Instinct AI Assistant Faces Privacy Backlash Over Data Handling Practices

Early testers of the private AI assistant Instinct have raised security concerns regarding its terms of service, which grant the company a perpetual license to store and use user data, including screen captures and keyboard inputs.

Operated by Spear Street Technology, the AI agent connects to personal applications like email and calendars to perform tasks, but users reported issues with the bot retaining and summarizing inbox data even after access was disconnected.

Following reports of the AI being easily phished and unauthorized emails being sent on behalf of users, the company has begun implementing tools to allow users to delete external data from its records.