Privacy
Last updated: October 8, 2026
Tinker is a free, open-source AI assistant. This page explains, in plain language, what data it handles and where that data goes. The short version: we don't sell data, show ads, or keep your messages on our own server.
If you don't sign in
- Your chats are stored only in your browser. Clearing your browser data deletes them.
- Each message passes through the Tinker server to the AI provider to get an answer. The server does not save message contents.
- For fair limits, the server keeps your IP address in memory for about a minute to count requests. It is not written to disk.
If you sign in
- Sign-in is handled by Google Firebase Authentication (Google or email + password). Tinker receives your name, email and a user ID. Tinker never sees your password.
- Your chats are saved in Google Firestore under your account, so they sync across devices. Security rules mean only you can read or change them.
- In Settings you can export all your chats, or delete your account and every saved chat, at any time.
Services that process your data
| Service | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Groq | Your messages, attached files and images, voice recordings | Answers, web search, running code, speech-to-text |
| ElevenLabs | The text of answers in voice mode | Reading answers aloud |
| Google Firebase | Account details and saved chats (signed-in users) | Sign-in and syncing chats |
| Render | Requests to the website (standard hosting logs) | Hosting the Tinker server |
| Websites, GitHub, MCP servers | Only what a connector you turned on asks for | Reading pages and repos, using your tools |
Things to know
- Share links contain the whole chat inside the link. Anyone with the link can read it.
- Your own Groq key (optional) is stored in your browser and sent through the Tinker server to Groq with each message. It is not saved on the server.
- MCP access tokens you add are stored in your browser and sent to that MCP server when you chat.
- The terminal app keeps chats and settings on your computer in
~/.tinker/. If you runtinker login, terminal chats are also saved to your account. - Tinker is not intended for children under 13.
Questions
Open an issue on GitHub. Tinker's code is public, so you can check exactly what it does.