# Privacy, security and recovery

*Where your data is kept, how it is protected, when anything leaves your PC, and what to do if you lose a PC.*

Online version: https://promptmason.ai/docs/privacy-security-recovery

This section explains where your library is kept, how it is protected, when anything leaves your PC, and what to do if a PC or your recovery kit is lost.

The ideas to know first:

- **Your library stays on your PC.** It isn't stored on a PromptMason server, and you don't need an account to use it. Text leaves your PC only when you take an action that sends it somewhere, such as running AI with a cloud provider.
- **Its text is encrypted on disk.** The key is unlocked by your Windows account, so there is no password to type. Names, tags and folder names stay readable so search works.
- **App Lock** puts a password on PromptMason's window. It's off to start with, and it locks the window only.
- **The recovery kit** is a spare copy of your keys: one file and a code. You need it only if you lose every PC you use.

Start with [Privacy in PromptMason](https://promptmason.ai/docs/privacy-overview), which lists everything that can leave your PC and the settings that control it. [How your data is protected on this PC](https://promptmason.ai/docs/data-on-this-pc) explains what is and isn't encrypted. If a PC goes missing, go straight to [Lost or stolen PC or kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/lost-device).

## Guides in this section

- [Privacy in PromptMason](https://promptmason.ai/docs/privacy-overview): Where your library is kept, when anything leaves your PC, and the settings that keep private work private.
- [How your data is protected on this PC](https://promptmason.ai/docs/data-on-this-pc): What PromptMason encrypts on your PC, what it leaves readable so search works, and why the data folder can't be copied to another PC.
- [Lock PromptMason with a password](https://promptmason.ai/docs/app-lock): Turn on App Lock, choose when PromptMason locks itself, lock it now, and change or remove the password.
- [Your recovery kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/recovery-kit): What your recovery kit is, when PromptMason asks you to save one, where to keep it, and what to do if you lose it.
- [Lost or stolen PC or kit](https://promptmason.ai/docs/lost-device): What to do if you lose a PC, lose every PC, lose your recovery kit, or your kit is stolen.
- [How PromptMason keeps your libraries safe](https://promptmason.ai/docs/security-overview): What PromptMason protects when your libraries sync or back up, and what it doesn't, in plain words.

## Want a hand?

Paste this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant, together with this guide, to be walked through it step by step:

> I want to understand how PromptMason protects my data. Explain in plain words what stays on my PC, what can leave it, how App Lock and the recovery kit work, and which guide to read first.