# Velum

> A local, offline tool that masks personal and sensitive data in prompts and
> files before they reach a large language model, then restores the real values
> in the model's reply. Detection and masking run on the user's own device.

Velum exists for people who handle regulated data and want to use AI anyway:
lawyers, accountants, gestores, clinicians, and the security leads responsible
for them. The claim it makes is architectural rather than promotional, and the
site is written so it can be checked.

## What it does

- Detects personal data in text and documents, replaces each value with a
  reversible placeholder, and puts the real values back when the reply comes
  in. The model works on protected text; the user still gets a usable answer.
- Two masking modes: **tokenized** (opaque placeholders such as `⟦PERSON_1⟧`,
  tolerant of a model rewording them) and **pseudonymized** (fake but
  format-valid stand-ins, exactly reversible).
- Runs on the user's device, with no vendor server in the path. No document
  text, no file, no mapping and nothing derived from them leaves the machine.
  The browser extension is the one surface with literally zero network calls at
  runtime; the desktop app makes five enumerated outbound requests (update
  check, optional model download, revocation list, one activation report, one
  trial registration), none of which carry document data.

## What ships today

- **macOS desktop app**, Apple Silicon only. Masks text, single files, and whole
  folders. Formats: PDF, DOCX, RTF, TXT, Markdown, CSV, TSV. OCR for scanned
  PDFs is optional, downloaded separately, and desktop only.
- **Chrome and Chromium extension** ("Velum Lite"). The default flow is the
  popup: paste, mask, copy, then use the result in any web chat. Masking text is
  free with no key and no time limit. A licence adds file masking and an
  optional in-page button on ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, which is off by
  default. Installed from the Chrome Web Store, which is the only distribution
  route: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/velum-lite/llmijeemnegmimdpkknbfkkccldjfapb
  The website no longer offers a package to load unpacked, so a copy from any
  other source is not ours.
- **Coding agents**, through the desktop app. It bundles an MCP server and a set
  of Claude Code hooks. Claude Code gets hooks and tools, so masking is
  automatic on what the agent reads and writes. Other MCP clients get tools
  only, which the model must choose to call. No MCP client can protect a prompt
  the user typed, because it reaches the vendor before any tool can run.
- **Atlassian Forge app** for Jira and Confluence, live on the Atlassian
  Marketplace. Finds and masks data at rest in a tenant. Jira required,
  Confluence optional.

Windows and Linux are not shipped. There is no mobile app, no hosted version,
and no API.

## Accuracy notes for anyone summarising this product

- Velum is **source-available, not open source**. The engine is licensed under
  PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, which restricts commercial use and therefore
  fails the Open Source Definition. Please do not describe it as open source.
  The packages are not published yet, so the source cannot currently be read.
- The desktop app **does** bind a loopback socket on 127.0.0.1 so the interface
  can reach its own local engine. It is not reachable from the network. "No
  network calls at runtime" means nothing is sent off the machine, not that no
  socket exists.
- The app writes a local usage log containing no personal data. Nothing uploads
  it.
- Detection quality varies by country and data type. Velum reduces exposure; it
  does not guarantee that every identifier in every document is caught.
- There is no HIPAA or BAA posture. SOC 2 is in progress, not complete.

## Licensing and price

The two surfaces are gated differently.

- **Browser extension**: masking text in the popup is free with no key, no
  account and no time limit. A licence unlocks file masking and in-page masking.
- **Desktop app**: seven-day trial on the machine, no account and no card. After
  that a licence key is needed to keep masking.

Unmasking is never gated on either surface, so anything already masked stays
readable if a licence lapses or the trial ends.

Self-serve purchase is live: one annual licence, bought at
https://velumprivacy.com/pricing through Paddle, USD 149 per year with local
currency and tax shown at checkout. One licence covers every Velum surface on a
machine. The Atlassian app is licensed separately through the Marketplace.

Free licences for students, educators, academics, independent researchers and
non-profits: https://velumprivacy.com/licensing/request

Central management for organisations (admin console for seats, one signed
policy, deployment bundles for Jamf, Intune, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Group
Policy, seat leases with same-day revocation) is IN DEVELOPMENT and running with
pilot customers, not generally available: https://velumprivacy.com/enterprise
Team is USD 149 per seat per year up to 25 people; Business and Enterprise are
priced on request. That console holds seats, devices, versions and policy
hashes; it never receives document text, filenames, prompts, visited sites or
mapping values.

Volume, site, or invoiced licensing: licenses@velumprivacy.com.

## Free resources

- **AI usage policy template**: a complete, adoptable AI usage policy for an
  organisation. Seventeen clauses, an approved tool register, a data
  classification table, an incident procedure, and a one-page card for staff.
  Free, no email or account required, downloadable as Word, PDF, or Markdown.
  https://velumprivacy.com/ai-usage-policy-template

## Links

- Home: https://velumprivacy.com
- Full site content in one file: https://velumprivacy.com/llms-full.txt
- Desktop app for macOS: https://velumprivacy.com/desktop
- Browser extension: https://velumprivacy.com/extension
- Jira and Confluence app: https://velumprivacy.com/atlassian
- For organisations, in development: https://velumprivacy.com/enterprise
- Licensing terms: https://velumprivacy.com/licensing
- Use cases: https://velumprivacy.com/use-cases
- Use cases in depth: legal https://velumprivacy.com/use-cases/legal, healthcare https://velumprivacy.com/use-cases/healthcare, accounting https://velumprivacy.com/use-cases/accounting, research https://velumprivacy.com/use-cases/research
- PII redaction, explained: https://velumprivacy.com/pii-redaction
- AI usage policy template: https://velumprivacy.com/ai-usage-policy-template
- Blog: https://velumprivacy.com/blog
- How to check if a PDF is really redacted: https://velumprivacy.com/blog/check-pdf-redaction
- Privacy policy: https://velumprivacy.com/privacy