Valo FAQ — Trust & Transparency

Valo is a desktop app for working with AI. It brings Claude and Codex into a native interface with project management, an interactive map, and tools that handle the technical parts — so you can focus on what you want to build.

You work with the AI. Valo handles everything else.

Valo is free to use. You need a Claude Pro or Max subscription (or API credits) — Valo connects to Anthropic's API through the official Claude CLI using your account.

Valo Pro is $12.99/mo and unlocks context control, codebase intelligence, voice, and the nerve map. See the pricing page for the full breakdown.

macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows, and Linux.

Valo itself makes two outgoing connections:

• updates.getvalo.dev — checks for app updates (our Cloudflare R2 bucket)
• licensing.getvalo.dev — license validation when activating a Pro key, plus a single anonymous ping at launch (app version, platform, and a random install ID)

No names, no email, no IP address stored — just a version number and an OS.

The Claude CLI running underneath connects to Anthropic's servers:

• api.anthropic.com — all AI inference (this is the point)
• claude.ai — OAuth authentication
• statsig.anthropic.com — Anthropic's feature flags and operational metrics
• sentry.io (Anthropic's project) — crash reporting

The last two are Anthropic's telemetry, not ours. You can disable them by setting CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1 in your environment.

When you use research agents or web tools, those connections will also appear — they're user-initiated and visible in your chat.

You don't have to trust us — you can verify. Here are three ways to confirm Valo only connects to the domains listed above:

Quick check (30 seconds)

Open a terminal while Valo is running:

• Mac: Run nettop -p $(pgrep -f Valo) -J bytes_in,bytes_out to see every active connection.
• Windows: Open Resource Monitor → Network tab, or run netstat -b in an admin terminal.

Visual monitor (install once)

Use a trusted, well-known network monitor:

• Mac: Little Snitch
• Windows: GlassWire (free tier)

These show every connection any app makes, with graphs and alerts. Point them at Valo and see for yourself.

Firewall lockdown

Block everything except *.anthropic.com, claude.ai, updates.getvalo.dev, and licensing.getvalo.dev in your firewall. Valo will work normally. If it were phoning home anywhere else, you'd know.

Code signing certificates require a registered business entity and cost $200–600/year. We're working on it.

In the meantime:

• Mac: If you see “damaged” or “unidentified developer”, right-click the app → Open, or run xattr -cr /Applications/Valo.app in Terminal.
• Windows: SmartScreen will say “Windows protected your PC.” Click More info → Run anyway.

These warnings appear for any unsigned app — not because of anything specific to Valo. You can verify the app's network behavior yourself using the methods described above.

Everything stays on your machine. Conversations are stored locally. Valo doesn't upload your code, chat history, or any project data to our servers.

The only data that leaves your machine goes to the AI provider you choose (for inference) and, optionally, to our license server (for Pro key validation).