Privacy, permissions, and AI boundaries
Hjarni is the knowledge base. ChatGPT, Claude, and other clients only get access when you connect them. This page explains what is stored where, what a connection allows, and what the boundaries are.
Who does what
Stores notes, containers, tags, links, files, versions, and AI instructions.
Act as clients that read and write through MCP after you connect them.
Choose what gets saved, which assistant gets connected, and when access is revoked.
A connected assistant is not your permanent memory by itself. If you want something to be available later, save it to Hjarni.
Connections and tokens
- OAuth connections create a revocable MCP session tied to your Hjarni account.
- Manual API tokens grant full access to the account that created them.
- You can review and revoke tokens or MCP sessions from Settings > Connections.
- Revoking a token immediately breaks access for the app or client using it.
What a connected assistant can do
Can do
- Read notes, containers, tags, and AI instructions in the spaces you can access.
- Create and update notes, tags, links, and containers through MCP.
- Use team spaces you belong to and shared containers you can access.
- Follow instruction inheritance when a container or team has AI rules.
Cannot do
- Access Hjarni before you connect it.
- Bypass Hjarni ownership or sharing rules.
- Read personal or team spaces that your account itself cannot access.
- Keep memory outside what you save in notes or instructions.
Some clients may ask for confirmation before destructive actions, but the real enforcement boundary is still Hjarni's permissions model.
Teams and shared spaces
Personal and team spaces are separate
A team has its own notes, containers, tags, and team instructions. Your personal brain remains separate.
Shared containers have narrower permissions
Collaborators can work inside shared containers, but some owner-only actions remain restricted, including modifying the shared container itself.
Instructions still apply
If a team or container has AI instructions, connected assistants receive them and are expected to follow them.
Exports, deletion, and portability
You can export your knowledge base as a ZIP of Markdown files with the folder structure preserved. Attachments are included alongside their notes.
Archived notes can be restored. Deleted notes are permanently removed. If you revoke a token or disconnect an MCP client, it no longer has access.
For the exact export behavior, see Export and data ownership. For the legal privacy policy, see Privacy Policy.
Related docs
Questions about privacy or permissions?
Email [email protected]