VaultSort's Guardian feature uses local AI to identify sensitive files on Mac

New On-Device Sensitive File Scanner

VaultSort has released Guardian, a new feature designed to locate sensitive personal and financial documents on a user's Mac. The tool scans chosen folders for various types of confidential information, including identity documents, financial records, credentials, and medical files.

Privacy-Focused Local AI Processing

A core aspect of Guardian is its commitment to privacy, as all analysis is performed entirely on the user's Mac. This on-device processing, including text recognition within images, means no data is uploaded to the cloud or any external servers, preventing potential exposure of sensitive information to third-party APIs.

Identified Categories of Sensitive Data

Guardian specifically looks for four categories of sensitive files. These include identity documents like passports and driver's licenses, financial and payment details such as bank statements and card numbers, credentials and keys like password exports and SSH keys, and medical and legal records including prescriptions and contracts.

Operational Principles and User Control

The tool operates in a read-only mode, meaning it does not move, change, or delete any files automatically. It reports its findings, allowing the user to decide on subsequent actions. Additionally, Guardian does not store a persistent map of sensitive files on disk; scan reports exist only in memory.

User Workflow for File Management

Users initiate a scan by selecting specific folders like Desktop, Downloads, or Documents. Guardian then locally reads file contents and metadata, ranking findings by severity and flagging files in cloud-synced folders. Users can then select identified files and encrypt them with a single click, using Touch ID or a YubiKey for confirmation.