Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions teams ask most often, about sign-in, chats, data protection, credits and working together.
These are the questions we hear most often, each with a short answer and a link to the full page. If you are looking at a specific message on screen, Troubleshooting is quicker.
Account and sign-in
No. You sign in with a link Custodos sends to your work email address, or with your Google or Microsoft account. The link in the email is valid for 24 hours and works once. More in the Quickstart.
Check your spam folder and search for the subject "Sign in to Custodos". Make sure your address was spelt correctly, then request a new link. If your company requires Google or Microsoft sign-in, use the matching button. More cases in Troubleshooting.
Not yourself. Your email address is your sign-in identity. You can change your display name at any time in your account settings. For a new address, write to [email protected].
Yes, in the browser on your smartphone or tablet. There is no app to install. Open the sidebar with the menu icon at the top left. More in A tour of the interface.
The interface is available in German, French, Italian and English. Click your name at the bottom of the sidebar and choose under Language. The choice applies on every device you sign in from.
You can write to the models in other languages too. If in doubt, say which language the answer should be in. Sign-in and invitation emails are currently in English, and the legal texts such as the terms and the privacy policy are in German only.
Chats
Only you. Admins see no content either, only usage and cost. Others can read a chat only once you share it, and only if they are members of your workspace. Nobody but you can write in your chat. More in Sharing and finding chats.
In the sidebar, grouped into Today, Yesterday, Previous 7 days and Older. Search chats finds chats by their title. Chats in a project are under Projects, chats from others under Shared with me.
PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text, data and code files, and images as PNG, JPEG, WebP or GIF. A file can be up to 20 MB. You can attach up to 10 files at once, and a chat holds up to 30 images. Save older formats such as .doc as .docx or PDF first. More in Attaching files and images.
Start with Auto, your workspace's default model. A stronger model pays off for long documents or demanding analysis; an economical one is enough for short routine tasks. More in Choosing the right model.
Yes, if your admin allows web search. The model then searches by itself when a question needs current details, and cites its sources. The globe in the composer lets you choose how thoroughly it searches. The search service receives only the query, never the conversation. More in Web search.
No. AI models can be wrong or invent details that sound convincing. Check figures, deadlines, names and quotations before you rely on them. Answers from Company Brain and from web search cite their sources: open them for important points. More in Writing good prompts.
Data and data protection
Custodos uses your content only to provide the service: storing it, displaying it and forwarding it to the models your workspace has enabled. That is what the data processing agreement (in German) says. Which providers process your messages, and what applies there, is answered in Questions from IT and data protection.
Custodos itself runs in Switzerland, where the application and the database are hosted. The models process your messages in the region your admin has set, by default the EU and Switzerland. Your account settings show which region applies to you, under How your data is handled here. More in Where your data lives.
That is pseudonymisation. Custodos detected a name and replaced it with a placeholder such as <NAME_1> before the message went to the model. The reply shows the real name again.
If something was replaced that is not a person's name, a product name for example, click the notice under the composer before sending and untick the value. It is then sent in this chat exactly as you typed it. More in Protecting personal data in chat.
Until you delete them, unless your admin has set chats to be deleted automatically after a number of days. What applies to you is shown in your account settings under How your data is handled here. A deleted chat cannot be restored. More in Access, retention and deletion.
That is up to your company. Custodos helps: pseudonymisation replaces detected personal data before sending, and for particularly sensitive client matters there is security mode, if your admin offers it. No protection detects every detail. Follow your internal rules and any professional secrecy that applies to you. More in Data protection in daily work.
Credits and billing
Credits are the unit of usage. Every reply uses credits, depending on the model and on the length of the question, attachments and reply. The model picker shows roughly how much a model uses per reply. Your team shares one pool that renews every month. More in Credits and usage.
Chat keeps working, and no extra invoice is created. Everyone continues on a cheaper model until the pool renews on the next billing day. Until then the model picker is locked, images cannot be generated and web search is paused. If an admin has set a personal monthly budget for you, that applies as well. More in Credits and usage.
Custodos is billed per seat per month, depending on the tier: Mini, Business or Max. Current prices are on the pricing page. Admins see your workspace's plan and seats under Billing. More in Seats and billing.
More seats or higher tiers add more credits to the pool. If your workspace already has a plan, admins adjust this under Billing and Members. Credit packs are temporarily unavailable. If you need more at short notice, write to [email protected]. As a member, ask your admin.
A workspace you create yourself starts with a 7-day trial and no credit card. Chat is available throughout; Company Brain and agents come with your first plan. For your team to keep working after the trial, the workspace needs a plan. Online payment is not open yet: write to [email protected] and we set the plan up for you.
Team
Admins do this under Members with Invite. The invitation goes out by email and is valid for 7 days. If you are not an admin, ask an admin of your workspace. More in Members and roles.
Usually for one of three reasons: the invitation is older than 7 days, it has already been used, or you are signed in with a different address from the one invited. Sign in with the invited address, or ask your admin to resend the invitation. If your workspace requires Google or Microsoft sign-in, sign in that way and open the link again. More in Troubleshooting.
Only if your company does not use Custodos yet. If you see Create workspace, your account does not belong to a workspace yet. Usually you are signed in with a different address from the one your invitation went to. A second workspace keeps knowledge, seats and billing apart from your colleagues', so ask your admin for an invitation instead.