Confidentiality
The confidentiality flag marks data that must not leave the secure Smartchat hosting environment. It controls which features are available for a given piece of data: any feature that sends data to an external system is blocked when the data is confidential.
Where confidentiality is set
Section titled “Where confidentiality is set”Confidentiality is set at two levels:
Per Collection
Section titled “Per Collection”Each collection has its own confidentiality setting. When you create or edit a collection, you can mark it as confidential. A confidential collection cannot be used with features that send data externally (such as web search).
Per Space (override)
Section titled “Per Space (override)”Each Space has a confidentiality setting (“Confidential Data”), configured by the Space Owner under Administration → Space Owner → Space. When a Space is marked as confidential, all data in that Space is treated as confidential, regardless of the individual collection settings. The Space setting is an override, not a default: it cannot make a confidential collection non-confidential, but it can make all collections in the Space confidential.
When a chat becomes confidential
Section titled “When a chat becomes confidential”A chat is confidential as soon as its Space is confidential, a confidential collection or file is attached to it, or the selected assistant references a confidential collection. Once a chat has been marked confidential it stays confidential, even if the attachment is removed again.
What confidentiality guards
Section titled “What confidentiality guards”Features that send data to systems outside the secure Smartchat environment are blocked for confidential data. Currently this applies to:
- Native Web Search: web search sends parts of the conversation to an external model provider. If a collection or its Space is confidential, web search is unavailable.
- Externally hosted models: a confidential chat can only use models hosted by T-Systems. The model picker offers Telekom-hosted models only and switches away from an externally hosted selection. An assistant that references a confidential collection must be built on a Telekom-hosted base model.
- Tools: tools are unavailable in a confidential chat, because they can pass data on to external systems.
- Sharing a chat: sharing, cloning and copying a link are unavailable for a confidential chat, so its content cannot be passed on outside Smartchat.
Future features that transmit data to external systems will be guarded by the same mechanism.
Why this matters
Section titled “Why this matters”Models hosted by T-Systems in the T-Cloud (indicated by the Telekom T logo in the model picker) process data within the secure environment. Web search and similar features route data through external provider infrastructure. The confidentiality flag ensures that data requiring the highest level of protection stays within the secure boundary.