Know what is recorded and shared.
Your PC holds the content
The desktop app keeps manuscript text, detailed passage lineage and full source URLs locally. Recovery files and retry queues are encrypted using Windows protection for the current user. Clipboard matching entries expire after 30 minutes.
Exported text and HTML reports are ordinary local files. Windows account protection does not protect against malware operating as the same user.
Browser audits can stand alone
The Chrome extension works without the desktop or an account. Recording is off until you enable it, and you can pause or exclude sites. Its audits are stored in your Chrome profile, not encrypted by True Author, and are not synced through Chrome Sync.
Pairing optionally passes selected browser text and source observations to the desktop on the same PC. Standalone Chrome audits do not upload to the cloud.
Read the extension privacy policy →The server holds metadata
Signed uploads contain document identifiers, fingerprints, source categories and domains, passage positions, revision counts and recording gaps. No manuscript, pasted text, full URLs or individual keystroke contents are accepted by the desktop-audit API.
Source domains and recording times can still be sensitive. Preview outgoing metadata in the desktop app and pause automatic syncing when needed.
Private by default
Supabase account ownership policies restrict private documents and checkpoints. A linked device can submit only its account’s audit evidence. You can disconnect devices at any time.
Publishing shares one fixed checkpoint’s metadata. The reader opens a separately supplied document locally for highlights. Hiding or revoking a link stops online public access; copies already saved by a reader cannot be recalled.
What signatures establish
A device signature identifies the linked key submitting a checkpoint. A server signature protects the issued metadata against alteration. Ordered hashes detect missing or conflicting checkpoints. None of these attests the capture software or proves independent authorship.
Clear limits
Typing copied ideas from another screen remains typing. Unknown sources remain unknown. Capture coverage depends on the adapter. The reference editor records edit events; Word and supported accessible desktop editors correlate keyboard activity with document changes. Browser adapters use input events and local snapshots. Exact source matches can preserve tracked lineage through internal copies. Ambiguous edits, input methods, menu actions and unsupported surfaces can lose coverage and stay unobserved.
Owners can delete cloud evidence from the audit dashboard and local recovery from the desktop app. Deletion invalidates shared links and keeps only a minimal cloud deletion marker to block stale retries. Exported copies and database backups have their own lifetimes. Automated retention remains future work.