What local AI means, and what can still leave

Local AI means the model runs on your own server, so your questions and files are read on your hardware. In a MeshVault setup a job may still go outside for four stated reasons only, and you choose which reasons to allow, including none.

Book facts dated . From The MeshVault Book, Edition 3, page 024. All guides

What local means

Local AI means the model runs on your server. A model is the program that writes the answers. When a job runs locally, your questions and files are read on your own hardware.

That is a real benefit. It is a design choice, and it has limits.

Local AI runs on your server.
LimitA job may go outside for the stated reasons you allow.

What can still go outside

  • A job may be sent to an outside AI service, if you allow it.
  • A connector may reach an outside app by its nature. Email is one example. A connector is the link between your server and an app such as email.
  • Support access, if you grant it.

The four reasons a job may leave

A local setup may send a job outside for four stated reasons only:

  1. The local model cannot do the job well enough.

  2. The local model is too busy.

  3. The local model is down.

  4. A named person tells it to.

You choose, and each job gets a written route

You choose which of these reasons are allowed, and which outside service may receive a job. You can allow none. Some clients choose to allow only reason 4.

Each job gets a written route: where it runs and where it may go. Ask to see the route before you approve the job.

Reasons I would allow a job to leave

Ticking none is a valid answer. Stays in this browser tab.

Our view: a plain list of what can leave is more useful than a promise that nothing does. We can show you the real route for each job.

The full data map for a MeshVault setup is in the docs: what can leave your server.

Questions

Does my data go to an AI company if I use local AI?

Not when a job runs locally: the model runs on your server and reads your files there. A job may go outside only for the reasons you allow, and you can allow none.

What are the four reasons a local AI job may leave?

The local model cannot do the job well enough, the local model is too busy, the local model is down, or a named person tells it to.

What is a written route?

A note for each job that says where it runs and where it may go. Ask to see it before you approve the job.

Sources

MeshVault owner decisions dated 2026-09-28 and 2026-09-29, as printed in The MeshVault Book, Edition 3, page 024.

What to do next

MeshVault sets up a server you own, pairs Hermes Desktop to it, and keeps a backup that we have tested. The one-week install is $1,500 as of 2026-09-29. Requote before use.

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