Privacy model
The plugin’s guiding rule: a provider only sees what you let it see. Search and the graph run entirely on your machine. The only component that can send note content anywhere is the agent, and only when you’ve configured a cloud provider.
Two vault modes
Section titled “Two vault modes”Set this under Settings → Smart Second Brain → General → Privacy → Note access policy → Manage.
Private by default. Nothing is exposed unless you explicitly allow it. Only notes you mark as allowed can be read, embedded, or sent to an untrusted provider. This is the strict choice, good for vaults containing journals, client work, or health notes.
Public by default. Everything is available except what you explicitly exclude. Convenient for vaults that are mostly reference material.
Either way, the decision is per note or per folder, and you can change it at any time.
Trusted and untrusted providers
Section titled “Trusted and untrusted providers”Every provider is marked trusted or untrusted:
- Local providers (Ollama, oMLX) default to trusted, since the data never leaves your machine.
- Cloud providers default to untrusted. They are blocked from private notes even if the agent tries to reach one.
The block is enforced in the plugin, not left to the model’s discretion. An untrusted provider cannot read, embed, or be sent a private note.
Staged edits
Section titled “Staged edits”The agent can create and modify notes, but never writes directly. Changes are staged in a review queue and shown as an inline diff. Nothing touches disk until you accept it.
What leaves your machine
Section titled “What leaves your machine”| Feature | Sends data out |
|---|---|
| Search (lexical) | Never |
| Smart Graph | Never |
| Embeddings via Ollama/oMLX | Never |
| Embeddings via a cloud provider | Yes, for non-private notes |
| Agent chat via a local model | Never |
| Agent chat via a cloud provider | Yes, for non-private notes |
| Update check | No note content. Once a day, a request to GitHub for the plugin’s version number |
The update check asks GitHub whether a newer version of the plugin exists, the same way Obsidian’s own plugin update check does, and shows a notice if one does. It sends nothing about you or your vault; GitHub sees an ordinary request from your IP address. It skips itself while Obsidian’s Automatically check for plugin updates is on, and you can turn it off under Settings → Smart Second Brain → General → Privacy → Check for updates.