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AI coding assistants commonly send your prompt and task-relevant code context to a cloud service so a model can produce a response. Turning off model training does not stop that transmission. To reduce exposure, check the settings for your specific account and edition, restrict file or repository access where the product allows it, and treat telemetry, feedback, integrations, and hosted agents as separate data flows.
The important distinction is not simply “private” versus “not private.” Ask what is sent, who processes it, whether it can be used for training, how long it may be retained, and which features can access files. The controls below reflect vendor documentation checked October 30, 2026; product settings and terms can change.
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What data is sent to AI providers?
It depends on the assistant, the feature, and the task. A cloud-based completion or chat needs a prompt and relevant context to generate an answer; that context can include more than the sentence you typed. Vendor documentation describes inputs such as nearby code, open-file snippets, comments, filenames, repository structure, cursor position, conversation history, and outputs you accept or modify. These disclosures do not establish that every request uploads an entire repository.
Keep these separate questions in mind:
- Payload: What prompt, code, files, metadata, outputs, or history can the feature send?
- Processing: Which service or model provider receives it, and does the feature run locally or in a hosted environment?
- Training: Is the provider allowed to use the material to improve or train models?
- Retention: Is data stored, for how long, and are there exceptions for safety review or flagged content?
- Other flows: Do telemetry, feedback, extensions, integrations, or agents send or store information separately?
A statement about one axis does not answer the others. “Not used for training,” encryption, zero-data-retention arrangements, a local file-reading tool, and local model execution are different claims. For example, a product may send code to a provider for inference while disallowing training on it.
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GitHub describes possible Copilot interaction data including inputs, accepted or modified outputs, surrounding code, comments, documentation, filenames, repository structure, navigation, feature interactions, and ratings. Cursor says prompts and code context are sent to model providers. Google identifies queries, conversation history, open and adjacent file snippets, and cursor location for Gemini Code Assist Standard and Enterprise. These are documented possible data categories, not a measurement of how much code any individual request sends. GitHub’s interaction-data policy announcement and Google’s Code Assist privacy documentation describe their respective scopes.
Is my code used for training?
There is no universal answer: the account type, plan, setting, and provider terms matter. Check the assistant account and edition you actually use, not just the editor’s privacy settings.
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GitHub announced that, effective April 24, 2026, interaction data from individual Free, Pro, and Pro+ users could be used to train and improve AI models unless the user opted out; its current instructions also name Copilot Max. For an individual account, open your profile menu, select Copilot settings, and set Allow GitHub to use my data for AI model training to Disabled. GitHub says Business and Enterprise customer data is treated differently for model training; its March 25, 2026 announcement states, “Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise users are not affected by this update.” Check the current policy and plan terms rather than assuming the individual-plan setting applies to an organization. GitHub’s announcement
Cursor
Open Cursor Settings → General and enable Privacy Mode. Cursor says that when it is on, code is not used for training by Cursor or its providers, but prompts and code context are still sent to model providers to provide the service. Organizations can enforce Privacy Mode. When it is off, Cursor says it may store and use codebase data, prompts, editor actions, and snippets for improvement and training. Cursor’s data-use overview
Claude Code
First identify whether the login uses a consumer Free, Pro, or Max account, or commercial Team, Enterprise, or API terms. Anthropic says consumer model improvement is a choice, while commercial prompts and code generally are not used to train generative models absent an affirmative customer choice. Consumer safety-review and feedback exceptions are part of the distinction, so “not used for training” should not be read as “never reviewed or retained.” Claude Code’s data-usage documentation
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Gemini Code Assist
Google says it does not use customer data to train models without permission in its documentation for Gemini Code Assist Standard and Enterprise. That statement belongs to those editions; do not extend it to the individual edition without checking its own notice. The individual-edition opt-out details are not established here. Google’s security, privacy, and compliance documentation
Does Privacy Mode stop Cursor from sending code to the cloud?
No. Cursor’s Privacy Mode concerns training and data-use terms; it does not turn cloud inference into local inference. Cursor says prompts and code context still go to model providers when the mode is on.
Using your own API key does not necessarily route requests directly from your computer to the model provider. Cursor says requests still go through its backend, and its zero-data-retention arrangements do not apply to user-provided API keys; some models require separate retention approval. Cursor also describes temporary encrypted file caching. These details mean a user-supplied key should not be treated as a bypass for the product’s own data path. Cursor’s data-use overview
Cloud Agents are a distinct feature from ordinary editor completions: Cursor says encrypted copies of repositories are stored temporarily while a Cloud Agent runs and deleted after it completes. If temporarily storing a repository copy is prohibited by your requirements, do not use Cloud Agents for that repository.
Can Copilot read my private repository?
A repository being private at rest does not mean code stays on your device while you use an assistant on it. Copilot may receive task-relevant context during active use; GitHub’s listed interaction data can include surrounding code and repository structure. The documentation does not support a blanket claim that every Copilot request sends the full repository.
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For cloud-agent access, open Copilot settings and choose No repositories or Only selected repositories if that matches your needs. This is a separate control from model training: limiting an agent’s repository access does not itself change the training terms for other Copilot interactions.
What Copilot content exclusion can and cannot do
GitHub organizational content exclusion can prevent specified files from informing covered Copilot features, but it is not an airtight secret filter. GitHub says it currently does not cover IDE Chat Edit and Agent modes; semantic information can also reach Copilot indirectly through the IDE, and the documentation describes limitations involving symlinks and remote-filesystem repositories. Confirm that the exclusion applies to the feature and repository setup in use before relying on it. GitHub’s content-exclusion documentation
How do I keep secrets and .env files out of Claude Code?
