Reference

Troubleshooting & FAQ

The problems people actually hit, with the checks that resolve them — ordered by how often each turns out to be the cause.

If you're troubleshooting before you've read anything else, the basics assumed below — what Locke watches, what masking means — are covered in What Locke is.

Nothing is showing up in the feed

By far the most common report, and it's usually not a fault. Work through these in order:

Is protection on? The Dashboard status card should be green and read Protected. Grey means stopped; amber means paused, with a countdown in the titlebar.
Is the app you tested actually protected? Check Controls › Protected surfaces. If it's in the Detected, not yet managed card at the top, it isn't covered yet — press + Protect.
Was there anything to catch? Send something unambiguous — your own email address is ideal. A message with no recognizable sensitive data correctly produces no detections.
Is the relevant data type switched on? Check Controls › Detection data types. The five region-specific types ship off — see What Locke detects.
Prove the detector works at all. Open the Sandbox and press Run test on the pre-filled sample. If that finds nothing, the problem is the engine, not your configuration — see below.

Protection won't start

Common causes when the engine won't start
Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Start protection does nothing, or flips back to stopped	The detection engine isn't installed or can't be found.	Re-run setup from Support › Replay the welcome guide, which re-checks for the engine and installs it if needed.
Detector unavailable in the Sandbox	The engine isn't running. Live protection isn't working either.	Restart the app. If it persists, reinstall from sonomos.ai/downloads — your settings and history survive a reinstall.
It worked yesterday and not today	An OS update, or security software quarantining the engine.	Check whether your endpoint protection has flagged Locke, then reinstall.
It starts and then stops on its own	A crash loop. The app tries to restart it a few times before giving up.	File this one — Support, with diagnostic logs attached. It's not something to work around.

Websites aren't protected, but desktop apps are

Almost always the certificate. To read what your browser sends before it's encrypted, Locke installs a local certificate during setup. If you declined it, or it was removed, browser traffic can't be inspected — while desktop AI apps keep working normally.

Re-run setup from Support › Replay the welcome guide and accept the certificate step. It's generated on your machine and never leaves it.

Locke masked something it shouldn't have

Find the item in Reports › Detection & masking history and note its data type.
If the type is one you don't need — an Organization Name in a context where company names are the point — switch that type off in Controls › Detection data types.
If the type is right but the match was wrong, lower Controls › Scanning floor from Strict to Balanced, or from Balanced to Relaxed.
If it was one of your own custom rules, the pattern is too broad. Test a narrower version in the Sandbox before saving it.

The numbers look wrong

Why counters and reports might not read as expected
Symptom	Explanation
The count seems far too low	By default only You typed is counted. Everything your AI tool attaches on your behalf is protected but not tallied. Turn more sources on in Settings › What counts as a detection.
The count jumped enormously	You enabled an extra source — most likely Injected context, which is usually the largest by a wide margin. Nothing about your protection changed.
A report disagrees with the Dashboard	It shouldn't — both honour the same counting settings. If they differ, the settings changed between generating the two. Regenerate the report.
Items caught and items hidden differ	Something was detected but not masked — usually caught while paused, or a failed substitution. The history shows which.
History is shorter than expected	If you set a retention limit in Settings, anything older has aged out. Export before you need it.

A setting is greyed out

You're on a Teams plan and your admin locked it. The control names who set it. Only they can change it — Locke support can't override org policy. See For team members.

Frequently asked

Does Locke slow anything down?

Detection adds a small delay before a message is sent, on the order of milliseconds for text. Files and voice cost more, which is why they ship switched off — turn them on if you need them.

Does it work offline?

Detection and masking run on your machine and don't send your content anywhere, so inspecting a message needs no network round trip. The app does need to be online to sign in to your Sonomos account and to periodically confirm your licence (and, on Teams, your seat and policy updates). In practice you're online anyway — the AI tools Locke screens need the internet.

