# Protect client information. Keep control of the work.

Your work needs clear lines. Who can see a client's facts? Who can act on them? This page shows how Rutledge guards client data, keeps records and leaves the big calls to people. Ask us for the detail your firm needs.

## Know who is signing in
- Before they get sensitive access, clients prove who they are. They use a photo ID, a selfie and a liveness check.
- Clients sign in without passwords. They use passkeys or a one-time code from their email. One sign-in works at every firm they use.
- Invited professionals sign in with a passkey or a password.
- Our own staff have their own sign-in for sales and for admin work. It is kept apart from the way visitors get in.
- When our support team helps your firm, they use a read-only support session. They see what you see. They can't change your records.

## The client decides who sees what
A client picks what each professional may see. The client can revoke that consent in one action, and access ends right away. Two professionals who are linked still can't open each other's private files. Taking a referral does not give access. Having access does not give the right to make a professional decision.

## One archive as the system of record
Each channel you capture goes into one compliance archive. It is locked with encryption, and you can search it. It holds email, calendar items, Teams calls and chats, and Zoom recordings. It holds phone calls, texts, voicemail and faxes. It also holds signed documents and saved copies of web pages. The archive writes the CRM's activity record too. So the history your team works from is the same as the record you keep. Search across all of them when you need to find or hand over a record.

## Stored safely, checked on arrival
- Data is encrypted as it moves.
- Each stored file is encrypted with its own key.
- All that we keep in cloud storage is encrypted at rest.
- Private fields, such as tax ID numbers, are encrypted before they go into the database.
- Each uploaded file is scanned before anyone can open it.
- Documents the platform makes are private to the people allowed to see them. Browsers are told not to keep copies.
- Saved work stays until you delete it. Records under retention or hold rules stay for as long as those rules require.

## Agents act only with approval
AI agents use approved tools only. Any step that matters waits for a person to say yes. That means sending a message, changing a record or posting content. Each agent step goes into a tamper-evident log, so no one can change it unseen. You can see what was asked, who said yes and what came next. Some steps are never open to an agent.

## Client data goes to zero-data-retention AI only
We send client data only to AI providers under zero-data-retention terms. That means they keep none of it. Other data takes a separate path. The provider's terms do not wipe the records Rutledge keeps for your work. These include saved chats, work records and documents you delivered. [See how AI is used](/ai).

## Calculations and sources you can check
Plans and tax work use calculation tools built for the job. Research answers quote the source word for word. You can check the inputs, the assumptions, what was covered and the sources behind each result. An AI-written explanation does not replace that check.

## Every fact and result shows where it came from
Each fact shows who added it: you, the assistant, an example or a placeholder. When the assistant fills a gap, the fact says what it assumed. When a fact is read from a document, it names the document and the line. Each result shows the facts it used. When a tax return can't be worked out, it says which fact is missing. It does not guess. Research quotes the exact text it relies on.

## Charges you can see
Usage is metered. A monthly statement shows it by service and by user. Spending limits stop new paid work until a person with the right to do so raises them. [See pricing](/pricing).

## Providers and processing
Our apps and databases run on hardware we own and run. The services you use decide which providers handle data. This table shows the main jobs each provider does. Ask us for the full list and the terms for your setup.

| Provider | Processing role | Information involved |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | File storage, key management and document processing | Service data and documents for the selected function |
| AI providers under zero-data-retention terms | AI tasks, with client data and other information routed separately | Inputs and outputs for the task |
| Twilio SendGrid | Business and consent-based email | Recipient addresses and message contents |
| Twilio | Text messages and calls | Phone numbers, message contents and call details |
| Stripe | Billing and payments | Billing details and payment information |
| Cloudflare | Website edge services | Requests, connection information and related security data |
| Persona | Identity verification | Photo ID, selfie and liveness check results |
| BoldSign | E-signature | Documents for signature and signer details |
| DocuSign | E-signature through your firm's own account | Documents for signature and signer details |
| Microsoft 365 | Mail, calendar and Teams capture through your firm's account | Messages, calendar items, calls and chats |
| Zoom | Meeting scheduling and recordings through your firm's account | Meeting details and recordings |
| RingCentral | Calls, texts, voicemail and fax through your firm's account | Call records, recordings, messages and faxes |

## Ask for the evidence
[Talk with us](/contact) about who can get in, how data is locked and what each provider does. You can also ask how we respond to incidents, how we keep service running, and about outside reviews. Tell us the services and data you use, so the answer fits. Send reports of security flaws to **security@rutledge.ai**.