> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.unify.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Control & safety

> How your assistant behaves on your machine — and how you stay in charge

Giving an assistant control of your own computer only works if its conduct
is predictable. These are the rules it operates under — and the levers you
hold.

## When it acts on your machine

* **Only when you ask.** A linked machine is not a playground. Your
  assistant touches it only when you clearly ask for something on *your*
  computer — "open the file on my laptop", "click submit on my screen".
  For everything else it uses [its own machine](/their-computer/overview).
* **Your live screen share comes first.** If you're on a
  [Meet call](/communication/unify-meet) sharing your screen, that's where
  it follows your machine — watching and guiding. Direct control of the
  linked machine is for when there's no live share running.
* **It asks when unsure.** Ambiguous request? It asks a brief clarifying
  question rather than guessing on your hardware.

## How it behaves while working

* **Consequential actions get confirmed.** Before anything destructive,
  irreversible, or that sends, deletes, or purchases on your behalf, it
  states what it's about to do and waits for a clear go-ahead.
* **It narrates at a sensible pace** — progress at the level of the job,
  not a play-by-play of every click.
* **It never modifies your machine to work around a problem.** If
  something on your computer errors, it reports rather than "fixing" your
  setup — installing or changing anything requires your explicit ask.
* **It works around your lock screen honestly.** If your Mac is locked and
  you've [saved your login password](/your-computer/setup) as an encrypted
  secret, it unlocks and proceeds; otherwise it tells you it's blocked.

## Your controls

Everything is revocable, at several levels, and revocation is fast:

| Lever                          | Effect                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Revoke control mid-session** | The assistant stops instantly — every action re-checks your consent, so a revocation takes effect immediately, not at the next task |
| **Filesystem access toggle**   | File access off within about a minute, keys cleared                                                                                 |
| **Unlink**                     | This assistant loses the machine; other links unaffected                                                                            |
| **Stop Services** (tray)       | The machine goes dark to the platform until you start it again                                                                      |
| **Delete desktop**             | Unregistered everywhere, secure tunnel torn down                                                                                    |
| **Uninstall**                  | Everything above, plus the software removed                                                                                         |

## How the connection works (the short version)

* Your machine makes an **outbound connection to Unify's secure relay** —
  nothing on your computer is opened to inbound traffic from the internet.
* Control and file access run through that tunnel, authenticated with your
  account's credentials; file access additionally uses per-link keys that
  exist only while the toggle is on.
* Your saved macOS password (if any) is stored as an **encrypted secret**,
  used only on the Mac you linked.
* **Your machine is never shown in the Console live view** — the desktop
  you can watch during Meet calls is always the
  [assistant's own](/their-computer/watching-and-control), never yours.
  For the full picture of how the app relates to screen sharing, see
  [How it works](/your-computer/how-it-works).

## Shared assistants, private machines

Links are personal. If a shared team assistant works with several people,
**each person links their own machine**, and the assistant acts on yours
only for you. Nobody else's requests reach your computer, and your
colleagues' machines are equally invisible to you.

There's no extra charge for any of this — linked desktops carry no separate
fee, and work your assistant does on your machine consumes normal usage
credits like anything else.