Home / Safety / Cursor for IT & software development
Anysphere Inc. (US)How safe is Cursor for IT & software development?
Cursor publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential IT & software development data into it.
Where does Cursor stand in IT & software development?
Shared spot 16 of 36 options for IT & software development (professional tools and general assistants) on GDPR profile. 9 options have a limited profile, like Cursor. Each tile is an option we track for this field; click to check.
Published safeguards
multi-model: choose between models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google (according to the provider); with Privacy Mode (also for free and Pro) Cursor does not train on your data and zero data retention agreements apply with all model providers (according to the provider); without Privacy Mode, Cursor may use code, prompts and editor actions to train models (according to the provider); servers in several countries, including the US, and data from EU users may be transferred to the US (according to the provider); SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 42001:2023 (according to the provider); data processing agreement (DPA) with EU standard contractual clauses (according to the provider)
How to use Cursor safely
- Use the business variant and sign a data processing agreement (DPA).
- Do not enter unnecessary personal data into prompts; anonymise where possible.
- Ask the provider explicitly where data is stored and processed.
- Keep a professional in the loop: source code is a trade secret and intellectual property.
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If you choose "Yes, and don't ask again" in Claude Code, the tool saves the command verbatim in .claude/settings.local.json, including passwords or API keys. Apiiro found real secrets in 1,122 of 104,185 public copies on GitHub, including 379 database passwords. Keep the file out of git, use variables for secrets, and replace any keys that have already leaked. source
Via pop-up windows in the HTML preview of code blocks, an attacker could bypass Lockdown Mode and siphon off your chat history, via a manipulated prompt, GPT or shared chat. OpenAI patched the flaw on 18 September 2026; Check Point published the details on 5 November. Users do not need to do anything. source
With message threads in the Claude API, Anthropic stores the conversation, the system prompt and the tools on the server, encrypted in memory and not on disk, until up to one hour after the last use. The feature does not qualify for Zero Data Retention; your other ZDR agreements still apply. If you work with personal data under ZDR, only enable threads if your DPIA covers it. source
Questions
- How safe is Cursor for IT & software development?
- Cursor publishes limited privacy safeguards. Ask the provider for clarification before you put confidential IT & software development data into it. Limited or partly unknown safeguards: check with the provider.
- Does Cursor train on my data?
- multi-model: choose between models from providers including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google (according to the provider); with Privacy Mode (also for free and Pro) Cursor does not train on your data and zero data retention agreements apply with all model providers (according to the provider); without Privacy Mode, Cursor may use code, prompts and editor actions to train models (according to the provider); servers in several countries, including the US, and data from EU users may be transferred to the US (according to the provider); SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 42001:2023 (according to the provider); data processing agreement (DPA) with EU standard contractual clauses (according to the provider)
- What should I watch out for with AI in IT & software development?
- Source code is trade secret and intellectual property. Check whether AI coding assistants store your code or use it for model training (an opt-out or business plan is required). Use on-premises or privacy-compliant variants for sensitive projects. AI-generated code sometimes contains security vulnerabilities or errors, so always have a developer review it, especially production code.
Source documents
Everything about Cursor Best AI for IT & software development
Summarised by the editorial team from provider documentation · not legal advice
Last checked: 27 October 2026 · How we check
Source: , checked on 27 October 2026
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