Elephas

Elephas is a Mac AI productivity app for sensitive documents, with local-first indexing, redaction, and optional offline or cloud AI.

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What Elephas is

Elephas is a Mac app for working with sensitive documents using local-first AI. It indexes your files on your device, applies redaction before many cloud processing steps, and can also run fully offline when the task calls for maximum control.

The product is aimed at people who need AI help with material that is too sensitive to paste into a generic chatbot: contracts, client files, research notes, meeting transcripts, and other private documents. Elephas combines document search, chat over your own files, and a system-wide writing assistant so you can use AI without moving your source material out of your Mac unless you choose to.

Features

Local-first document indexing

Elephas keeps indexing on your Mac so your source documents stay on-device during setup and search.

Automatic sensitive-data redaction

The app can redact 28 types of sensitive data, including names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, SSNs, and financial identifiers, before supported cloud requests.

Offline AI mode

When you need to keep everything local, Elephas can run AI fully offline on your Mac.

Persistent Super Brain workspaces

You can create focused Super Brains for specific clients, projects, or knowledge bases and chat with your own documents over time.

System-wide writing assistant

Super Command brings writing help into any Mac app for summarizing, rewriting, translating, fixing grammar, and drafting from your own context.

Document-grounded answers with citations

Answers are grounded in your files and can include citations, which helps when you need to trace a response back to source material.

Where Elephas fits

Consulting under NDA
Use Elephas to summarize contracts, draft client-facing text, and work on confidential materials without sending raw files into a general-purpose chatbot.
Legal research and contract review
Use local indexing, redaction, and offline mode when reviewing contracts, legal research, pleadings, or matter-specific notes.
Accounting and advisory work
Use the app for tax memos, audit prep, workpapers, and other client records where source files should stay local first.
Private notes and research libraries
Keep private notes, journals, and personal research in a searchable knowledge base without pushing them to external services by default.
System-wide writing assistance
Use Super Command inside Mail, Safari, Slack, Notes, and other Mac apps to rewrite, translate, or draft text from your own knowledge base.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Indexes documents locally on your Mac by default.
Redacts common personal information and many structured identifiers before supported cloud processing steps.
Supports fully offline AI for highest-control workflows.
Offers persistent Super Brain workspaces for client- or project-specific knowledge bases.
Provides system-wide writing help across Mac apps, not just inside a chat window.

Cons

The strongest protection depends on the workflow: free-form narrative is not guaranteed to be fully redacted.
It is Mac-focused, with the main experience built around indexing and AI on a Mac.
Some cloud workflows may still include the question or instructions you type.

FAQ

How does Elephas protect sensitive data?

Elephas indexes your files locally on your Mac, then can redact common personal information and many structured identifiers before supported cloud processing steps. It also supports fully offline AI when you want everything to stay on-device.

Can I use Elephas without sending anything to the cloud?

Yes. Elephas supports fully offline AI using local models, so indexing and inference can stay on your device.

Does Elephas work with my own files and notes?

Yes. The source text says Elephas works with PDFs, Word documents, Markdown files, Apple Notes, Notion pages, Obsidian vaults, Zoom transcripts, and more, with local indexing on your Mac.

Can I access my Super Brains on iPhone and iPad?

Pro and Pro+ plans allow access to Super Brains across Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

Is there a free version?

The free plan includes 20 credits per month with the built-in Elephas AI engine, and no credit card is required.

Quick Facts

Category: AI productivity app
Platform: Mac
Primary users: Professionals working with sensitive documents
Deployment: Local-first with optional cloud AI
Website: elephas.app
Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans also offered