You stay in charge of your computer.
Kernl works on your files and programs, and stops before anything you could not undo.
What stays on your computer, and what leaves
The AI that comes with Kernl runs on your own graphics card or processor, so what you type and your files are not sent to an AI company to be read. What leaves the machine is what the job itself reaches out for: a web page it opens, a connector you turned on, or a program it runs that goes online. Add your own online-AI key and requests go straight to that provider, under your account.
It asks before anything risky
Kernl stops and waits before anything it cannot take back, anything that leaves your computer, and any change outside the folder you opened. An action it cannot place is treated as though the outside world would see it. A command runs on its own only when Kernl can prove it just reads, just makes new files in your folder, or stops a program Kernl started itself. Once you let it run the project code in your folder, it runs that code again without asking, until the conversation ends or reads something it cannot trust. Any other command waits for you. Text in a web page or a file cannot grant it permission. That is the default setting; the "How much it asks" button changes it.
Changes to your files can be put back
Kernl keeps a copy of a file before it changes it, except a file over 8 MB or one changed in a private chat, and can put back what a recent request changed. New files use a numbered name rather than overwriting an existing file. Deletes go to the Recycle Bin. Undo identifies actions by programs or connectors that those copies cannot reverse.
You can see, and take back, what it may do
Every standing permission is listed in Settings, and you can revoke any of them while Kernl works. A one-time approval covers that one action, with those exact details, in that one conversation, for two minutes.
Stay offline means Kernl stays offline
Stay offline in Settings, Privacy stops every connection Kernl itself makes. It still allows a server you added at a private network address. A program you ask Kernl to run is not covered; use your firewall to block it. What the app sends us, and the switch for each.
Reporting a security issue
Email security@getkernl.ai. We reply within three business days and send updates while we fix it. Please allow time for a patch before disclosing publicly.