Privacy policy

Who we are

Kernel is operated by Even Flow LLC, a Texas limited liability company doing business as Kernel (“Kernel,” “we,” “us”). This policy covers kernel-os.ai, https://app.kernel-os.ai, and the Kernel Mac app.

The Terms of Service are the binding contract for the product. This page explains what information we collect and how we use it.

Files on your Mac

Kernel works with files already on your Mac. Repositories, documents, and node state stay on machines you control. Ordinary install and local use do not upload those files to our hosted services.

If you use a cloud AI provider, the content needed for that task is sent to that provider. If you spend Kernel Credits, we send the content needed for the task to the model provider that fulfills those credits. Local file access is not a claim that every task stays on your Mac.

If you use hosted collaboration or relay, we process the information those features need to operate.

Account and service data

When you create an account, we collect:

• Name and email address
• Password (stored as a hash, not in plain text)
• Terms-acceptance records (which terms, version, and time)
• Operational records needed to run the service: invitations, grants, device metadata for updates and collaboration, plan and entitlement status
• Diagnostic information you choose to send, such as a support report

We use this information to operate the service, authenticate you, send invitations and security notices, provide updates, prevent abuse, and communicate about Kernel. We may use aggregated or de-identified account and operational information to improve Kernel. Google user data is subject to the separate limited-use rules below, including data derived from it.

Payments

Paid plans and credit packs are processed by Polar. Polar receives the billing information needed to charge you and to run the customer portal. We keep plan, status, and entitlement records so we can provide the product you paid for. We do not store full card numbers.

Cookies

The marketing site at kernel-os.ai uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to measure visits and page performance. Its browser script does not use cookies or browser storage for analytics, and does not fingerprint visitors. The signed-in app at https://app.kernel-os.ai uses an httpOnly session cookie so you stay signed in. That cookie is for authentication, not advertising.

Email

We send transactional mail that is part of the service: verify your email, reset a password, invitations, and billing notices. We use an email delivery provider to send that mail. You may opt out of non-essential marketing mail, if we send any, using the instructions in those messages.

Google account and Gmail data

Connecting Gmail is optional. Google asks you to authorize Kernel through its OAuth consent screen. Kernel does not receive your Google password. We use your Google account identifier and email address to identify the connected account and show its connection status.

When you connect Gmail and enable it for a node, that node's configured agent can access the Gmail data needed for its email features. This includes message and thread identifiers, senders and recipients, subjects, message bodies and attachments used in a task, drafts, labels, read status, and filter criteria and actions.

We use this access to provide the email features you authorize: finding and reading mail, summarizing messages, creating drafts, sending messages and replies, adding or removing labels, archiving, changing read status, moving messages to Trash and restoring them, and creating, listing, deleting, or applying mail filters. The Gmail connector does not permanently delete messages or manage account delegation and forwarding.

How we protect Gmail data

• Encryption in transit. The Gmail connector communicates with Google and Kernel's hosted authorization service over HTTPS, which encrypts data using TLS.
• Protected credentials. On the Mac, Gmail access and refresh tokens are stored in the macOS Keychain, which encrypts stored credentials. Tokens are not placed in ordinary node configuration or agent connection settings.
• Limited authorization storage. Our hosted authorization service processes tokens during exchange, refresh, and revocation. It does not persist Gmail access or refresh tokens in its database. Temporary authorization codes expire after ten minutes and are cleared after a successful exchange or expiry cleanup.
• Protected conversation archive. Kernel's managed transcript archive encrypts stored conversation content with AES-256-GCM. Content is decrypted when needed to provide authorized history and recall. Separate agent session logs, search indexes, exports, and files use the storage controls of the tools and devices you choose; they are not all covered by the archive's encryption.
• Access controls. Gmail tools require a connected account and your activation of Gmail for the relevant node. The connector is available to owner sessions, not collaborator sessions on shared nodes. Disconnecting removes the local grant and disables the connector's Gmail access.
• Safe handling. Connector request headers containing tokens are not logged by the Gmail transport. Email content is presented to agents as untrusted data rather than operating instructions.

Gmail content returned to an agent can become part of its conversation, history, search index, or a file you ask it to create. Protect the devices, backups, and agent tools you control, including their own logs and exports. Keychain and transcript-archive encryption do not mean that every copy of your email is encrypted by Kernel.

Gmail data and AI providers

If you use a cloud AI provider for a Gmail task, the message content and related data needed for that task are sent to that provider. If you use Kernel Credits, our hosted AI relay also processes the request and response to deliver the task. This can include email text, recipient information, and attachments used in that task. The provider processes that content under the terms and privacy controls applicable to your selected service.

These transfers are for the email features you authorize. We do not use Gmail data to train general-purpose AI models, build unrelated datasets, serve advertisements, or determine creditworthiness. We do not sell Gmail data. Kernel personnel do not read Gmail content except with your affirmative agreement for specific content, when necessary for security or legal compliance, or as otherwise permitted by Google's Limited Use rules.

Kernel's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. These restrictions also apply to aggregated, de-identified, and derived Google user data. If another part of this policy permits a broader use, these Google-specific restrictions take precedence for Google user data.

Gmail retention, disconnection, and deletion

The connector retrieves Gmail data as needed; our hosted authorization service does not maintain a copy of your mailbox. Your original messages, drafts, labels, and filters remain in your Google account until you change or remove them there or through an authorized tool.

We keep the local connection credentials while Gmail is connected. To stop future access, open Kernel Settings → Connectors → Gmail → Disconnect. This removes the local credentials and node activation settings and requests revocation from Google. You can also remove Kernel's access directly in your Google Account's third-party connections. Turning Gmail off for one node stops that node's connector access without disconnecting other enabled nodes.

Disconnecting does not erase email content already included in conversations, archives, search indexes, exports, backups, or files, and does not undo changes to your mailbox. Those local records remain until you remove them using the relevant application's or device's controls. Copies held by your selected AI provider follow that service's retention and deletion controls. For deletion of personal data held by Kernel's hosted services, contact us through your account page. We retain it only as needed to provide the service or meet legal, dispute, and security obligations.

We do not sell your information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the processors who help us run Kernel (hosting, email, payments, and — when you use them — AI model providers), when you ask us to, or when the law requires it. We remain responsible for those processors as they relate to this policy.

We may disclose account data if required by law, legal process, or to protect Kernel, our users, or the public from harm. We will give notice where lawful and reasonably practical.

How long we keep it

We keep account data while your account is open. After you close it, we delete or de-identify personal information unless we must keep a record for law, dispute, or security. Files on your Mac remain yours to keep or delete.

Your choices

You can review and update account details at https://app.kernel-os.ai/account. You can ask us to correct or delete account data, or to send you a copy, from that page. We may need to verify the request belongs to the account holder.

Children

Kernel is for people 18 or older, or the age of majority where you live, whichever is greater. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Where we process data

We operate from the United States. Information we collect is processed in the United States. If you use Kernel from another country, you understand that your account data is processed there. Your selected Google and AI services may process data in other locations according to their service terms. Files and records on devices you control remain in the locations you choose.

Changes

We may update this policy. The effective date at the top of this page is the current version. Material changes will be posted here. If we change how we access, use, or share Google user data beyond what you previously authorized, we will provide notice and obtain your consent before that new use.

Contact

Kernel — Even Flow LLC
Account: https://app.kernel-os.ai/account