1 min lesson
The fear under the question is rarely about retention mechanics
Put this idea into your own words: "Name that fear out loud, then hand back specifics."
Step 1 of 3
Addressing IP-leak fear head-on
The fear under the question is rarely about retention mechanics. It is the nightmare of proprietary source landing in a model's training corpus and resurfacing for a competitor. Name that fear out loud, then hand back specifics: ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. terms, the SOC 2 report, Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. as an enforceable org setting and private connectivity options for traffic that must stay off the public internet.
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Advanced table
Legal / security objection
- Legal / security objection
- “Our code could be used to train a competitor's model.”
- What resolves it
- Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. + ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. terms; code is not trained on
- Legal / security objection
- “We need proof, not promises.”
- What resolves it
- SOC 2 Type II report + penetration test summaries via the Trust Center
- Legal / security objection
- “Data can't traverse the public internet.”
- What resolves it
- AWS PrivateLinkAn AWS connection Cursor uses for private Git provider and repository-origin traffic; it does not cover model-provider traffic. Press Enter for the full definition. / Cloudflare Tunnel for private connectivity
- Legal / security objection
- “What if a dev forgets to enable Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition.?”
- What resolves it
- Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. enforced org-wide as an admin policy, not left to individuals
- Legal / security objection
- “We self-host our models.”
- What resolves it
- Model routing / BYO keys - but flag that ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. terms then shift to the provider
| Legal / security objection | What resolves it |
|---|---|
| “Our code could be used to train a competitor's model.” | Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. + ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. terms; code is not trained on |
| “We need proof, not promises.” | SOC 2 Type II report + penetration test summaries via the Trust Center |
| “Data can't traverse the public internet.” | AWS PrivateLinkAn AWS connection Cursor uses for private Git provider and repository-origin traffic; it does not cover model-provider traffic. Press Enter for the full definition. / Cloudflare Tunnel for private connectivity |
| “What if a dev forgets to enable Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition.?” | Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. enforced org-wide as an admin policy, not left to individuals |
| “We self-host our models.” | Model routing / BYO keys - but flag that ZDRZero Data Retention. A contractual guarantee that the model provider won't store your code or train on it. Press Enter for the full definition. terms then shift to the provider |
“Under Privacy ModeCursor's setting that guarantees code data is not used for training by Cursor or its model providers, and that an admin can enforce org-wide; data-retention terms are a separate, contractual layer. Press Enter for the full definition. with zero-data-retention, your code is sent for inference and not stored or trained on. I'll put the data-flow and the SOC 2 report in front of your security team this week. And I'll tell you the one boundary up front: if you bring your own model keys, your provider's terms govern that traffic, not ours.”
In the technical or discovery round, an interviewer may bait you: “So you guarantee our code is never retained, right?” The senior answer volunteers the BYO-keys exception before they corner you on it. Selling on the caveat, not around it, is the exact judgment this role tests.