Encryption and your data
Direct calls are encrypted end to end and signed with a key on your Mac. We never record or store call audio, video or screen shares. This page explains how. The privacy policy has the full list of what we keep.
Direct calls are end to end
Calls of 2 or 3 people go from Mac to Mac, encrypted with DTLS and SRTP. Audio, video, shared screens, marks and transcript lines all travel this way.
Each Mac has its own call key, created on your first call. It lives in the Secure Enclave where the Mac has one, and in your login Keychain as "Founder Hud call key" where it doesn't. It never syncs to other Macs. The key signs your side of each connection, and Founder Hud closes a connection whose signature doesn't match.
The call window's bar shows a lock beside the clock when every link in the call is signed; point at it to read "End-to-end encrypted".
Safety numbers
A safety number proves you're talking to the right person. It's 30 digits, and both Macs show the same one.
Find it
In the call window's sidebar, open People and point at the person's face. Their safety number is in the card.
Compare
Read it out loud on the call. They check it against the number on their Mac.
Mark as verified
If it matches, click Mark as verified. The person then shows as Verified.
If a person's key changes, Founder Hud warns you: "Sam's key changed". It could be a new Mac, or someone in the middle. Compare the safety number again before you click Trust new key.
Founder Hud keeps the keys you trust in ~/Library/Application Support/Founder Hud/call-trust.json.
What goes through Cloudflare
| Part | What it does | Can it read your call? |
|---|---|---|
| Your team's hub | Presence, ringing, setting up calls, chat, to-dos | It never carries call media |
| TURN relay | Carries a call when a network blocks direct connections | No. It passes encrypted packets |
| Realtime SFU | Forwards audio and video in calls of 4 or more | Yes. These calls are marked "Not end-to-end" |
See Calls of 4 to 8 for how the SFU works and how to turn it off.
What stays on your Mac
- Transcripts. Made on your Mac with Apple's speech recognition. They never reach our servers, but Ask sends archive text, transcripts included, to Claude (Anthropic) to answer.
- Notes. Written by Apple's on-device model. The to-dos go to your team's to-dos, and the summary to your team's chat if you turn that on, or to a team note if you share the notes; the decisions stay on your Mac.
- Still frames. Founder Hud keeps frames of shares you watch, for Replay. They're never uploaded.
See Transcripts and meeting notes for where these files live.
What your team's hub keeps
Your team's hub is a server we run on Cloudflare. Only members of your team can reach it. It keeps your account ID, name, photo link and role, your presence, call history (who called whom and when, never what was said), chat, and what your team shares, such as notes and to-dos.
The hub deletes files attached to chat after 90 days. It keeps call quality numbers only if you turn on Settings > Privacy > What goes to the hub > Share call quality with the team hub, and for 30 days. The privacy policy lists everything, with how long each is kept.
Crash reports
Crash and hang reports to your team's hub start off. Turn them on in Settings > Privacy > What goes to the hub, and when Founder Hud crashes or hangs it sends a report there: the app and macOS version, the kind of problem and where in Founder Hud's code it happened. No content and no file paths. A copy always stays on your Mac.