What your AI provider receives
When your AI assistant (for example Claude Desktop) asks Private Desk for a document, Private Desk extracts the text on your PC and replaces details it detects with placeholders. That masked text is what the AI assistant sends to its provider (for example Anthropic), under that provider's terms.
Private Desk detects and hides, by default:
- names of people, including in file and folder names
- company and organisation names (Ltd, LLP, PLC and similar)
- addresses and postcodes (UK and Belgian formats)
- email addresses and phone numbers
- National Insurance, NHS, passport, driving licence, UTR and company numbers; sort codes, account numbers, IBANs and card numbers; case, claim, matter and policy references; dates of birth
- any words your firm adds to its "always hide" list
Money amounts can be hidden too (off by default, because the AI often needs them).
What stays on your PC
- Your documents. Private Desk reads them on the PC and never uploads them.
- The list of placeholders and the real details they stand for, encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key protected by Windows for your user account.
- Documents the AI creates. The real details are filled in on the PC; the AI is only told that the file was saved.
- The activity log and, if you keep them, encrypted copies of exactly what was sent to the AI.
- Earlier versions of any file the AI edits (only if you allow editing), encrypted.
What Airgap Fleet receives
Only what's needed to run your subscription: your email address, licence key, an anonymous code identifying the PC, the PC's name, the app version, and Stripe billing records. Never documents, file names, client details or the activity log. Problem reports are only sent if you email them to us, and contain no client information.
What the AI can do
- Use only the one folder you choose. Folder shortcuts that lead elsewhere are ignored.
- By default: read, search and create new files. It cannot change or delete your files unless you switch on editing, and then a copy is kept first.
- It cannot see the finished documents Private Desk saves.
Limits you should know
- Detection is automatic. It is built for the documents law firms and accountants keep, but no tool catches everything. Unusual details, such as a nickname or a description that identifies someone, can get through. Use the preview, add words to "always hide", and keep a person checking AI output.
- The surrounding text is still sent. The AI sees what the document says, without the identifying details. If the facts alone would identify a client, consider whether to use AI for that matter.
- Scanned PDFs without a text layer can't be read yet.
- Windows only for now.
Updates and code
Updates are checked against a signature and checksum before they run. The open-source File Bridge that Private Desk grew from is on GitHub.
Certifications
We don't claim ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, SOC 2 or any regulator's approval. Ask us at support@airgapfleet.com for anything your risk assessment needs.