The most common questions about OCTOVO in four groups: understanding it, data and security, pricing and account, limits.
Frequently asked
One question, one answer. Two paragraphs, not twenty.
The answers here are the same as in the app. If a question is missing, write to us — we’ll add it.
One question, one answer.
Understanding it
Do I need an AI account or a key?
No. The thinking is included in the plan. You sign in, that’s all — there’s no account to apply for anywhere and no key to paste in.
How long does setup really take?
Under 15 minutes from double-click to the first order. There is no second install step, no command line and no database you set up yourself — everything is in the package.
My provider wants an app password. Now what?
OCTOVO notices and shows you with pictures where to create it — for iCloud in your Apple account, for Gmail under “App passwords”. You only type in your email address, it finds the rest itself.
What happens when my computer is off at night?
Then nothing runs. OCTOVO catches up on missed schedules the next time you start it, and says when they should have run. It doesn’t pretend everything was on time. If the computer was off, it catches up at start-up.
Can I stop everything at once?
Yes. The menu-bar icon holds “Pause everything”. Nothing is lost, everything waits, and afterwards you see in the list what was paused.
Can I use OCTOVO from my phone?
Yes, from anywhere. You sign in on your phone with the same account as on your computer; the connection runs through our server, encrypted from device to device and with no open port on your router. The work still happens on your computer.
What if it makes a mistake?
Sent emails can be taken back for 30 seconds. Files sit for 30 days in a trash it cannot empty, and every earlier version of a file comes back with one click.
Can it answer private WhatsApp messages on its own?
Meta forbids it, and your number would be at risk. Out of the box it only drafts: you hand it the chat, it writes, you send. If you want it autonomous anyway, you can unlock that — you have to type out a sentence that names the risk of losing your number. After that Otto holds back hard: at most 20 messages an hour, at least 20 seconds apart.
Does OCTOVO run entirely without internet?
Not yet. We are working on bringing the thinking onto your device — a model that runs locally, with nothing leaving your network. Then hardware will matter, but only if you want it to: those with the machine for it switch it on. Those without notice no difference.
How does early access work?
We let people in in waves. Wave 1 is running — a small round with close feedback. Wave 2 will be bigger and brings all eight arms plus the local model as a preview. After that come the prices; whoever was in during early access keeps their terms for good.
Can your support look at my device?
No — and that’s not a policy, it’s technically missing. For troubleshooting you switch on diagnostic mode for a limited time — seven days at most, visible in the app, deletable at once.
Do I need a Google or Microsoft account?
No. OCTOVO talks to your mailbox over IMAP and SMTP — every provider can do that, including Gmail and Outlook, but equally a mailbox at your own host or at mailbox.org. You sign in with us, not with a corporation. If your provider wants an app password, OCTOVO shows you with pictures where to create one.
Data and security
Do my emails end up on your servers?
No. Your device talks directly to your mailbox, with no detour through us. We see neither sender nor subject nor content of your mail.
What leaves the device at all, then?
For a single question, an excerpt: the case at hand, the contact, the matching memories. It travels via our server in Germany and the gateway nixo in the EU to Anthropic’s language model in the US — covered by standard contractual clauses.
Do you store that excerpt?
No. What gets recorded is time, account, model, character count, duration and status code — no content, no cache, no error message carrying content. Only if you switch on diagnostic mode yourself is anything written down, for a limited time.
Where does the key to my database live?
In your operating system’s keychain — not in the file, not in the backup, and not with us. The flip side is honest: lose your device and your backup, and we can’t restore anything either.
Does the website use analytics or third-party fonts?
No. No tracking pixels, no ad network, no third-party fonts, no error-collection service — which is why there is no consent banner here either.
Am I the controller, or are you?
For the thinking requests you are the controller and we are the processor. The contract for that is concluded with the purchase; every service provider involved is listed publicly with purpose and location.
Can I take my data with me?
Any time. Data and log can be exported completely as a file. On uninstall, OCTOVO asks whether the data should go too, and offers the export first.
Which language models does OCTOVO use?
By default Claude Sonnet 5 from Anthropic (USA), with DeepSeek V4 Pro as the fallback. Both are reached through a gateway in the EU; you need an account with neither. Which models we offer is decided by a real call, not by the catalogue — the catalogue lists models that reject every request.
Does my data go to China?
Only in the fallback case, and then only the excerpt your order needs. As long as Anthropic is reachable, nothing goes to China. If Anthropic goes down, DeepSeek V4 Pro takes over — a provider based there. We don’t hide it: the explanation of when this happens and what is transmitted is written out on “Good to know” and on the security page.
Pricing and account
What is a “task”?
The unit the quota is counted in: one answered email, one prepared quote, one morning overview, one sorted receipt. In the app, the exact number always sits right next to it.
What happens when the quota runs out?
Nothing breaks off. Running orders finish, then OCTOVO carries on in economy mode, visibly marked. Topping up takes one click — capped by a spending limit you set yourself.
What does topping up cost?
Five euros for around 50 tasks, 15 euros for around 180, 40 euros for around 550. Every top-up immediately sends a notification with amount and reason.
What happens after the 14 trial days?
The trial runs without payment details. Afterwards the installation drops into a permanently free read mode: everything stays, everything can be viewed and exported — it just no longer runs new orders.
What happens when I cancel?
The same: read mode instead of shutdown. Nothing is deleted, nothing expires. Come back after four months and you carry on where you left off. Cancelling is one click in the customer portal.
Can I pay by invoice?
From the Team plan, yes. On Start and Arbeit, payment runs through Stripe; card details never reach our servers, they are entered directly with Stripe.
On how many devices may I use it?
Two devices on the Start plan, three on Arbeit and Team. All prices include VAT; pay yearly and you pay two months less.
Limits
What do the four numbers mean — 20, 50, 30 seconds, 30 days?
20 recipients per message and 50 outgoing messages per hour are hard limits against bulk sending: they cannot be raised, and cold outreach it does not send at all (§ 7 UWG). 30 seconds are yours after sending to take it back — until then the letter has not gone. And whatever it clears away sits in the trash for 30 days, which it cannot empty; that way a mistake of its own is never final.
Can it answer legal, tax or medical questions?
It collects and orders — the deciding is done by you, or by someone with the right qualification. OCTOVO pulls deadlines out of mail, gathers receipts and prepares what goes to your accountant. That is not advice, and it does not hand any out.
Does it keep working while my computer is off?
No. OCTOVO runs on your device, not in a data centre — if it is off, nothing runs. It catches up on missed schedules the next time you start it and says when they should have run. That is precisely the price of your content never leaving your device.
Is there an OCTOVO for Windows and Linux?
Not yet. What ships today is the macOS package only; for Windows and Linux there is none. The download page says so just as plainly — a “coming soon” with a button below it that downloads nothing would be a claim we could not stand behind.