Koaich vs. the tools your team uses for work.

No. Slack encrypts messages in transit (TLS) and at rest (server-side), but Slack holds the encryption keys. Slack's servers and authorized employees have technical access to message content, files, and channels. This is what powers Slack's server-side search, AI features, and integrations.

Yes. Slack's architecture requires server-side access to message content to provide features like search, AI summaries, and integrations. Slack's privacy policy describes this access; it's mediated by internal policy, not prevented by cryptography.

Koaich is an end-to-end encrypted workspace where messages, files, and documents are encrypted on the user's device with keys the vendor cannot derive. The trust model is closer to Signal than to Slack — the property is structural, not policy-based.

Slack AI (an add-on tier) uses workspace messages and files to ground its features within a customer's workspace. Defaults vary by plan; admins can opt out. The underlying point: the architecture allows training because Slack can read content.

No. Notion uses server-side encryption — Notion holds the keys to every workspace. Notion's engineering team has technical access to document content, which is what powers full-text search, Notion AI, and public publishing.

Yes. Documents in Notion are stored as data Notion can read on its servers. Notion's privacy controls are policy-level (employee access logs, role-based access), not cryptographic.

Notion AI uses workspace content as grounding for its features within a customer's workspace. Notion has publicly stated it does not train its general models on customer data, but the architectural ability to read content remains by design.

Koaich is an end-to-end encrypted workspace where documents are encrypted on the user's device with keys the vendor cannot derive. The server stores only ciphertext. Search and AI run client-side, after decryption.

CSE is Google's offering for customers who want to hold their own encryption keys. The customer integrates a third-party KMS (Thales, Virtru, Fortanix, etc.) and Google's servers operate on ciphertext for covered surfaces. It is available only on Workspace Enterprise Plus.

No. CSE covers specific surfaces — parts of Drive, some Gmail flows, Meet recordings. Full-text search across encrypted content, Gemini AI grounding, comments, and several collaboration features do not work with CSE. The remaining surfaces stay vendor-readable.

CSE requires Workspace Enterprise Plus, which is typically $30+ per user per month at list price. It also requires the customer to run a KMS integration (additional vendor + engineering cost).

Koaich provides the same key-custody property — the vendor cannot decrypt user content — at every surface, by default, without an enterprise tier or a customer-managed KMS. Targeted at the small-business segment that wants the architectural property without enterprise procurement.

Microsoft Teams chat and meeting content is encrypted in transit and at rest, but Microsoft holds the keys at runtime. Teams supports optional E2E for one-to-one calls (admin-enabled, both parties opt in) — not for group chats, channels, files, or meeting recordings.

Customer Key encrypts data at rest under customer-supplied keys (via Azure Key Vault HSM). Microsoft still decrypts at runtime to serve features like Copilot, search, and indexing. Available only on the M365 E5 plan.

On default tiers, yes — Teams stores content in a form Microsoft's services can read to power search, Copilot, and compliance features. On E5 with Customer Key, encryption-at-rest is under your keys, but runtime processing still requires Microsoft to access cleartext.

Koaich provides end-to-end encryption across every surface — messages, files, documents, group rooms — by default at small-business pricing, without E5 licensing or a customer-managed KMS.

Discord text messages (DMs, group DMs, server channels) are not end-to-end encrypted. Discord stores them server-side in a form Discord's services can read. As of late 2024, Discord uses the DAVE protocol for end-to-end encryption on voice and video — text is unchanged.

DAVE (Discord Audio & Video End-to-End Encryption) is Discord's E2E implementation for voice and video calls, layered on the IETF MLS protocol. It applies to A/V media; it does not encrypt text chat, attachments, or message history.

Discord is built for community-by-design content (public servers, gaming guilds, fan communities). The architecture optimizes for discovery and public chat — privacy is not the bet. For private workplace use, the data exposure profile is unfavorable.

Koaich is an end-to-end encrypted workspace where every message, file, and document is encrypted on the user's device. For workplace conversations where 'the platform can read this' is the wrong answer, the trust model is structurally different from Discord's.