Five Questions Before You Install Any AI Tool
A free checklist for schools, churches, and small businesses. You don't need to read code to ask these.
AI assistants are showing up in every office, and many of the most popular ones are free to install. Some of them can reach your files, your email, or the passwords saved in your web browser. Popular isn't the same as safe.
Before you install one, ask these five questions. Put them to the company that makes it, your IT person, or the AI assistant itself.
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1. What can it reach?
Your files, your email, the passwords saved in your browser? Give it only the access it needs for the job you want done.
A good answer: "Only what this job needs, and you can see and change that list."
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2. Where does it keep my logins, and are they locked?
"Saved in a file on your computer" is not the same as "locked." A backup, a synced folder, or a lost laptop shouldn't hand someone your accounts.
A good answer: "They're scrambled, and the key is held by your computer's own password vault."
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3. What leaves my computer?
Look for settings named sharing, usage reports, or "help us improve," and check whether they start out on or off.
A good answer: "Nothing leaves unless you turn it on."
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4. How does it update?
Automatic updates are great from a company you know and trust. From a stranger's free project, an update can change what the tool does without anyone checking it first.
A good answer: "Updates come from us, and you can choose when to install them."
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5. Who checked it besides the person who built it?
Stars, downloads, and five-star reviews measure popularity, not safety.
A good answer: "An outside reviewer checked it, and here's what they found."
The risky part is usually a default. Most trouble starts with a setting someone accepted without reading it. Slow down at the install screen.
Print it and keep it by the computer, or share it with your staff.