Explain yourself once, on your terms.
Keep your context in one record you control. Autonym is designed to let you choose what is relevant for each request, check exactly what will be sent, and use it with compatible assistants.
The hosted service is planned. Join the list to hear when it opens. The core service will be free, with optional paid extras.
Your preferences should travel with you.
You like concise answers. You use British spelling. You want an assistant to ask before taking action.
Those preferences matter whichever assistant you use. Today, you often have to explain them again, or keep separate instructions up to date.
Autonym is designed to give you one place to maintain them, and a clear choice about who can read them.
One record. A clear choice for each connection.
Keep one record
Add the context that helps you: how you like answers, what you watch, how you work. Leave the rest empty.
Choose what is relevant
When a compatible assistant or service asks to read, you choose the entries that help with the request and leave the others out. You see its stated purpose and when its access will end.
Check exactly what will be sent
Before anything is shared, you can check the exact text the recipient would receive, and nothing more.
Use it with an assistant
A compatible assistant receives what you chose. Autonym is designed to record each read through the service, so you can see which recipient accessed which part of your record, and when.
Change or stop future access
Change what you share, or end a connection when you no longer need it. Revoking access stops further reads through Autonym. It cannot take back information an assistant has already received.
Choosing something to watch.
Say you ask an assistant to suggest something to watch tonight. Your record holds entries about who you are, your work and what you watch.
For this request you include the entries that help, such as your lasting viewing preferences, where you have got to in a series and a communication preference you set for work. A note about a work project stays out, and connecting an assistant would not give it access to everything else you have added. How you feel tonight and how long you have belong to the request, not to your record.
Before anything is sent, you can see the exact text the assistant would receive. Progress you have not confirmed for a while is marked for you to check; your lasting preferences can still be used.
Later, a streaming service might propose that you watched something. Approving it records what you watched. It does not change your tastes or mark the title as liked.
Choosing something to watch is the first worked example. Communication, work and other context belong in the same record.
Illustrative example of the planned experience, with fictional data.
Choose the detail, as well as the recipient.
Autonym's draft specification describes four levels of detail. A permission sets the maximum level for each part of your record. Even the least detailed level needs a grant of access.
| Level | Meaning |
|---|---|
| L0 · Categories | Whether a permitted category is present, without its detailed values. |
| L1 · Preferences | Preferences and needs with direct identifying details removed. |
| L2 · Named | More specific details, which can include first names and household relationships. |
| L3 · Identified | Identifying details held in the record, such as full names and contact information. |
Not every entry supports every level. Sharing less detail does not guarantee anonymity: a combination of preferences can still be distinctive.
Built around an open format.
The plan is for you to export your record, move it to another compatible host, or run Autonym yourself. Local mode is planned for people who want to keep the record on their own device.
Connections to external assistants would still share the information you authorise with those assistants.
Starting with assistants. Building from there.
The first milestone is a working connection: add preferences, grant access, see a read in the log and revoke access.
The wider design covers other preferences and needs, import from supported exports, and connections to services. Family and carer records, an emergency card and additional connectors are planned for later releases.
What is Autonym?
Autonym is a general-purpose personal context system. It is designed to let a person keep one record they control, choose what each assistant or service receives, and review anything a service contributes before it is added. Choosing something to watch is the first worked example. Communication, work and other context belong in the same record.
Can I use Autonym now?
Not yet. The hosted service and local mode are planned. Leave your email address for one message when the hosted service opens.
Which assistants will it work with?
Autonym is designed around MCP, a way for assistants to connect to tools and information. Support will depend on the client and its connection options. We will publish tested connections and setup instructions as they become available.
Will an assistant always follow my preferences?
Autonym is designed to make the preferences you share available to a compatible assistant. The assistant decides how to use that information, so responses may still vary.
Who will be able to read my record?
A recipient will need a valid grant for the part of your record it wants to read, including at L0. A grant sets the permitted areas, the level of detail, a stated purpose and an expiry. Authentication alone will not give access.
What will revoking access do?
It will stop further reads through Autonym under that grant. If a recipient was permitted to keep a copy, the protocol requires it to act on a deletion instruction and acknowledge it. Autonym cannot independently guarantee that a recipient has erased every copy or removed information from an existing conversation.
How will new information be added?
You will be able to enter information yourself. The design also includes suggestions from connected assistants and imports. Imported items will need review before becoming part of your record. Health, identity and household information will have additional restrictions, and safety-critical changes will require confirmation in Autonym itself.
Can I bring information from another assistant?
Import from supported ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini export files is planned. What can be imported will depend on the contents and format of the export. You will review proposed entries before they are added. Importing information will not connect that assistant automatically.
Will it be free?
Yes. The core hosted service will be free after beta, with optional paid extras. The free core will include a personal record, a handle, assistant connections and the access log. Paid features and prices will be published before they become available. Your record's contents will not be sold.
Where will my hosted record be stored?
The hosted service is planned for the UK. We will publish the service's hosting and processor details before accounts open. Local and self-hosted options are also planned.
Who is building it?
Autonym is built by Matt Le Masurier through New Media Solutions Ltd, a UK company. You can read more about the project and its draft specification at autonym.dev.
Could my preferences be used for advertising?
Only through a separate, explicit choice in the planned service. Permission for ordinary personalisation will not cover advertising. Advertising permission will be off by default, and your record's contents will not be sold. These controls are not built yet.
Can a preference apply just for a trip?
Temporary context is planned: choose a start and end, keep your lasting preferences, and let the eligible lasting preference apply again when the temporary one ends. Expiry stops future sharing of that temporary context; it cannot erase copies a recipient already holds.
Could one service contribute preferences for another to use?
That is part of the plan. Contributing and reading will need separate permissions. You will choose whether to share activity history, reviewed preferences or both. A source service will not be shown which other services read your record. This needs compatible services; none is promised by this example.
One email when the hosted service opens.
Leave your email address and we will let you know when you can create a hosted record.
We will use your address for this launch notification and delete it after sending. No newsletter. You can ask us to remove it earlier at hello@autonym.dev. Privacy notice.
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