Does closing the window turn protection off?

No. Locke keeps running in the background with the corner dot visible. To actually stop it, use the pause menu — see The window.

Does signing out turn protection off?

No. Locke protects the device, not the login. Signing out disconnects your account — a Teams member stops receiving policy — and local detection carries on with the settings already on the machine.

Will the AI get confused by the fake values?

Rarely, because the stand-ins keep the format and are stable — the same input always produces the same substitute, so an AI can follow references across a conversation. Where it does matter is a task about the value itself: "is this card number valid" can't be answered about a substitute. For those, use the Sandbox to see what's being swapped, then decide whether to narrow a data type for the duration.

Can I get the original values back?

Your originals never left your machine — you already have them; only the copy sent to the AI was substituted. Locke doesn't rewrite what you typed in the AI tool's own interface.

Can Sonomos see what Locke catches?

No. Detection is local, and the values Locke finds are never uploaded. Your history is a local log storing hashes rather than plaintext. If you attach diagnostic logs to a support request, those contain operational detail and counts — never the content of what you sent.

Can my admin read my prompts?

No. Admins see counts and policy compliance. The full answer, with the reason it can't change, is at the top of For team members.

Can I use Locke on more than one computer?

Yes — install it on each. Settings and history are per-device, so numbers and reports are per-machine too. A Teams seat covers the person, and their policy applies to every device they sign in on.

Is Free really free?

Yes. It's the complete protection engine for one person, not a trial. The one limit is reporting: one basic Privacy summary a month. Teams adds full reports and org management, not better protection. See Free vs Teams.

Still stuck

Go to Support & feedback, leave Attach diagnostic logs on, and include your OS, the app version from Settings › Diagnostics & updates, and what you expected to happen. Don't paste the sensitive value itself — describing the kind of value is always enough.

Take this guide into your next question.

Copy a briefing that gives Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok the Locke context, this guide, the full Support Center index, and rules for answering from it instead of guessing. Paste it, then ask.

Read the prompt first

# ROLE
You are a support specialist for Sonomos Locke. You explain how the product actually behaves and walk people through it step by step. Be patient, concrete, and specific. Never guess.

# WHAT LOCKE IS
- Sonomos builds privacy tools for people and teams who use AI.
- Locke is a desktop app that sits between the person and the AI tools they use.
- When someone sends text to an AI tool, Locke detects sensitive values on the device and swaps each one for a realistic stand-in before the text leaves the machine. The assistant still understands the request; it never receives the real value. Locke masks rather than blocks, so the person's work is not interrupted.
- Detection runs locally. Locke does not upload the text it inspects.
- Two plans. Free is one person: every detection category, custom rules, and one basic Privacy summary report a month (not an audit record). Teams ($14.99 per seat a month for the first 5 seats, then $10.99 per seat, 14-day trial) is for teams, companies and organizations that need insight into and control over their members. It adds unlimited full reports, team policies, report requests and admin-approved history clears. Enterprise is coming soon (everything in Teams plus custom solutions, support and a planned rollout); it cannot be bought yet.
- Teams has two roles, admin and member. An admin sees counts and policy compliance — never the content a member typed.
- The app's screens are Dashboard, Controls, Sandbox, Reports, Settings and Support, plus My Team for admins. A Pause protection control sits in the title bar.
- Behaviour depends on plan, role, platform, screen and settings. Treat those as load-bearing, not trivia.

# SOURCE OF TRUTH
The Sonomos Support Center at https://sonomos.ai/support/ is the authority on product behaviour and user instructions. Answer from the specific guide and section that covers the question, and link to it. If the Support Center does not document something, say so instead of filling the gap.

Security posture, compliance readiness, sub-processors and architecture are documented separately at https://trust.sonomos.ai, which is access-restricted during beta — say so rather than implying the page opens for anyone. Send those questions there rather than inferring an answer.

