AI agents and GDPR: keeping credentials on your device
Short answer: Wield's design keeps credentials and browsing data on the user's device. Passwords and cookies never leave the computer, results do not pass through wield.run, and telemetry is off by default. This page is informational and is not legal advice. It does not claim GDPR compliance or certification for Wield or for any deployment.
What data an agent can touch
An AI agent that works in a logged-in website can reach more than the task it was given:
- session cookies and login state for each site;
- the personal data a site returns, such as names, addresses, appointments or messages;
- anything a booking or messaging action sends in your name.
The question for a privacy review is where each of those items goes, and who can read it on the way.
Where the data flows
In a cloud browser agent, the browser usually runs on the vendor's servers. The session and the page content then pass through that vendor's infrastructure.
Wield runs the requests in your own browser. The recipe makes the same requests the site's own pages make, from a tab of the site, with the cookies your browser already holds. The results go from the extension to wield-mcp and then to your AI app, all on your computer.
What wield.run receives
Per the security model, wield.run receives:
| Data | When |
|---|---|
| Downloads of public recipes | Every update, like any software update |
| Requests for private recipes and the policy | Only with an organization API key |
| Site requests and recordings | Only when you choose to send them |
| Telemetry | Only if you turn it on. Off by default |
If telemetry is on, each run reports recipe_id, version, ok, duration_ms and error_code. It reports no params, no results and no URLs.
wield.run never receives your cookies, your passwords, the site's responses or your requests to the site.
Recordings are sanitized on your device
When you record a task to build a private recipe, the extension removes cookies, auth headers and tokens, and replaces typed values and personal data with placeholders, before anything is sent. You review the exact content and click Send. Nothing leaves your computer before that click. See recording a site.
Logs stay local
Wield writes two logs to ~/.wield/logs. The executor log records each request's method, host, path, status and time. The MCP log records the requests wield-mcp makes to wield.run. Neither holds bodies, query values, params or results.
Questions for your data protection officer
Use these as a starting point for your own review:
- Which browser runs each request, and on whose device?
- Which data categories could appear in a result, such as health or contact data?
- Who holds the organization API key, and which scopes does it have?
- Is telemetry off for the organization? Can a managed browser policy enforce that?
- Who reviews a recording before it is sent, and how long do local logs stay on each device?
- Does any site's terms or your own policy restrict automated access? Check the terms of each site you use.
FAQ
Is this a GDPR certification?
No. This page makes no compliance claim. Wield's design keeps credentials and browsing data on the user's device, which is the basis for the questions above. Your organization still needs its own assessment.
Which GDPR principles does the design touch?
GDPR Article 5 lists principles such as data minimisation and purpose limitation. Article 25 asks for data protection by design and by default. The design choices on this page relate to both, but mapping them to your processing is your decision.
Does the agent still process personal data?
Yes, on your device, for the task you asked. The AI app you use may send the results to its own model provider, and that flow is outside Wield. Check that provider's terms before you send personal data to it.