Trying to figure out if a new software tool is safe to use has become exhausting.
Most of us look for a quick answer to a simple question: “Where does my data go?”
But in the modern software landscape, that question is deceptively hard to answer. A tool might store your account safely in one region, but send your typed prompts to a completely different country or a third-party provider for processing. Both matter, and the rules are rarely clear on a company's website.
To cut through the confusion, I built a non-commercial side project around a simple 5-part checklist to evaluate how platforms handle privacy:
1. Storage vs. Processing: Tracking exactly where your data sits versus where it is actively computed.
2. Legal Jurisdiction: Knowing which country's privacy laws actually govern the company behind the tool.
3. Training Policies: Clear verification on whether your inputs are being used to train their systems.
4. Independent Certifications: Looking past marketing claims to find actual security stamps (like SOC2 or ISO).
5. Regulatory Fit: Checking if the tool's baseline matches strict industries like finance or healthcare.
The goal isn't to look for a definitive verdict. A framework like this is just a reliable starting point for protecting your data before you hit "Sign Up."
When you're trying out a new software or AI tool for your everyday work, what’s the number one thing that makes you hesitate to trust it?
www.trustkit.co
(A visual breakdown of how these checks map out is in the image below)