We built Cotypist around one principle: what you type stays on your Mac. The AI that generates suggestions runs locally on your device, so the app never has to send your writing to a server.

Below, you'll find what Cotypist needs access to on your Mac, what happens if you decline any of it, and the few things the app can optionally remember locally. For the full legal details, you can always read our Privacy Policy.

Cotypist uses standard macOS permissions. You grant each one through System Settings, and you can revoke any of them at any time without uninstalling the app.

Accessibility (required)

• What it does: Lets Cotypist read the text field you are actively typing in and insert completions there.
• Why it is needed: Without this permission, there is no autocomplete at all. Cotypist has no way to see what you are typing or to insert suggestions.
• If you decline: Cotypist cannot function. This is the one permission you really need to grant for the app to do anything useful.
• What Cotypist cannot see: Password fields are automatically blocked by macOS, so Cotypist cannot read passwords or other sensitive input from password fields. The only exception is if you explicitly click a "Reveal Password" option that some apps or websites offer.

Screen Recording (recommended, optional)

Cotypist asks for this permission during first-run setup, because a bit of surrounding context makes suggestions noticeably more relevant. You can skip the onboarding step, or revoke the permission later in System Settings.

• What it does: Lets Cotypist briefly look at the text visible around the field you are typing in, using on-device text recognition, so it understands the context of your writing.
• Why it helps: Cotypist can match the tone of the email you are replying to, pick up names already on screen, or avoid repeating what is already in the document.
• If you decline or skip: Cotypist still works. You just see slightly more generic suggestions, since it has to rely only on the text inside the field itself.
• What Cotypist does with it: Everything is processed in real time, on your Mac. Screenshots themselves are never stored or sent anywhere. (If you have also enabled the optional input collection described further down, the text Cotypist reads from the surrounding area may be stored locally alongside your typed input; see below.)

Clipboard (optional, off by default)

• What it does: When enabled, lets Cotypist read your clipboard contents as additional context for more relevant suggestions.
• Why it helps: If you just copied something you are about to paste and discuss, Cotypist can take that into account.
• If you decline or leave it off: No impact on core completions. This is off by default specifically so that nothing happens without your explicit consent.
• What Cotypist does with it: Clipboard content is read in memory only. Nothing is stored, and nothing is transmitted.

Under certain rare circumstances, Cotypist may also briefly use the clipboard itself when it needs to insert a longer completion. In that case, Cotypist will try to save your original clipboard contents beforehand and restore them immediately afterwards.

Everything in this section is optional, local only, and never uploaded to our servers or any third party. We do not receive any of this data, either. It lives exclusively on your Mac.

Input collection for personalization (off by default)

Cotypist offers an optional feature that saves the text you type in enabled apps, so future suggestions can learn your writing style.

• Default: Off. Nothing is stored until you explicitly enable it.
• Where it lives: Encrypted, on your Mac only. The encryption key is stored in the macOS Keychain, protected by your Mac's built-in security.
• Your controls: You can enable or disable collection on a per-app (and per-domain for browsers) basis. You can view, manage, and delete all collected data at any time in Cotypist's settings. Password fields are filtered out automatically.
• Recommendation: If you regularly work with particularly sensitive information, we recommend leaving this off, or at least disabling it for the apps where that information appears.

Personalization profile

When input collection is enabled, Cotypist can derive a small profile of your writing style from the collected data, so suggestions adapt to your vocabulary and tone.

• Where it lives: Encrypted, on your Mac only. Never transmitted anywhere.
• Your controls: You can adjust the strength of personalization or disable it entirely in Cotypist's settings. Deleting your collected data also deletes the profile derived from it.

• Revoke any permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security, and/or disable the corresponding feature in Cotypist's settings. Cotypist will continue to run with whatever permissions it still has.
• Delete locally stored data (input collection, personalization profile) at any time from Cotypist's settings: in bulk, per app, or per domain.