Part 4: Understanding Cursor AI's Privacy Settings and Policies
Hey there! In this post, we're going to review Cursor AI's privacy settings and privacy policy. This is a crucial topic, especially for corporations and enterprises that are concerned about data retention, data processing, and overall data handling when using Cursor AI.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and do not represent Cursor AI. This post is based on my interpretation of Cursor AI's documentation, which may change over time. For any specific legal questions, please consult Cursor AI directly or seek legal advice.
Privacy Settings Overview
In the settings of Cursor AI, you can choose your privacy mode. Enabling privacy mode ensures that Cursor AI does not store your code on their servers. However, it's important to note that Cursor AI may still save your prompts. Prompts can sometimes contain code snippets from your codebase, making this a critical point to consider.
Privacy Mode
When privacy mode is enabled, Cursor AI will not store your code. This means zero data retention, and none of your code will be stored or used for training by third parties or by Cursor AI itself. This setting is particularly important for protecting sensitive or proprietary code.
Data Collection with Privacy Mode Off
If privacy mode is off, Cursor AI may collect telemetry and usage data. This can include prompts, editor actions, code snippets, and edits you make. This data helps Cursor AI evaluate and improve its features. However, be mindful that this data collection could include sensitive information from your codebase.
Data Handling and Third-Party Models
It's important to understand that Cursor AI uses third-party AI models for its functionality. For example, they may utilize models from various providers, each with its own privacy policies. Therefore, it's a good idea to review the privacy policies of these third-party providers as well.
Prompts and Code Snippets
Prompts sent to Cursor AI may contain code snippets from your codebase. For example, if you highlight a piece of code and ask a question about it, this context is sent to the language model. Whether Cursor AI saves these prompts or not is something to consider. When in doubt, assume that prompts might be saved and processed.
Indexing Your Codebase
If you choose to index your codebase, Cursor AI will split your code into chunks and compute embeddings for those chunks. After creating the embeddings, the plain text chunks are deleted. Only the embeddings and metadata (such as the file hash and file name) are stored in Cursor AI's database. Plain text data of your code is not stored.
Reviewing the Full Privacy Policy
For a comprehensive understanding, it's advisable to review Cursor AI's full privacy policy. This document provides detailed information on how your data is handled. If you're in an enterprise, consult your legal team or privacy officer to get a clear and in-depth explanation of the privacy policy.
Model Selection and API Keys
In the Cursor AI settings, you can go to the model section to see all the models that Cursor AI can use. You can choose the appropriate model on the fly and even provide your own API keys for the language model providers. Be aware that using your own API keys can incur additional costs on your personal accounts.
Conclusion
Understanding Cursor AI's privacy settings and policies is essential for ensuring the security and privacy of your codebase. By enabling privacy mode and being aware of how data is handled, you can make informed decisions about using Cursor AI in your projects. For any specific concerns, always consult the official documentation and seek legal advice when necessary.
For more details, you can refer to the Cursor Documentation on Rules for AI and explore the Cursor Directory for additional resources.
Stay safe and happy coding!
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