Trust the boundary you can inspect.

Mnemo does not use compliance language as a substitute for behavior. The useful security question is where data is allowed to go, how it is protected, and what deletion removes.

Network gateProtected local filesExplicit deletion

The short answer

Policy before request.

Every off-device request passes through the same privacy boundary before URLSession is called.

01 / Architecture

Four places work can happen.

Mnemo names the execution site rather than hiding it behind a generic “AI” label.

On-device

Default for local workflows.No network request is needed for work that runs on the iPhone.

Private node

Your computer or self-hosted endpoint.For optional actions on text, such as Ask or Skills. Transcription itself always stays on the iPhone.

BYOK

A third-party API configured with your own key.The provider sees the data required for the operation, subject to its terms.

iCloud

Optional sync of transcripts and metadata, off by default.Audio never syncs. Privacy Mode blocks this route. The UI cannot silently override the policy.

02 / Threat model

Name the thing you are defending.

In scope: accidental network egress, queued work that outlives a privacy choice, stale credentials in ordinary storage, partially written audio after interruption, and deletion that leaves a source reachable through search.

Not claimed: a perfect defense against a compromised operating system, a compromised provider, a stolen unlocked device, or a user who intentionally exports their library. Those require platform and operational controls beyond this page.

03 / Local storage and deletion

The source and its derivatives share a lifecycle.

Audio is written with file protection. Provider keys use the Keychain. Forgetting a source removes its audio, transcript-derived data, embeddings and index entries so Ask cannot keep returning it.

Evidence status
Architecture and local tests are documented. Physical-device, provider and production-channel evidence remains separately marked in the project evidence record.

04 / Direct answer

Is Mnemo private? Local workflows are designed to keep capture and memory on the iPhone, and Privacy Mode blocks off-device routes at the network boundary. That does not make every optional provider private: an AI key you connect or a private computer receives transcript text when you run Ask or a Skill, under that provider’s terms. Transcription and audio stay on the iPhone.