Elephas Security Overview

Elephas keeps your documents on your computer in an encrypted database, keeps its keys in your operating system’s credential store, signs in through your browser, verifies every update before it installs, and encrypts sync end to end. This page summarises each layer and links to the details.

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At a glance

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How it works

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Encrypted storage on your computer

Indexing happens on your computer. Always. Elephas reads your files, extracts their text, runs OCR and builds its search index locally. The extracted text, the index and your chats are stored in SQLCipher databases, an encrypted form of SQLite. Each database file has its own random 256-bit key. Without the key, the file cannot be read. The copies of the files you add are stored as ordinary files in the Elephas data folder, protected by your computer’s user account in the same way as your originals. For full-disk protection, turn on FileVault (Mac) or BitLocker (Windows).

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Keys and secrets

Elephas keeps every secret in the credential store your operating system provides:

• Mac: Keychain
• Windows: Credential Manager

That includes the database keys, your sign-in session, any API keys you add for your own API key, and, if you use Personal Sync, your device’s private keys. None of them are written to settings.json or to the log. API keys are never synced. If Elephas cannot reach the credential store, it stops rather than falling back to a weaker place. For example: “Elephas could not access the system keychain to read your AI key. Restart the app and try again.”

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Sign-in

You sign in to your Elephas account in your web browser, not in a form inside the app. The app receives a sign-in session afterwards, so it never sees your password. Only a refreshable session token is kept, in Keychain or Credential Manager. Every connection to Elephas services uses HTTPS. Sign Out in Settings › Plan & Billing ends the session on that computer. It deletes nothing: “Signed out. Nothing on this device was deleted, and Team content is locked until you sign in again.” Your account is not the key to your synced data. Signing in proves who you are to the server; it does not unlock your Personal Sync data. See Sync encryption.

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Your devices

Each computer you use creates its own key pair, stored in its credential store. Your plan sets how many devices your account can use. See Device limits.

• For Personal Sync, a new computer can only read your data after one of your existing computers approves it by comparing five words. See Add a device to Sync.
• Removing a device cuts off its future access, and Elephas rotates keys so it cannot read anything new. See Remove a device.

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Signed updates

Elephas checks for updates shortly after it starts and then every 6 hours. Before an update installs, Elephas verifies it three ways:

1. The update list is signed by Elephas, and the signature must match before anything in it is trusted.
2. The downloaded file must match the checksum in that signed list.
3. The app itself must carry a valid code signature from Elephas: Apple’s code signature check on Mac, and an Authenticode signature on Windows.

If any check fails, Elephas shows “This update could not be verified and was discarded.” and keeps your current version. You can also choose Check for updates in Settings › Updates. See Update Elephas.

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Local AI

When you use Local AI, the model runs through a local engine that only accepts connections from your own computer. Your question and your documents are not sent to any AI provider. See Use Elephas offline.

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Logs and reports

The log file records event names, IDs, counts and technical error details, never the text of your documents, questions or answers. Anonymous usage and error reports never include your content, and you can turn them off in Settings › Privacy. See Usage reports.

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Team workspaces

• Encrypted Team Brains. Team Brain content is encrypted on members’ devices before it syncs, and its keys are delivered only to approved devices. The server stores encrypted data.
• Device approval per Team. A Team Owner or Admin approves each device for the Team with Approve for This Team, and can Block from This Team. See Manage Team devices.
• Access removal. When someone loses access to a Team Brain, its copy on their devices is deleted the next time Elephas runs there, signed in and online. See Remove a Team member.
• Audit log. Security & Audit records sign-ins, role changes, device approvals and Brain changes. “The entries are content-free: they name who and what, never what a document says.” See Team audit log.
• Recovery kit. When a Team is set up, the Owner saves a recovery kit: an encrypted file and a code to write down. “Nobody else has a copy, not even Elephas.” If every approved computer and the kit are lost, the Team’s documents cannot be opened again. See Team recovery kit.
• AI policy. The Team Owner decides whether Team members can use cloud AI, and whether personal information protection is required. See Team AI policy.

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What Elephas does not promise

• Cloud AI is not end-to-end encrypted. The Elephas gateway and the model provider read your question and passages in order to answer.
• Elephas cannot protect data on a computer that is already compromised, or from someone who can sign in to your user account on it.
• Elephas holds no security or compliance certifications today.

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Troubleshooting

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