Local Privacy Boundaries
Privacy & Data Boundaries
Explicit accounting of every byte that moves through SemeSeam. Sovereign reasoning tools must maintain transparent network boundaries.
1. The Offline Carrel Guarantee
The local carrel desktop app (Chat Lab and Descents) is built to operate completely disconnected from the internet:
- No Unexpected Outbound Traffic: The carrel sends nothing anywhere except direct requests to the model providers you explicitly configure. There are no analytics, crash beacons, usage pings, or tracking pixels.
- Local Fonts: Atkinson Hyperlegible, Adwaita Mono, and Symbola subset are packaged locally. The carrel never connects to Google Fonts or third-party CDNs.
- Local Key Storage: API keys for optional providers are stored on your computer in
data/keys.json(with file permissions 0600, readable only by your user account). Keys are not encrypted and not in the OS keychain; they are never uploaded to the subscriber portal or synced to cloud servers.
2. What Leaves Your Computer Per Model Engine
| Engine Kind | Network Traffic | Where Data Goes | Model Training Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Hermes 3 (Ollama) | Zero Network Traffic | Stays in local RAM / VRAM on your device. | Never trained on; fully offline. |
| Paid API Key (Anthropic / OpenAI / Google) | Outbound HTTPS to API | Active prompt, carried bundle, and attached file excerpts. | Commercial API terms; not used for model training under standard business agreements. |
| Free Google Key (No Billing) | Outbound HTTPS to Google | Active prompt, carried bundle, and attached file excerpts. | Caution: Google terms permit using prompt content to train and improve products. |
| Sign in with X (Grok) | Outbound HTTPS to xAI | Active prompt, carried bundle, and attached file excerpts. (Feature built but off pending an official client ID from xAI). | Governed by your personal SuperGrok / X Premium+ terms of service. |
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Critical Notice on Free Google Gemini API Keys
Google AI Studio provides generous free rate limits for developers without billing enabled. However, Google's free-tier terms state that human reviewers may read your prompts and data may be used to train future Google AI models.
SemeSeam's recommendation: Use a free Google key only for public, non-confidential research. For proprietary code, personal documents, or sensitive investigations, always use local Hermes 3 or a paid commercial key with billing turned on.