Security & Privacy
Last verified: 14 April 2026 | Applies to: All plans
In 30 seconds
Section titled “In 30 seconds”Claude handles data differently depending on which feature you use. Chat conversations are processed on Anthropic’s servers. Cowork runs in a sandboxed environment on your computer. Connectors authenticate via OAuth, so no passwords are shared with Claude. Understanding what goes where is essential before connecting business tools or processing sensitive data.
How data flows by feature
Section titled “How data flows by feature”graph TD
A[Your input] --> B[Chat]
A --> C[Cowork / Plugins]
A --> D[Connectors]
A --> E[Chrome extension]
A --> F[Code tab / Claude Code]
B -->|Messages sent to| G[Anthropic servers]
C -->|Instructions sent to| G
C -->|Files stay on| H[Your computer]
D -->|OAuth token to| I[Third-party tool]
D -->|Queries via| G
E -->|Page content sent to| G
F -->|Code context sent to| G
G --> J[Response back to you]
| Feature | Where it runs | What data leaves your machine | What stays local |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chat | Anthropic’s servers | Your messages and Claude’s responses | Nothing (cloud-based) |
| Cowork | Sandboxed environment on your computer | Task instructions sent to Anthropic for processing | Files in your selected folder stay local |
| Plugins | Within Cowork (your computer) | Same as Cowork (instructions processed by Anthropic) | Plugin files, your data files |
| Connectors | Anthropic’s servers (MCP protocol) | OAuth tokens, tool queries and responses | Nothing (cloud-based) |
| Claude in Chrome | Your browser + Anthropic’s servers | Page content Claude reads, actions Claude takes | Browser data itself |
| Code tab | Your computer + Anthropic’s servers | Code and instructions sent for processing | Your codebase files |
What operators need to know
Section titled “What operators need to know”Chat conversations: Your messages are sent to Anthropic’s servers for processing. On paid plans, Anthropic states that your conversations are not used to train models. On the Free plan, conversations may be used for training unless you opt out.
Cowork data handling: Cowork gives Claude access to a specific folder on your computer. Files stay on your machine. Claude reads them locally in the sandbox. However, the instructions and context are sent to Anthropic’s servers for processing. This means Claude needs to send information about your files to generate responses, but the files themselves aren’t uploaded or stored.
Connector authentication: Connectors use OAuth, the standard “Sign in with…” flow. You authenticate directly with each tool (Slack, Asana, etc.). Your passwords are never shared with Claude. Claude receives scoped access tokens that can be revoked at any time.
Incognito chats: Available on all plans. When you start an incognito conversation, it is not saved to your chat history and is not written to Claude’s Memory. This is useful for operators handling sensitive data: confidential financials, employee reviews, or anything you don’t want persisting in your account. Incognito chats are discarded when the conversation ends.
Enterprise gap, Cowork audit trail: Cowork conversation history is stored locally on your machine. It is not captured in Audit Logs, the Compliance API, or Data Exports. This is a significant gap for operators in regulated industries or organisations that require comprehensive audit trails. If compliance requires a record of all AI interactions, be aware that Cowork sessions fall outside the enterprise logging perimeter.
Key security features by plan
Section titled “Key security features by plan”| Feature | Free/Pro/Max | Team | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incognito chats | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conversations not used for training | Paid plans only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Admin controls | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| SSO (SAML/OIDC) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| SCIM provisioning | — | — | ✓ |
| Audit logs | — | — | ✓ |
| Compliance API | — | — | ✓ |
| Data exports | — | — | ✓ |
| Custom data retention | — | — | ✓ |
Practical recommendations
Section titled “Practical recommendations”Before connecting business tools:
- Review what permissions each connector requests (read-only vs read-write)
- Start with read-only access until you’re comfortable
- Use a test account or sandbox environment for initial setup if available
For sensitive data processing:
- Prefer Cowork over Chat for sensitive documents, as files stay on your machine
- Be mindful that instructions and context still travel to Anthropic’s servers
- If full data residency is required, discuss options with Anthropic’s Enterprise team
For team deployments:
- Team plan provides admin controls and SSO, but not full audit logging
- Enterprise plan is required for SCIM provisioning, audit logs, and compliance API
- Cowork sessions are not captured by enterprise logging regardless of plan. Factor this into your compliance assessment
Related
Section titled “Related”- Enterprise Security & Compliance: enterprise-specific security controls
- Connectors: how MCP handles authentication
- Audit & Compliance: enterprise logging and compliance tools
- Cowork: understanding the sandboxed environment
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