Guide

How to keep sensitive documents private when you use AI

Contracts, statements and records are the documents most worth asking questions of, and the ones you most want to protect. Ask these questions of any AI tool before you give it a file.

Seven questions to ask any tool

1. Where does the file go? To your device only, or to the provider's servers? In which country?
2. Is it used to train models? Look for a clear statement, and check whether it depends on your plan or a setting.
3. How long is it kept, and how do I delete it? Look for a stated deletion process and what happens to backups.
4. Who can see it? Which of the provider's staff, and which other companies process it for the provider?
5. Is it encrypted? At rest and in transit, and does the provider say whether it can read your content?
6. Who in my team gets access? Look for roles, and for a second sign-in step.
7. What does it say it does not do? A tool that lists its limits is easier to trust than one that does not.

How Étoiles answers them

The privacy policy has the full detail, including how deletion works.

Practical habits

• Keep your own copy of anything important. A cloud workspace is not your only backup.
• Use the on-device app for the most sensitive items.
• Remove or black out details you do not need the tool to read.
• Read the cited passage rather than trusting a summary.