | Settings → Privacy & security | Whether PromptMason remembers the values you type for variables that ask each time. | | **Delete all chats**, **Browsing history**, **Clear browsing data** | Settings → Chat | Remove chats and what web tabs keep. | | **Clear activity** | Settings → AI & connected apps | Deletes the record of AI runs. | | **Delete forever** | Archive → Recently deleted | Removes an item from this PC now instead of after 30 days. | ## What this approach means for you Because your library lives on your PC: - **You decide where copies of your library exist.** Apart from text you send to a provider, agent or website, your library is on this PC, in folders you choose for sync or backups, and in files you export. - **You choose the AI for each task.** The same prompt can go to the local model one time and a cloud provider the next. A provider receives only what that feature sends, as listed above. - **Much of your work doesn't need the internet.** Writing blocks, building and copying prompts, and the local model all work offline. - **Your library isn't tied to an account.** **Export everything** saves your personal library to a file you can keep or import on another PC. See [Export and import](https://promptmason.ai/docs/export-import). ## Where PromptMason's protection ends - **Text you send to a provider, agent or website** is handled under that service's terms. - **Exported files aren't encrypted.** Keep them somewhere only you can open, or delete them when you're done. - **Names aren't encrypted.** Names, types, tags, folder names and dates are stored as plain text on this PC, so search works. - **App Lock locks the window, not the library.** While PromptMason is locked, connected AI agents and the Chrome extension can still reach your library at the level you allow. To stop them, set **What connected apps can do** to **Off**. See [Lock PromptMason with a password](https://promptmason.ai/docs/app-lock). - **Anyone with access to your Windows account** can open PromptMason as you, unless App Lock is on. ## More detail - [How your data is protected on this PC](https://promptmason.ai/docs/data-on-this-pc) - [What AI features send, and where](https://promptmason.ai/docs/ai-privacy) - [How PromptMason keeps your libraries safe](https://promptmason.ai/docs/security-overview), for sync, team libraries and backups - [Control what connected apps can do](https://promptmason.ai/docs/agent-access) --- How to help me: - Go one step at a time. After each step, ask what I see on screen before giving the next one. - Use the exact words on PromptMason’s buttons and screens, as the guide does. - Never ask me for my recovery code, my recovery kit file, a password or my invite line, and never ask me to paste them here. - Start by asking which step I’m on, or what I see now.