Security & Privacy

Local-first by design: keys in your OS credential store, a fixed allowlist of every host Aether can reach, and fully private local generation.

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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, Windows Credential Manager, or the system keyring on Linux. They are never written in plain text to a settings file.

A cloud provider authenticates every request with your key, so Aether sends it to that provider over HTTPS. It is never sent to Umbral Audio, and it is never shared between providers.

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.

Where Aether Can Connect

Aether will not talk to an arbitrary address. Outbound requests are checked against a fixed allowlist compiled into the plugin, and anything not on it is refused before a connection is opened. The list is HTTPS only, and it is the complete set:

  • ●api.anthropic.com, api.openai.com, api.x.ai, api.deepseek.com, generativelanguage.googleapis.com, openrouter.ai, api-inference.huggingface.co and router.huggingface.co, for the cloud providers you choose
  • ●umbralaudio.com, for license validation, update checks, and crash reports if you have opted in
  • ●localhost, for Ollama, LM Studio, and the helper app, which never leaves your machine

A provider you never select is never contacted. If you work entirely with a local model, the only host Aether reaches at all is your own machine, plus the once-a-day license and update checks below.

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.