Use Claude Code project settings to deny file reads for sensitive paths. Anthropic says .claudeignore has no effect, so do not rely on that filename as a privacy control.
- Identify sensitive paths. List files and folders that should not be read, such as
.envor a secrets directory. - Add Read deny rules in project settings. Anthropic gives examples including
Read(./.env)andRead(./secrets/**). - Review the rules for your project layout. A rule only helps if its path matches the files you intend to protect; do not assume it protects similarly named files elsewhere.
- Separate file access from network and retention settings. A Read denial restricts Claude’s file tools; it does not make cloud inference local or change the account’s data terms.
Claude Code also has operational-traffic environment variables. DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 opts out of usage metrics, DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING=1 opts out of qualifying error reports, and CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC disables non-essential traffic. Anthropic says its metrics exclude code, prompts, and file paths. These switches do not stop the cloud model from receiving the context needed to answer a request. Anthropic’s Claude Code data-usage documentation
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallDoes turning off VS Code telemetry stop Copilot or extensions?
No. Setting VS Code’s telemetry.telemetryLevel to off stops future VS Code telemetry, according to Microsoft, but extensions may collect their own telemetry independently. It also does not disable the code-context transmission required by a cloud coding assistant.
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In VS Code, open Settings, search for telemetry.telemetryLevel, and set it to off. Then review the telemetry and privacy controls for each extension and assistant separately. The editor setting governs VS Code telemetry, not every extension’s behavior or the assistant provider’s data handling. Microsoft’s VS Code telemetry documentation
For the product formerly covered by Windsurf help documentation, a former help URL now redirects to Devin Desktop documentation, which says code-snippet telemetry can be opted out of through account settings. That redirect does not establish a complete current Windsurf-specific training or retention policy, so do not assume the two products have identical terms. The former Windsurf documentation URL
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changes when an agent runs in the cloud?
A hosted agent can create a different data-handling path from an assistant that reads files locally and sends selected context for inference. Check whether the agent clones or stores a repository, where it runs, who can access it, what transcript or artifacts remain, and when temporary copies are removed.
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Cursor says Cloud Agents temporarily store encrypted repository copies while running and delete them after completion. This is a repository-copy lifecycle, distinct from the prompt and code context sent for ordinary inference.
Claude Code cloud sessions
An Anthropic-managed cloud session clones the repository into an isolated virtual machine and stores a transcript for later access. That is different from local execution: consider both the repository copy and the retained session record when deciding whether a cloud session is appropriate. Claude Code’s data-usage documentation
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For either product, a restriction against hosted repository storage is a reason to avoid that cloud-agent feature, even if other assistant controls are enabled. Disabling model training does not answer whether an agent stores a working copy or transcript.
How long can an AI coding assistant retain data?
Retention is provider- and data-category-specific; a single number may not describe all information associated with an account. Anthropic’s published 2026 guidance gives separate maximum periods for specified categories: up to five years for opted-in consumer data in de-identified model-training pipelines, up to two years for flagged inputs and outputs, and up to seven years for flagged trust-and-safety classification scores. The five-year period applies only to specified new or resumed chats and coding sessions; these figures are not one general retention rule for every Claude interaction. Anthropic’s retention guidance
Before sending code-bearing feedback or a rating, inspect what the feedback flow includes. Feedback is a separate choice from ordinary inference, and a training opt-out should not be assumed to govern every safety-review, feedback, or retention exception. For the other products covered here, the cited material does not provide a single comparable retention period across all features and account types.
Which privacy settings should I change first?
Start with the account and feature you actually use. These are documented controls, not a guarantee that every possible data path is blocked.
- Identify account and edition. Check whether your assistant is an individual, organizational, commercial, or API account; terms can differ even when the editor looks the same.
- Review model-improvement controls. If you use an individual Copilot plan, set Allow GitHub to use my data for AI model training to Disabled if you do not want that use. For Claude Code, verify the consumer or commercial terms. For Gemini Code Assist, confirm the edition before relying on the Standard and Enterprise statement.
- Set Cursor Privacy Mode if applicable. Open Settings → General and enable Privacy Mode; remember this does not stop cloud inference.
- Restrict agent scope. In Copilot settings, set cloud-agent repository access to No repositories or Only selected repositories when appropriate. Avoid hosted agents when repository copies or transcripts are not acceptable.
- Protect sensitive paths. For Claude Code, add specific
Readdeny rules for files such as.envand secret directories; do not rely on.claudeignore. - Check exclusions against the actual mode. Review GitHub’s content-exclusion limitations, particularly for IDE Chat Edit and Agent modes, symlinks, or remote filesystems.
- Review telemetry and extensions separately. VS Code’s telemetry-off setting does not govern extension telemetry. Inspect each extension and assistant’s own controls.
- Read feedback prompts before submitting. Do not assume ratings or feedback follow the same rules as ordinary prompts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an AI coding assistant work without sending code to a cloud model?
Only a setup that performs inference locally can avoid sending prompts and code context to a cloud model for that inference. The products and settings described here include cloud-based processing; a training opt-out or telemetry switch is not evidence of local inference.
Does encryption mean a cloud agent never stores my repository?
No. Encryption describes protection of data, not whether a copy exists or how long it is kept. Check the agent’s documented storage and deletion lifecycle as well as its security claims.
Are Claude Code retention periods the same for every user and message?
No. Anthropic describes different periods for particular categories and circumstances, including opted-in training data and flagged safety material. The published maximums should not be read as a single retention schedule for all consumer or commercial sessions.
Can I rely on a former Windsurf privacy page for the current product’s policy?
Not by itself. A redirect to documentation for another product does not establish that the current terms, training rules, or retention practices are identical; check the current product’s own account and privacy notices.
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