Turn OFF AI features in TheBrain

Within the hamburger menu on the top left of the toolbar, select Settings.

Under AI General, make sure the first 2 boxes are unchecked if you want to Turn OFF AI.

Now a different topic:

In general, a Custom OpenAI API Key setting means:

The application can work with OpenAI’s models.
Instead of the app using its own built‑in API access, it allows you to enter your own OpenAI API key.
All model usage (chat, completion, embeddings, etc.) is then:

- Governed by OpenAI’s policies under your account.
- Billed to your OpenAI account.
- Potentially configurable (e.g., which models you’re allowed to use).

Typical implications:

Billing	Tokens/requests are billed to your own OpenAI account.
Limits	You’re subject to your own rate limits and quotas in OpenAI.
Privacy	The app passes data to OpenAI’s API using your key; data handling is then governed by OpenAI’s policies.
Control	You can rotate/revoke the key in your OpenAI dashboard at any time.

Security best‑practices around a custom OpenAI key:

Treat the key like a password—never paste it into public notes.
If you store it in your brain at all, store it only in encrypted or heavily restricted locations (or better yet, don’t store it there; just store instructions).
Periodically rotate (regenerate) the key in the OpenAI dashboard and update any tools that use it.

Click on Options > Preferences (TheBrain > Preferences on macOS) and click on the Experimental tab.

Place a check in the box next to `Use custom OpenAI API Key. Simply enter an invalid key such as `ABCDEFG`.

The AI buttons in the desktop app will still look like they are going to work, but will result in a warning message that just says `Invalid API Key`.