Security & what CoWork can see
The most important thing to understand before setting up CoWork:
CoWork only sees what's inside the folder you point it to. It doesn't have access to your whole laptop, your SharePoint, your email, or anything else — unless you explicitly connect it.
The boundary
Think of it like giving a smart contractor their own desk, not the keys to the building. You hand them exactly what they need for the job. Nothing more.
Whatever you put in the CoWork folder, Claude can read and work with. Whatever stays outside the folder, Claude cannot see. It's that simple.
What to put in — and what to leave out
Fine to include:
- About-me and context files (written by you, no sensitive data)
- Templates and example outputs
- Project briefs and reference material
- Documents you're actively working on
Keep out:
- Sensitive financial data (P&Ls, bank details, investor info)
- Client contracts or legal documents
- HR files or anything with personal data about employees
- Passwords, credentials, or login information
A good rule: would you be comfortable handing this to a smart contractor on their first day? If yes, it's fine in the folder. If not, leave it outside.
Practical rules
Don't connect SharePoint or company drives directly. If you need something from a shared drive, copy what's relevant into your CoWork folder. That creates a clear boundary — CoWork works with the copy, not the live source.
Strip sensitive details before dropping documents in. If you're working with a financial report or client data, you can usually remove the sensitive parts (account numbers, names, figures) and still get useful help from Claude on the structure and content.
Start small. Begin with a single project folder and an about-me file. You can always add more once you've seen how it works. There's no need to replicate your whole filing system on day one.
Review before you share. If you build something in CoWork that you're going to send to a client or share externally, read it first. Claude can confidently state things that aren't quite right — you're always the last check.
Connecting apps
CoWork can connect to external apps — Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, and others — via plugins (more on those in the next section). When you connect an app, Claude can read and act on it.
Be selective. Connect the apps you actually need for specific tasks. You don't need to connect everything — each connection is a decision about access, and it's easy to add more later.
Data and privacy
Anthropic's data usage for Claude Pro and Max: conversations are not used to train models by default. You can also turn off conversation history in settings if you're handling particularly sensitive material.
For business use, check Anthropic's current terms — they're transparent about what they do and don't do with your data.
CoWork is a research preview. It's powerful and genuinely useful — but it can occasionally misread files or take an unexpected approach. Keep an eye on what it's doing, especially for anything important.