Documentation

Overview

fAIrewall is a local privacy firewall that inspects and minimizes PII from your AI prompts before they reach cloud providers. It consists of two components:

Desktop App — Runs locally on your machine, performs all PII detection, masking, and audit logging.
Browser Extension — Intercepts prompts from AI provider websites and routes them through the desktop app for sanitization.

Both components must be installed and running for full protection. Supported AI providers: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Copilot.

1. Desktop App — macOS

Requirements: macOS 12 (Monterey) or later. Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel.

1. Download the latest .dmg file from fairewall.ai/download.
2. Open the downloaded .dmg file. A Finder window will appear with the fAIrewall icon and an Applications folder shortcut.
3. Drag the fAIrewall icon into the Applications folder.
4. Launch fAIrewall from your Applications folder (or Spotlight: press Cmd + Space, type "fAIrewall", press Enter).
5. Gatekeeper prompt: On first launch, macOS may show a dialog saying the app was downloaded from the internet. Click Open to proceed. The app is notarized by Apple and safe to run.
6. Verify the tray icon: After launch, look for the fAIrewall shield icon in your macOS menu bar (top-right area). This confirms the app is running.
7. Keep it running: fAIrewall runs in the background. Closing the window minimizes it to the menu bar — it does not quit. To fully quit, right-click the tray icon and select Quit fAIrewall.

Auto-start at login (optional): Open the fAIrewall desktop app, go to Settings via the hamburger menu, and enable Start at login.

2. Desktop App — Windows

Requirements: Windows 10 (version 1809) or later, 64-bit (x86_64).

1. Download the latest installer (.exe) from fairewall.ai/download.
2. Run the installer. If Windows SmartScreen shows a warning ("Windows protected your PC"), click More info, then click Run anyway. This happens because the installer is not yet code-signed.
3. Follow the installation wizard. The default installation path is fine for most users.
4. Launch fAIrewall from the Start Menu or Desktop shortcut.
5. Verify the tray icon: After launch, look for the fAIrewall shield icon in the Windows system tray (bottom-right area, near the clock). You may need to click the ^ arrow to see it.
6. Keep it running: fAIrewall runs in the background. Closing the window minimizes it to the system tray — it does not quit. To fully quit, right-click the tray icon and select Quit fAIrewall.

3. Browser Extension

Requirements: Google Chrome (version 120 or later) or Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based). The fAIrewall desktop app must be installed and running.

Chrome Web Store (recommended)

Chrome Web Store listing is pending approval. Use the manual method below until the extension is published.

1. Open the Chrome Web Store link (will be available at fairewall.ai/download).
2. Click Add to Chrome.
3. Confirm by clicking Add extension in the popup.
4. The fAIrewall shield icon will appear in your Chrome toolbar.

Manual install (Developer Mode)

1. Download the extension .zip from fairewall.ai/download and extract it to a folder on your computer.
2. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/ in the address bar.
3. Enable Developer Mode using the toggle in the top-right corner of the extensions page.
4. Click "Load unpacked" and select the extracted extension folder (the one containing manifest.json).
5. Pin the extension: Click the puzzle piece icon in the Chrome toolbar, find fAIrewall, and click the pin icon to keep it visible.
6. Verify connection: Open the fAIrewall desktop app. The Chrome Extension section should show Connected with a green indicator.

Edge installation

The same extension works on Microsoft Edge. Open edge://extensions/, enable Developer Mode (bottom-left toggle), click Load unpacked, and select the extension folder. The extension works identically to the Chrome version.

4. Verify Your Installation

After installing both components, confirm everything works:

1. Desktop app is running — Shield icon visible in menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows).
2. Extension is connected — Desktop app shows "Chrome Extension: Connected".
3. Protection is ON — Extension popup shows "Protection: ON".
4. Test prompt — Go to chatgpt.com and type a test prompt containing a fake email like test@example.com. After sending, the fAIrewall overlay should briefly appear confirming the prompt was protected.
5. Check the dashboard — Open the fAIrewall desktop app. The main view should show the redaction in the last activity section.

If all five checks pass, fAIrewall is fully operational.

5. Important Information

Free Trial

Your 14-day free trial starts automatically on the first successful launch of the desktop app, once the local protection service is running. No sign-up or credit card is required. Trial data is stored in your operating system's secure storage (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager), which helps resist tampering. When the trial expires and Protection is ON, protected prompts are blocked. Your audit logs and settings are preserved. To learn more about licensing options, visit fairewall.ai.

Protection OFF

When Protection is OFF, prompts are sent directly to AI providers without any PII scanning. fAIrewall does not process or log these prompts. You can toggle Protection ON/OFF from the extension popup at any time.

Privacy

All PII detection and masking happens locally on your device. fAIrewall does not send prompt data to fAIrewall servers. When you submit a prompt, only the minimized version is sent directly to your chosen AI provider. Your audit logs are encrypted and stored locally using AES-256 encryption.

6. Troubleshooting