Just dropping some important info here. Many IDEs and AI-assistants aren’t as clean as they look. While you’re working, they might be collecting your code, fragments, editor context, and even private files.

Real-life examples

• GitHub Copilot — sends your code to Microsoft’s servers for analysis, even if the project is private.

  Warp AI — after recent updates, started asking for full disk access, including photos and personal stuff. That’s fucked up, honestly.

  Some IDEs — can silently grab your code if you don’t manually block auto-permissions.

There are safer options though

• Windsurf AI — one of the cleanest. No shady data collection. Cursor AI — acceptable, but you must disable telemetry in settings.

How to not leak your project to randoms

• Turn off telemetry collection in all AI tools you use.

  Work offline when dealing with sensitive projects.

  Block auto-permissions at the system level (especially on Mac).

  Always read the Terms and Privacy Policy before installing anything.

(Yeah, it’s boring. But better 5 minutes wasted than crying later.)

AI is powerful.

But your data = your money, your ideas, your future. Don’t give it away for free

P.S. I’m not just throwing theories. I’m deep into sensitive projects myself —and trust me, one dumb leak can kill months of work. Think before you launch a new tool.