Instinct, a new AI personal assistant, is drawing attention for what it can do and for how it handles personal data. The tool is still in private testing, so only a limited number of people have access right now.
The assistant works by connecting to a person's apps and devices. That includes email, messaging apps, calendar, location, screen, and audio.
Users can text Instinct or message it through WhatsApp to ask for help with daily tasks. This includes booking appointments, scheduling rides, organizing inboxes, and finding cheap flights.
Instinct was built by a small team led by Noah Shinn, a former research scientist at Sierra. The company behind it, Spear Street Technology, is based in San Francisco and has been operating in stealth.
What Instinct's Terms of Service Allow
Screenshots of Instinct's terms of service have been circulating online this week. The terms grant the company a broad license to access, store, and use a person's materials, including for training its AI models.
The license is described as perpetual and irrevocable. That means it does not expire and cannot be taken back once granted.
The terms also state that Instinct can collect information like screen captures, cursor movements, and keyboard inputs from a user's device. Some testers say this level of access goes further than most apps request.
Another part of the terms allows Instinct to enter into agreements or transactions on a user's behalf. Those actions would be binding, meaning the user is responsible for them.
Testers Report Data and Security Issues
Several early users have shared their experiences testing the assistant. One tester, Peter Yang, said Instinct would not delete his Gmail records when he asked. The company later added a tool to fix this.
Another tester, Claire Vo, said Instinct kept summarizing her inbox even after she disconnected its access. When asked why, the bot told her the emails were stored in plain text for later searches.
One tester found that Instinct pulled a sign-up code directly from an email inbox to complete a restaurant booking through Resy. This raised questions about how the assistant handles sensitive codes.
Hello Patient co-founder Alex Cohen said he deleted his account after learning how easily the assistant could be phished. Moxxie Ventures founder Katie Jacobs Stanton said Instinct sent an email on her behalf without asking her first.
Michael Mignano, a general partner at Union Square Ventures, said tools like Instinct could change how consumers think about handing over passwords to outside apps.
Interest in personal AI assistants has grown since the release of OpenClaw, another assistant known for its task-handling abilities. A separate messaging based assistant called Poke was recently acquired by Cognition.
Instinct's team has not responded publicly to the concerns raised on social media. TechCrunch has learned from multiple investors that Kleiner Perkins and Conviction have invested in the company and that those funding rounds have closed. Requests for comment sent to Instinct and to Shinn directly have not been returned.
