Security & Privacy
Local-first by design: keys in the OS keychain, encrypted helper connection, fully private local generation, and a transparent list of what Aether sends.
Trust
Security & Privacy
Aether is built local-first. Your prompts and keys stay on your machine, and the only network traffic is what you initiate — reaching your chosen AI provider, validating your license, and an optional once-a-day update check.
API Key Storage
Keys are stored with your operating system's native secure storage: the macOS Keychain, with an obfuscated local fallback on Windows. They are never written in plain text to a settings file.
Encrypted Helper Connection
When generation routes through the helper app in plugin mode, the authorization header is AES-encrypted in transit over the local connection between the plugin and the helper.
Fully Private Local Generation
Run a model in Ollama or LM Studio and no prompt or key ever leaves your machine — full privacy and zero per-request cost. This is the most private way to use Aether.
What Aether Sends
- ●Generation requests — only to the provider you select, using your key.
- ●License validation — a periodic, throttled check (at most once per day) with the activation server.
- ●Update check — at most once per day; you're notified of new versions but nothing is downloaded automatically.
- ●Crash reports — opt-in only, controlled by a settings toggle. Off means nothing is sent.