What context does optional cloud AI receive in CiteSilo?

CiteSilo stores its work history and indexes locally, but optional cloud AI can receive selected context to perform an analysis. The important question is which feature is running with which provider and settings.

“Stored locally” and “never sent to a provider” are different statements.

Start with the selected provider

Open Settings and check the active mode. Local mode provides counted reports and source excerpts without a cloud API key. A cloud provider can generate interpretations using context supplied for the task.

New CiteSilo 0.1.7 installations start in Local mode with automatic background summaries off. Upgrades retain saved provider choices, so an existing installation needs an explicit settings check.

An optional Ollama setup uses a separately installed compatible local model and local service. That setup has its own hardware and configuration requirements.

Review the feature that sends the request

Questions, report generation and enabled background processing can use different selections of context. Depending on the feature, this may include window titles, extracted screen text, source passages and permitted sampled screenshots.

Background summaries and reports can include sampled screenshots when images are allowed. The number depends on the settings, provider and available sources. Avoid treating one screenshot count as a universal limit for every feature.

The useful review is concrete: which task is running, what sources can it select, and whether images are allowed.

Check automatic work as well as manual actions

If background summaries or scheduled reports are enabled with a cloud provider, processing can occur without a new button press for every request. Turning on an automatic feature changes when selected context may be sent.

Check those controls alongside the provider. Do not assume that “I did not ask a question” means no optional analysis has run.

If you want to inspect the basic workflow first, use Local mode with automatic background summaries off.

Consider text sensitivity even without images

Titles-only mode prevents images in the related summary capture paths, but titles can still contain client names or private subjects. Extracted passages can be sensitive even when no screenshot accompanies them.

Review exclusions and pause before work you do not want recorded. Treat meeting recording as a separate feature with its own controls.

Also review your chosen provider’s current terms and account settings. CiteSilo’s local storage design cannot substitute for understanding an external provider.

Choose the minimum processing that helps

For “find the paragraph I need”, local retrieval may be enough. For “explain the options in these notes”, an optional model may add value, but the answer still needs verification.

Project tags and manual activity-duration corrections stay local and are not added to AI prompts. That does not imply that all other context is excluded.

See Local mode, cloud AI or Ollama for choosing an approach, and source verification for checking generated answers.