Security and data
The AI agent runs without asking for permission at each step, so safety does not rely on prompts. It relies on isolation, on the server being the one that writes to your services, and on your approval.
Where your data lives
| What | Where | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Your code | Your code host, and full clones on your runner | Built and tested on your runner. The server reads what it needs through your code host's API; it has no clones, but run logs and review data can contain excerpts of your code (see below) |
| AI sign-in or API key | Only on your runner | The AI agent in the run container. The Mergehand server never receives it |
| Tokens for your code host and tracker | Mergehand database, encrypted with AES-256-GCM | The server; the interface and logs show only the last 4 characters. A run gets only the token it needs |
| Run data – plans, reports, review drafts, logs | Mergehand server | Members of the project. Logs include the agent's tool output, review data includes diffs, and environment proposals include copies of the files they are based on – so they can contain excerpts of your code. Known tokens are masked in run output |
How long we keep it
- Runs, their logs, artifacts and outputs: 12 months.
- Code review diffs: 5 days after the merge request is closed.
- Tasks, settings and the rest of a project: while the project exists. After a trial or subscription ends, projects stay read-only for 90 days and are then deleted; we email owners and admins 14 days before.
- Backups: 14 days. Each nightly database backup is also copied, encrypted, to object storage separate from the database server; only the operator holds the key to decrypt it, offline.
Retention of personal data is in the Privacy Policy and the Data Processing Agreement.
Where your data is hosted
- The Mergehand server, database, run files and backups are at Hetzner Online GmbH in Falkenstein, Germany.
- Mergehand is operated from Slovakia and is subject to Slovak and EU law. Service providers outside the EU and the companies they belong to are listed on the subprocessors page; the only one that receives content of your projects is Amazon Web Services, which sends our emails from Frankfurt.
- Against access by authorities of non-EU countries: data stays in the EU, secrets are encrypted, no third party has access to the database, and we answer requests only under EU or Slovak law and tell you about them where the law allows.
- Exporting your data and switching to another provider are described in the Terms of Service.
Isolated runs
- Every run starts in a fresh container that is removed when it ends.
- The agent runs as an unprivileged user, without access to Docker, and sees only the repositories and files of its project.
- Outbound network is limited to an allowlist: your code host and tracker, your AI provider, package registries and addresses your project allows. If the firewall cannot be set up, the run does not start.
- The network filter works on IP addresses and DNS stays open, so treat it as a strong barrier, not an absolute guarantee.
The server writes, you approve
- Pushing branches, opening merge requests and posting review drafts is done by the server, with the same fixed checks every time: the branch builds on what is already on the remote, commits are authored by you and carry no trace of the agent.
- If a check fails, nothing is sent and the task waits for you with the reason.
- Nothing is pushed before you approve the result, and history that is already on the remote is not rewritten.
- The agent's rules forbid it to push or call your services itself. Because a run can reach your code host to fetch code, this is a rule plus server checks, not a technical impossibility – which is why runs are isolated and approval comes first.
Your account
- Two-factor authentication with an authenticator app.
- Signing out, changing the password, turning on two-factor authentication or removing a member closes the affected sessions immediately, including open windows.
- Each runner is paired with its own token, and you can revoke it in the application.
Report a problem
Found a security issue? Write to security@mergehand.com.