Frequently Asked Questions

How does masked.chat actually protect my privacy?

Before your message ever leaves your device, masked.chat detects and replaces all personally identifiable information (PII) — names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and more — with neutral placeholders. This masking happens locally on your device, so neither the AI model you're talking to nor masked.chat's own servers can see your real data. Your identity stays in an encrypted vault that never leaves your control.

What technology detects my PII?

We use a combination of context-aware rule-based detection and a lightweight local LLM running on your device. This hybrid approach catches both structured data (like phone numbers and emails) and more nuanced contextual PII (like a name embedded naturally in a sentence). Because detection runs locally, your data is never sent anywhere just to be analyzed.

What is the identity vault?

The identity vault is a secure, encrypted store that holds the mapping between your real PII and the masked placeholders. It allows AI responses to be "unmasked" back into meaningful answers on your side — for example, replacing a placeholder like [PERSON_1] with the actual name you typed. The vault is local by default. If you create an account, an encrypted copy is synced to our servers solely to enable cross-device continuity — we cannot decrypt it.

Does masked.chat work with any AI model?

Yes. masked.chat sits as a privacy layer between you and the underlying AI model, so it is model-agnostic. Whether you are using a major provider or another supported model, the masking process applies the same way. The AI receives only the anonymized version of your input and never has access to your real identity.

Do I need an account to use masked.chat?

No. You can use masked.chat without creating an account, and your vault stays entirely local to your device. Creating an account is optional and unlocks cross-device continuity: we store an encrypted version of your vault on our servers so you can pick up seamlessly on another device. We cannot read the contents of that encrypted vault.

Can masked.chat see my private data?

No — and this is a core design principle, not just a policy promise. Because masking happens locally on your device before anything is transmitted, masked.chat's servers never receive your real PII. Even the encrypted vault synced to our servers for account holders is opaque to us. Privacy protection is built into the architecture, not just stated in our terms of service.

How does cross-device sync work?

When you create an account, masked.chat encrypts your identity vault and stores a copy on our servers. When you sign in on a new device, that encrypted vault is downloaded and decrypted locally. The decryption key stays on your device — our servers hold only the ciphertext, so sync is convenient without being a privacy risk.

What does masked.chat cost?

masked.chat offers a free tier for core privacy shielding, plus two paid plans for users who need more:

• Pro: Everything in the free plan, plus extended usage limits for frequent daily use and access to all available AI models.
• Premium: Everything in Pro, plus a significantly higher monthly cap for heavy workloads, early access to new features and our latest Lab models, and priority support.

Both plans are flat monthly fees — no usage metering, no surprise charges. You can also top up your balance anytime with one-time credit packs. Current prices are on the pricing page.

Is masked.chat compliant with privacy regulations like GDPR?

masked.chat's privacy-by-design architecture aligns strongly with the principles of GDPR, CCPA, and similar frameworks — particularly data minimisation and purpose limitation. Because PII never leaves your device in plain text, the exposure surface for regulatory risk is fundamentally reduced compared to using AI models directly. If you have specific compliance requirements for your organisation, please reach out to discuss enterprise options.

Is masked.chat suitable for professional or sensitive use cases?

Yes. masked.chat was designed with high-stakes data environments in mind — our founding team has deep expertise in highly regulated industries where compliance and privacy standards are non-negotiable. Professionals in finance, legal, healthcare, and HR can use AI tools more confidently knowing that client names, sensitive identifiers, and other private details are masked before reaching any external model.