Developer data protection
Cursor
Cursor Privacy Mode and company code
Yes, using Cursor AI features can send prompts and code context off the laptop even with Privacy Mode enabled. Cursor documents Privacy Mode as a training and provider-handling commitment, not local-only execution. Review the selected model’s retention terms, any exception approval and whether Cloud Agents are used, then separately decide what company code may be sent.
For Engineering leadership and procurement
Review all three for the actual model, account and client.
Dated provider-documentation categories with blank organisation decisions. No vendor storage or deletion test was performed.01
Start with where the request goes
Cursor’s data-governance documentation describes prompts and code context being sent to language-model providers when AI features are used. Cursor’s own model features may involve its inference providers as well. Privacy Mode therefore should not be described as keeping all code on the developer’s device.
Record the actual client and selected model, then identify the documented recipients and subprocessors relevant to that feature. This is a provider data-flow question. The employer’s permission to disclose the chosen code is a separate decision and may be narrower than what the service is technically able to process.
Source context: Cursor: Privacy and Data Governance
02
Separate training commitments from retention
Cursor states that with Privacy Mode enabled, code is not used for training by Cursor or its AI model providers. Its current documentation also distinguishes models covered by zero-data-retention agreements from models that require separate retention approval. An enabled privacy setting is therefore not enough to fill every retention field with zero.
For a proposed model, record the applicable policy, who can approve an exception and whether that approval changes the team’s permitted use. Avoid freezing a model list into a company procedure without a review trigger. The worksheet uses model-policy categories and asks the owner to record the current named model.
| Question | What current documentation establishes | What to record locally |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer | Prompts and code context can leave the device | Feature, model and recipients |
| Training | Privacy Mode includes a no-training commitment | Effective mode and account/team |
| Retention | Model-specific agreements and exceptions matter | Selected model terms and approval |
| Employer disclosure | Not decided by a provider setting | Permitted code and purpose |
Source context: Cursor: Privacy and Data Governance · Cursor: Security
03
Review Cloud Agents as a separate data lifecycle
Cloud Agents need a repository and execution environment over time. Cursor documents cloud code/environment storage, conversation data and snapshots. Its current Secrets & Network page distinguishes conversation deletion from snapshot retention. Deleting a visible run should not be recorded as proof that every associated stored copy has disappeared.
The same page distinguishes current Privacy Mode from Privacy Mode Legacy, which is not supported for Cloud Agents because it blocks the required cloud storage. Record the actual mode and feature. Use the dedicated cloud and lifecycle guides for environment secrets and detailed deletion questions rather than treating the local-editor decision as complete.
Source context: Cursor: Cloud Agent Secrets and Network
04
Confirm the effective workplace policy
Cursor documents team-level Privacy Mode enforcement and an Allowed Team IDs policy for managed devices. Review the controls that actually apply to the selected user and client, including whether the user can change the relevant setting. An individual preference and a centrally enforced team policy are different evidence.
Keep the record non-secret. The download asks for the named model, account/team scope, feature, source date and approval owner. It does not need an API key, exported account file or source-code archive. Where BYOK, gateways or external connectors change the recipients, review those arrangements separately.
Source context: Cursor: Privacy and Data Governance
05
Make a code-use decision from the completed matrix
A useful approval states which code classes and tasks may use which Cursor configuration. If a retention exception is unacceptable for the intended material, choose an approved alternative rather than assuming the privacy toggle overrides it. If the task does not need proprietary code, prepare a smaller synthetic or public-style example.
Revisit the record when the model, account, privacy mode, Cloud Agent feature or contractual terms change. The matrix is a dated documentation aid, not an independent test of vendor storage or deletion. Endpoint controls may help evaluate supported inputs, but they do not rewrite the destination provider’s terms.
Put it into practice
Cursor transfer, retention and training review
Record what the selected Cursor feature and model do with code, and what the employer permits.
Dated provider-documentation categories with blank organisation decisions. No vendor storage or deletion test was performed.
| Use case | Documented consideration | Your evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Local AI request | Code context can reach model providers | Record feature/model/recipient |
| Privacy Mode enabled | No-training commitment | Verify effective account/team setting |
| Model retention exception | Separate terms and approval | Record selected model policy |
| Cloud Agent | Repository environment and retained copies | Review conversation and snapshot lifecycle |
Work through your review
Use the checks to organise the evidence you need. Your selections stay in this tab.
0 of 3 reviewed
Example files for this task
Keep the source material and the instructions together. You can also download the complete worksheet or matrix as CSV.
