Architecture at a glance
Your workstation — QcHelper app
- Document parsing: PDFs, drawings, specs, manuals — OCR for scanned pages
- Local index: full-text + semantic (vector) search, stored in a local database on the machine
- Construction-tuned retrieval: revision supersession, document-type and discipline ranking
- Chat UI with source citations; opens cited files in your default viewer
TLS
⇄
questions + document
excerpts & page images
(indexing & answering)
excerpts & page images
(indexing & answering)
VincData AI platform (Canada)
- Private, VincData-operated AI inference servers — no third-party AI providers
- Answer generation grounded in the excerpts provided with each question
- Per-user authentication; trial access enforced server-side (invite-only)
- User accounts hosted in Canada (AWS ca-central-1)
Data flow
What goes where.
| Data | Where it goes | Handling |
|---|---|---|
| Your document files | stays local | Parsed and indexed on the workstation. Files are never uploaded or copied off the machine by QcHelper. |
| Search index | stays local | Stored in a local database on the workstation. A built-in control deletes all local QcHelper data on demand. |
| Document excerpts & page images | TLS to VincData | During indexing, text passages are sent to compute search embeddings; at question time, the matching excerpts — and, for drawing questions, page images — accompany your question so the AI can answer from them. |
| Your questions | TLS to VincData | Sent with the matching excerpts to generate the answer. Answers stream back over the same encrypted channel. |
| Third-party AI providers | never | No OpenAI, no public AI clouds. Inference runs on VincData’s own servers in Canada. |
Security posture
What’s in place today.
Invite-only access, enforced server-side. API access requires an active trial authorization; unauthorized tokens are rejected and denials are logged.
Per-user authentication. Individual sign-in for every user; sessions can be remembered per device or kept ephemeral.
Encrypted in transit. All app-to-server traffic uses TLS.
Confidentiality paperwork ready. Pilot participation requires a signed agreement covering confidentiality and data handling.
Local data control. Delete-all-local-data is built into the app’s settings.
Signed updates. Updates install automatically over an encrypted connection and are cryptographically verified before they install.
Security checklist
Straight answers — including the “not yet” ones.
This is what is actually in place today, stated plainly. Ask for the latest version before a procurement review.
| Item | Status today (beta) |
|---|---|
| Authentication | Invite-only email + password accounts (no self-registration); per-user, server-side access control on every AI endpoint. |
| MFA / SSO (SAML) | Not currently offered. Tell us what your organization needs — the beta roadmap is shaped with pilot participants. |
| RBAC / roles | Single-user desktop app — access is a per-user server-side allow-list; no role tiers to manage. |
| Audit logging | Every AI request is authenticated and logged server-side (account, endpoint, timestamp); access denials logged with the account and endpoint involved. |
| Encryption in transit | TLS 1.2/1.3 on all app-to-server traffic. |
| Encryption at rest | Index lives in your Windows profile and inherits your machine’s protections (e.g. BitLocker); no separate app-level encryption. Our servers store no document content at rest. |
| Data retention | Questions and excerpts are processed in memory, not stored as content; server logs keep request metadata only (account, timestamps, token counts). |
| Updates | Delivered automatically in-app over an encrypted connection; every update is cryptographically signed and verified before it installs. |
| Installer signing | Not yet OS code-signed — Windows SmartScreen may show a one-time warning on first install (known beta limitation). |
| Incident notification | The pilot agreement includes a contractual data-incident notification commitment that extends to our subprocessors. |
| Compliance certifications | None yet (SOC 2 / ISO 27001 not claimed) — this page states what is actually in place today; ask for the latest version before procurement review. |
| Subprocessors | Supabase / AWS ca-central-1 (user accounts) and Cloudflare (network transport). No other party touches customer content. |
| Availability / SLA | No formal SLA during the beta — best-effort support directly from the developer. |
| Penetration testing | No independent pen test yet; an internal security-hardening program is in place and documented. |
| If VincData disappears | Your documents never leave your machine and are never modified; the index is a local file you can wipe with Delete All Data. Whatever happens to us, your files stay where they always were. |
Capabilities & requirements
What it reads, where it runs.
| Document types | PDF (incl. scanned pages via OCR), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV and text files; drawing numbers and revisions read from filenames and PDF title blocks. Reads any folder or mapped network share — incl. exports from SharePoint, Procore or Aconex. |
| Search & answers | Hybrid keyword + semantic search; plain-English answers with sources listed, cited files open in one click; superseded revisions outranked and flagged; designed not to fill gaps with guesses. |
| Offline behaviour | Once indexed, keyword search and document viewing keep working without a connection; AI answers and AI indexing need one. |
| System | Windows 10/11 (64-bit); standard Windows installer (admin rights); no server components on your network; invite-only VincData account required. |
| Cost to try | Free of charge during the private beta — no payment details are ever collected. Support comes directly from the developer. Commercial pricing will be announced after the beta. |
790/790 cited sources machine-verified — 0 confirmed fabrications · 10/10 honesty traps passed · 3,000+ automated tests (internal, June 2026).
Technical questions? Ask the builder directly.
Architecture, security review, pilot terms — a direct line to Vincent, the developer