Privacy and connectivity

ShotAI keeps original video files on your computer and combines local work with cloud AI services. Keeping the original file local does not mean that all information derived from its content remains on the device. Review the processing boundary before submitting confidential footage.

What happens on your computer

The desktop workflow reads local media, prepares thumbnails, detects shots, stores library information and search vectors, and accesses source files for playback and export. Collections and search results refer back to those sources.

Keep your own backup and storage practices in place. A searchable index or thumbnail is not a backup of the original footage. If the original moves or its drive is unavailable, cached information may remain searchable while playback or export cannot access the source.

What uses cloud services

AI understanding and semantic indexing process derived visual information in the cloud. In the version covered by this guide, processing can send preprocessed video-frame data and, when present, preprocessed audio data. AI tagging also uses derived visual data and processing metadata.

Semantic searches send the query text for cloud encoding before the library performs local vector retrieval. These online operations use the account and its available allowance. Describing the workflow as “only filenames leave the computer” or “all analysis is offline” would therefore be inaccurate.

Derived data can still reveal what footage contains, even when the full original file is not uploaded. Evaluate that boundary against the requirements of the material you intend to process.

What changes without a connection

Cloud understanding and semantic query processing need their online services. When semantic search is unavailable, including during sign-in or connection problems, the application may fall back to exact search. Check the search state shown in the interface so that you know which behavior produced the results.

Local AI functions have a different purpose and do not replace the cloud indexing and semantic-search workflow described here. Do not assume that installing or enabling a local model makes all library features work identically offline.

Connected assistants

An external assistant connected to ShotAI can receive the shot metadata and source references returned by its tools. The assistant platform may have its own data-processing rules. Consider both ShotAI and that platform when deciding what material to expose.

Before sharing a result list or screen recording, check for private filenames, source paths, account details, and unrelated project content. Collection scope helps organize a query; it is not a substitute for an access-control or client-approval policy.

Before using restricted material

Confirm that the allowed processing includes derived visual and audio information and query text. If your agreement requires specific storage regions, retention periods, deletion guarantees, or restrictions on model training, obtain the current applicable terms from support before processing that material.

This guide explains the product workflow. It does not establish a data-retention period, training-use policy, certification, or contractual security commitment. Use the applicable agreement and current policy for those decisions. For a first workflow check, choose footage you are permitted to process and follow Find your first useful shot.