You control where every conversation lives: synced to encrypted cloud storage, kept only on one device, or never stored at all. This page covers the storage modes and how deletion and export work.
Storage modes
Local-only chats
Local-only chats stay on the device where you created them and never reach Tinfoil’s servers, even with cloud sync enabled.
- Go to Settings → Cloud Sync and turn on Enable local chats.
- The sidebar now shows Cloud and Local tabs. Chats created under the Local tab stay in this browser’s local storage and never leave it.
- To promote a local chat to the cloud later, drag it to the Cloud tab or use Move to cloud in the chat’s menu.
- Go to Settings → Cloud Sync and turn on Enable local chats in the Local Chats section.
- The sidebar shows a Cloud / Local switcher. Chats created under Local are encrypted with a device key that never leaves the phone.
Local chats are permanently erased when you sign out. Treat local chats as
temporary, or move them to the cloud if you need to keep them.
Temporary chats
Temporary chats are never written to disk or cloud — they exist only in memory while open.
- Web: click the ghost icon in the top-right of the chat area (Temporary chat). To keep a temporary conversation after all, click Save chat and it becomes a normal chat.
- iOS: tap the ghost icon in the navigation bar on a new chat (Start temporary chat). A Temporary label shows while active; leaving the chat discards it.
Temporary chats never appear in the sidebar, are never titled, synced, or shareable, and vanish when you exit them.
Exporting your data
From the web app’s Settings → Cloud Sync tab:
- Export Chats downloads your cloud conversations, plus any local-only chats stored in that browser, as a re-importable archive.
- Export Projects downloads your projects — settings, instructions, memory, and documents — in a format also compatible with Claude project imports.
On iOS, Settings → Manage Data → Export Chats opens the web app’s export page; exports run from the web app. Since the web app cannot reach chats stored locally on your phone, local-only iOS chats are not included in exports.
How deletion works
Deleting a single chat
Deleting a chat removes it from the device and issues a delete to cloud storage. The deletion propagates to your other devices on their next sync. If you delete while offline, the cloud delete is queued and retried automatically when connectivity returns.
Deleting all chats or projects
- Web: Settings → General → Data → Delete all saved chats (type the confirmation phrase to proceed). Delete all projects is alongside it.
- iOS: Settings → Manage Data → Delete All Chats or Delete All Projects (each with typed confirmation).
Bulk deletion removes the encrypted records from cloud storage first, then wipes local copies — the operation fails rather than leaving cloud data behind. Deleting all projects detaches the chats inside them but keeps the chats.
Deleting a project
Deleting a project removes the project, its instructions, and its documents from cloud storage, and detaches its chats (the chats themselves are kept unless you delete them separately).
Turning off cloud sync
Disabling cloud sync removes the synced chats from the current device but does not delete your cloud data. Re-enabling sync (with your key) restores access. To remove data from Tinfoil’s servers, use the delete actions above.
What deletion means server-side
Deletes are issued to the sync enclave, which removes the encrypted records and writes tombstones so all your devices converge on the deletion. Keep in mind that even before deletion, everything stored server-side is ciphertext under your key — deletion removes data that Tinfoil could not read in the first place.
Signing out
Signing out clears the app’s local state:
- Local-only chats are permanently erased.
- Cached cloud chats are removed from the device (they remain in encrypted cloud storage).
- On devices without a passkey, you will need your encryption key to access your cloud chats again — the sign-out confirmation reminds you of this.