README.mdInspect
# Cursor data-handling review
Source review: 2026-09-21. This pack records provider documentation and blank organisation decisions. It performs no requests, reads no repository and tests no vendor storage or deletion.
Use documented-categories.csv to understand the questions. Complete selected-configuration.json for the actual client, model, account and feature. Keep keys, credentials and code out of the record. Read the linked current vendor sources whenever a model, policy or Cloud Agent setting changes.
Privacy Mode does not mean local-only execution. Training, transfer, retention and permission to disclose are separate fields.
## Guide and source references
Canonical guide: https://aona.ai/resources/guides/cursor-privacy-mode-company-code/
Source review: 2026-09-21
- Cursor: Privacy and Data Governance: https://cursor.com/docs/enterprise/privacy-and-data-governance
- Cursor: Security: https://cursor.com/security
- Cursor: Cloud Agent Secrets and Network: https://cursor.com/docs/cloud-agent/security-network
documented-categories.csvInspect
checked_at,category,documented_consideration,source
2026-09-21,AI feature request,Prompts and code context can be sent to model providers,https://cursor.com/docs/enterprise/privacy-and-data-governance
2026-09-21,Privacy Mode,No-training commitment for code with mode enabled,https://cursor.com/docs/enterprise/privacy-and-data-governance
2026-09-21,Selected model retention,Some models require separate retention approval,https://cursor.com/docs/enterprise/privacy-and-data-governance
2026-09-21,Cloud Agent,Cloud repository and environment storage required,https://cursor.com/docs/cloud-agent/security-network
2026-09-21,Cloud retained copies,Conversation deletion and snapshot lifecycle differ,https://cursor.com/docs/cloud-agent/security-network
2026-09-21,Privacy Mode Legacy,Not supported for Cloud Agents,https://cursor.com/docs/cloud-agent/security-network
selected-configuration.jsonInspect
{
"notice": "Blank review record; no actual account or approval",
"client_and_version": "TO_RECORD",
"account_and_team_scope": "TO_RECORD_WITHOUT_SECRETS",
"feature": "TO_RECORD",
"selected_model": "TO_RECORD",
"effective_privacy_mode": "UNVERIFIED",
"centrally_enforced": "UNVERIFIED",
"request_recipients": "TO_RECORD",
"training_commitment_source": "TO_RECORD",
"retention_terms_and_exceptions": "TO_RECORD",
"cloud_conversation_lifecycle": "NOT_REVIEWED_OR_NOT_APPLICABLE",
"cloud_snapshot_lifecycle": "NOT_REVIEWED_OR_NOT_APPLICABLE",
"employer_permitted_code_and_purpose": "NOT_REVIEWED",
"decision": "NOT_YET_APPROVED",
"reviewer_and_date": "TO_RECORD"
}
approval-note.mdInspect
# Cursor code-use decision
Selected client/model/feature: ____________________
Effective account/team policy evidence: ____________________
Recipients and applicable processing terms: ____________________
Retention exceptions reviewed by: ____________________
Cloud conversation and snapshot scope, if used: ____________________
Employer-approved code classes and purposes: ____________________
Decision: NOT YET REVIEWED
Recheck triggers: model, account, mode, cloud feature, connector or agreement change.
Before you proceed
Keep these distinctions clear
- Writing zero in every retention field
- Check the selected model and any separately approved exception, plus Cloud Agent retained copies.
- Equating a personal toggle with a managed policy
- Record the effective workplace control and whether it applies to the intended account and client.
Apply it to employee AI use
Bring your actual data path.
Aona can help evaluate policy and sensitive-data protection for supported employee endpoint submissions.
Aona does not change Cursor or model-provider training, retention, cloud storage or account-policy terms. No universal Cursor client coverage is implied.
Bring the completed configuration record and a permitted synthetic code example to a scoped input-path review.
Review your use caseFAQ
Questions for this decision
Does Cursor Privacy Mode mean code never leaves my laptop?
Does Privacy Mode guarantee zero retention for every model?
Can Cloud Agents be used with Privacy Mode?
Does deleting a cloud conversation delete every stored copy?
Evidence behind the guide
Sources and scope
Prepared by Aona. Sources checked 2026-09-21. The cited material supports the specific points below; it does not certify a product or your use case.
- Cursor: Privacy and Data Governance
Describes code transfer, no-training commitments, model-retention exceptions and workplace policy controls.
vendor · checked 2026-09-21 - Cursor: Security
States Privacy Mode availability and no-training scope.
vendor · checked 2026-09-21 - Cursor: Cloud Agent Secrets and Network
Documents current versus Legacy Privacy Mode, cloud storage and distinct retained-copy lifecycles.
vendor · checked 2026-09-21