Desktop versions: Apple Silicon Mac · Intel Mac · Windows PC. Technical detail below: Apple Silicon Mac preview 0.6.0; Intel Mac and Windows details pending verification • Updated September 25, 2026
Where teaching content is processed
In the documented Apple Silicon Mac 0.6.0 preview, Local School runs its AI model on the device. That preview does not send papers, prompts, curriculum text, or generated drafts to a cloud AI service and has no cloud AI fallback. Intel Mac and Windows implementation details will be documented before their downloads open.
Local processing is one part of protecting information. What you save, where you export it, who can access your computer, and your school's requirements still matter.
What the app uses and saves
| Information | How Local School uses it | What remains after you close the app |
|---|---|---|
| Prompts, chat messages, assignments, rubrics, and student papers entered in tools | Used by the model locally in the documented preview to produce responses | The app does not save a history of this content. Unsaved workspace content clears when the app closes. Original files you imported remain where you stored them. |
| Generated drafts and feedback | Displayed for you to review and edit | Unsaved drafts clear when the app closes. Files you exported remain in their chosen locations. |
| Documents added to Curriculum library | Text is extracted locally; selected documents can supply matching passages to supported requests | Extracted text, filenames, selections, and library metadata are saved locally between sessions. The library is not encrypted by Local School. |
| Downloaded AI models | Used to generate responses locally in the documented preview | Model files remain until you delete them through Model library. |
| Exported Word, PDF, Markdown, HTML, and text documents | Created locally when you choose to export | Saved at the location you select until you remove them. They may include source excerpts and document names. |
Adding a student paper to Defend Your Learning does not add it to Curriculum library. That tool uses only the supplied paper and optional context, not saved curriculum references.
Closing the app clears its workspace; it is not a secure-erasure guarantee. macOS memory management, diagnostic records, backups, and other software on that Mac may retain information independently of Local School.
When an internet connection is used
Downloading a model connects to Hugging Face and its download infrastructure to retrieve public model files. These requests do not include your teaching content. Like other internet downloads, they expose connection information such as your IP address and the requested file to the download service.
Once a model has been downloaded and loaded, generation can run offline. The documented Apple Silicon Mac preview does not include usage analytics, advertising trackers, automatic update checks, or automatic content crash-report uploads. No Local School account is required inside the app.
This notice describes the desktop app. Visiting a website, purchasing the app, or contacting support involves separate services and data handling. Those details must be described in the launch website's privacy notice.
Your documents do not train the model
The app does not fine-tune or retrain its model using your documents. Curriculum library supplies selected reference passages during a request; the model's underlying weights do not change. Local School does not upload this content for shared model training.
You control what stays saved
- Keep a draft: Export it before closing the app.
- Clear unsaved work: Use the tool's clear control, or close the workspace and confirm Close and clear. This does not remove exports or curriculum records.
- Stop using a curriculum document: Uncheck Use for responses. Its saved text remains in the library.
- Remove a curriculum document: Choose Move to Trash. It stops being used in new requests, but its extracted text remains in your Mac's Trash until you empty it. Original files, existing drafts, and exports are unchanged.
- Remove a model: Use Delete in Model library. This removes the model, not teaching documents.
- Remove an export: Manage that file in Finder and in any service that syncs or backs it up.
Deleting the app itself should not be treated as deleting all its data. Its saved library, models, exports, and backups require separate attention.
Where the Mac preview stores local data
In the documented Apple Silicon Mac preview, downloaded models and the curriculum library are stored under Library → Application Support → Local School in your Mac user folder. Installations upgraded from the earlier Paperlight preview may use Application Support → Paperlight instead.
In that preview, Privacy & storage → Show model folder opens the model location. The curriculum folder sits beside the models folder in the same app data folder. Intel Mac and Windows PC storage locations will be documented before checkout opens.
Before using student information
Use Local School according to your school's approved practices. Start with fictional examples while evaluating it, and include only the information needed for the task. Avoid adding student records to the persistent Curriculum library when a session-only tool will do.
Use a protected device account and follow your school's device and backup settings. If a file needs to remain on the device, choose a location that is not synced to a cloud service. Folders on Mac or Windows may sync automatically, depending on your settings.
Local School is a teacher-facing drafting tool. Review outputs for accuracy, bias, appropriateness, and unsupported statements before using them. Teachers make final assessment decisions. Defend Your Learning supports comprehension discussions; it does not establish AI use, authorship, or misconduct.
What we are not claiming
This preview has not completed an independent security audit or a school-specific compliance assessment. Local processing alone is not a certification of FERPA, COPPA, GDPR, or any school's requirements. Apple signing and notarization, when completed, will not certify those matters either.
This notice describes the current version's implementation, not a guarantee that information can never leave a device through exports, syncing, backups, other applications, or device compromise.
Contacting support
For help, email team@localschool.ai. Support is email only; we do not offer phone or live chat support. We’re a small team, so responses may take time. We appreciate your patience.
When you email us, your email address, message, and any attachments leave your device and are handled through email services. This is separate from the app’s local AI processing. Please do not send student papers, names, grades, or other student information. Use fictional examples and remove student information from screenshots.
Need help? team@localschool.ai · Email only. We're a small team; responses may take time.