What Ambient Context Actually Captures (and Doesn't)
Resonant's ambient context feature records what you were working on throughout the day. This powers the daily journal, feeds the MCP tools your AI assistants use, and makes dictation context-aware.
“Records what you were working on” sounds broad. This post is a specific, complete list of what ambient context captures, where it stores it, and what it explicitly does not do.
What it captures
Active application name
The name of the app in the foreground: "VS Code," "Chrome," "Slack." Captured via the macOS Accessibility API.
Window title
The title bar of the active window. For VS Code this is the file path. For Chrome it's the page title. For Slack it's the channel or DM name.
Browser URL
The URL of the active tab in Chrome, Safari, Arc, and Firefox. Captured via the Accessibility API — no browser extension required.
Dwell time
How long each app and window stays in the foreground, tracked as continuous sessions with start and end timestamps.
App transition sequence
The order in which you switch between apps, with timestamps. This is what builds the visual timeline.
Clipboard text (optional)
Text copied to your clipboard during work sessions. Disabled by default. Must be explicitly enabled in settings.
What it does not capture
This is the more important list:
- ✗Screenshots or screen recordings. Ambient context never takes a screenshot. It reads the window title and URL from the Accessibility API — metadata, not pixels.
- ✗Keystrokes. No keylogging of any kind. Resonant only knows about the trigger key you press to start dictation.
- ✗File contents. Knowing you're editing “routes.ts” is not the same as reading routes.ts. Ambient context captures the name, not the content.
- ✗Mouse movements or clicks. No interaction tracking beyond app focus changes.
- ✗Continuous microphone recording. The microphone only activates when you press the trigger key or start a meeting recording. Ambient context is not audio-based.
- ✗Network traffic or data from other users. Ambient context only observes the foreground app on your account.
Where it's stored
All ambient data lives in Resonant's local SQLite database on your Mac. The database is encrypted at rest. No ambient data is sent to any server, ever. The MCP server that exposes this data to your AI tools runs locally — the query and response both stay on your device.
You can view your ambient timeline in Resonant's workspace at any time. You can search it, filter by app, and delete any range of data. In HIPAA mode, ambient context capture can be disabled entirely.
Why we built it
Ambient context exists for two reasons:
First, it makes dictation context-aware. Resonant knows you're in VS Code editing a specific file, so it formats your dictation as code-appropriate text. It knows you're replying to a specific person in Slack, so it uses their name and adjusts tone.
Second, it gives your AI tools actual memory. When Claude asks “what was I working on yesterday?” via MCP, the ambient timeline provides a specific, timestamped answer — not a guess based on git history.
The goal is utility with minimal capture. We collect enough metadata to be useful and nothing more. If you want to see exactly what Resonant has recorded, open the workspace — it's all there.