Built to be private. Audited to stay that way.

Inherited infrastructure certifications

Hapo Ndani runs on certified platforms. These certs are held by the platform — Hapo Ndani inherits the control framework.

Architectural security — verifiable from the code

• ✓No passive telemetry. Zero analytics, crash reporting, or usage logging. The backend logs only HTTP request metadata (standard Cloud Run access log).
• ✓Local-first inference. Model prompts, file content, and AI responses never touch the backend or any external API. Inference runs entirely on your Mac.
• ✓Parameterized SQL throughout. All database queries use bound parameters. Injection-resistant by construction, not by filtering.
• ✓App Store distribution. App purchase and install flow now routes through Apple’s Mac App Store listing instead of a custom checkout.
• ✓Rate limiting on all endpoints. Verify (20/min), admin (5/min), recover (5/min), vault (10/min), webhook (30/min). Brute-force protection by IP.
• ✓Security headers on all responses. X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options: DENY, Strict-Transport-Security, Referrer-Policy: strict-origin.
• ✓CORS restricted to known origins. Only nibiashara.biz is allowed. Wildcard removed.
• ✓API schema not publicly exposed. /docs, /openapi.json, and /redoc are disabled in production.
• ✓Admin token in Authorization header, never in URL. Removed from query string to prevent token exposure in server logs.
• ✓Constant-time signature comparison. hmac.compare_digest used throughout. Timing attacks cannot reveal valid prefixes.
• ✓Data Vault is 100% user-initiated. Nothing is read from your Mac automatically. Only text you write in the summary field is ever sent. The backend validates this by design — it has no read path.
• ✓Explicit folder approval on desktop. The Mac app uses macOS security-scoped bookmarks. Each folder requires an explicit Allow prompt. Access is revocable at any time.
• ✓Local read ledger. Every file the app reads locally is logged with a not-sent flag. You can inspect and clear the ledger at any time.
• ✓Symlink escape prevention. File reads are checked against the approved folder root after resolving symlinks. Escape attempts are blocked and logged.

Open-source runtimes & standards compliance

• ✓OWASP Top 10 addressed. SQL injection, XSS, broken authentication, security misconfiguration, and sensitive data exposure were each tested and hardened before the pilot launch.
• ✓HTTPS everywhere. TLS 1.2+ enforced on all surfaces. Netlify enforces HTTPS on the website; Cloud Run enforces HTTPS on the backend. No plaintext endpoints.
• ✓Gemma 4 — Apache 2.0 / Gemma Terms of Service. Google's open-weights model. No proprietary black-box API. Runs fully offline on your hardware.
• ✓Qwen3 — Apache 2.0. Alibaba's open-weights model. MIT-licensed llama.cpp runtime. Both are source-auditable.
• ✓Zero third-party tracking. No Google Analytics, no Meta Pixel, no Hotjar, no CDN-loaded scripts from external domains on any Hapo Ndani page.
• ✓Model integrity checking. SHA-256 verification is in the model downloader. Hashes will be pinned once model releases stabilize.

Privacy framework alignment (self-attested)

• ✓GDPR Article 25 — Privacy by Design. Local-first processing, data minimization by architecture, no purpose creep, no profiling.
• ✓CCPA — no sale of personal data. The Data Vault is explicit, compensated, user-initiated consent. It is not a passive data sale. Users can opt out by never using the vault.
• ✓Kenya Data Protection Act 2019. Local processing model aligned with the Act's principles of data minimization and purpose limitation. No cross-border transfer of user content.

Planned security improvements (not yet complete)

• Continue Mac App Store release hardening as the pilot matures
• SHA-256 hash pinning for all model packages — pending stable upstream releases
• App Sandbox entitlements — scoped file access via macOS sandbox (hardened runtime)
• SOC 2 Type II — own attestation (requires external auditor engagement)
• Persistent database only if a future paid data feature needs server-side records