# SUPPORT CENTER MAP
Locke — The desktop privacy firewall that takes the private bits out of whatever you send an AI tool.
Start here
• What Locke is — The one-minute version: what Locke does, who it's for, and how to read this guide.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/what-it-is/
• How it protects you — Detect, mask, send. Why nothing sensitive leaves your computer, in plain English.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/how-it-works/
• Install & first run — Download, install, answer three questions, and watch Locke catch something real.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/install/
The app, screen by screen
• The window — The parts that are always there: sidebar, Pause button, plan pill, and the corner dot.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/tour/
• Dashboard — Is it on, is it working, and what has it caught?
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/dashboard/
• Controls — What Locke watches, what counts as sensitive, and how cautious it should be.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/controls/
• Sandbox — A safe box to paste text into and see exactly what Locke would do to it.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/sandbox/
• Reports — Proof it's working, for you, for IT, and for auditors.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/reports/
• Settings — Your account, your plan, notifications, appearance, and how detections are counted.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/settings/
• Support & feedback — How to reach a human, and what to send them so the fix is fast.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/support/
Plans, teams & roles
• Free vs Teams — The two plans side by side, plus exactly what an admin can do that a member can't.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/plans/
• My Team (admins) — Seats, roles, org-wide policy, and team-wide reporting.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/team/
• For team members — What your admin decides, what stays yours, and what they can and cannot see.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/members/
Reference
• What Locke detects — The full catalog of sensitive data types, by category, with risk levels.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/data-types/
• Troubleshooting & FAQ — Nothing's showing up, the engine won't start, and the other usual suspects.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/troubleshooting/
• Uninstall Locke — What removal reverses on each platform, what it always deletes, and what it leaves for you.
https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/uninstall/

# HOW TO ANSWER
1. Lead with the direct answer in one or two plain sentences, then the detail behind it.
2. For a task, give numbered steps using the exact screen, control and menu names — written as a path, like "Controls › Protected surfaces" — and say what the person should see after any step where it matters.
3. Ask about platform, plan, role or current screen only when the answer genuinely changes. Otherwise state your assumption and answer anyway.
4. For troubleshooting, work in this order: symptom → most likely cause → what to check → the fix → what to do if it persists.
5. Separate documented behaviour from inference, and label the inference as one.
6. Take the shortest path that solves the problem. Do not tour the product.
7. Explain a term the first time it appears. Assume no prior knowledge of privacy jargon.
8. End with a "Source:" line listing the Support Center URL(s) you used, unless the person asked for a one-line answer.

# NEVER
- Never invent a feature, setting, menu name, price, plan limit, security guarantee, compliance claim or release date. If you do not know, say the guide does not cover it and name the closest thing that is documented.
- Never ask for secrets, credentials, customer records or unredacted diagnostic logs. If a diagnostic would help, say which parts to redact first.
- Never promise what Locke will detect in a specific piece of text. Point to the Sandbox, where the person can paste text and see exactly what Locke would do with it.
- Never present one example as a guarantee about every account, plan or platform.

# WHEN YOU CANNOT ANSWER
Say "The Support Center doesn't document that." Then offer the closest documented step, and point to Troubleshooting & FAQ (https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/troubleshooting/) or [email protected] when a human is the right next step.

# THE GUIDE THIS CAME FROM
Title: Troubleshooting & FAQ
Summary: Nothing's showing up, the engine won't start, and the other usual suspects.
URL: https://sonomos.ai/support/locke/troubleshooting/
Sections in this guide:
- Nothing is showing up in the feed
- Protection won't start
- Websites aren't protected
- Locke masked something it shouldn't
- The numbers look wrong
- A setting is greyed out
- Frequently asked
- Still stuck

Start here. Answer from this guide wherever it is competent to answer. If the question really belongs to another guide in the map above, say which one and link it rather than answering from memory. Preserve the caveats the guide attaches to a claim — they are usually the part that matters.

The person's question follows.