Privacy and trust
CipherSlate runs in a Phala Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)—sealed hardware the host cannot read. Privacy is enforced by the chip, not by a policy alone.
What a TEE is
A locked region inside the server chip. Code and messages stay encrypted in memory; the cloud host cannot peek. Phala provides that sealed hardware for CipherSlate.
A cloud host surrounds a sealed TEE. The host cannot read memory inside the sealed region where CipherSlate runs.
- Isolation: host and hypervisor cannot read TEE memory
- Attestation: remote parties can verify which software is sealed inside
How CipherSlate uses it
One Signal number in one Phala TEE. Text and voice decrypt only inside that box. Translation and transcription go to NEAR AI private inference; voice leaves only as metadata-stripped audio.
Signal group messages enter a sealed Phala TEE, then NEAR AI private inference, and replies return to the group.
- Decrypt in TEE: Signal plaintext exists only inside the sealed bot
- Strip metadata: outbound voice has no phone, group id, or filename
- Return to Signal: translations and transcripts post back in-group
Promise vs proof
Many services ask you to trust a privacy policy. We use hardware isolation you can challenge in Signal with !verify.
Comparison of a policy promise versus hardware-backed proof with in-chat verification.
- Promise: written terms the host could still violate in practice
- Proof: sealed memory plus
!verifyfor this CVM’s compose
Limits
Group members still see posts. Operators see metadata (timing, sizes, numbers). NEAR AI processes translation text and stripped audio. !verify attests this CVM’s compose, not Whisper weights. Legal detail: Privacy Policy.