# Data access boundaries (/core/govern/security-model/data-access-boundaries) **Target Audience**: Developers & non-technical users defining how Toucan AI accesses data in multi-tenant products. ### TL;DR [#tldr] Toucan AI separates **platform data** (stored in Toucan) from **your business data** (stored in your connected databases). Access to your data is always gated by authentication, permissions, and row-level security — not by copying your warehouse into Toucan. *** ### When to use this [#when-to-use-this] Use this page with [Security boundaries (embed)](/core/embed/embedding-overview/security-boundaries) to design a secure integration and understand shared responsibilities. *** ### Three data zones [#three-data-zones] | Zone | What it is | Where it lives | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | **Platform** | Accounts, dashboards, chart configs, AI history, encrypted DB credentials | Toucan AI database | | **Your database** | Tables and rows (source of truth) | Your infrastructure | | **Request-time results** | Rows returned for a chart or AI answer | Processed per request — not a bulk Toucan copy | See [Data storage & retention](/core/govern/security-model/data-storage-and-retention) for query flow and caching. *** ### How access is enforced [#how-access-is-enforced] * **Embed tokens** carry identity, permissions, and attributes for security rules (all database configuration can be passed as attributes). * **Row-level security (RLS)** filters which rows each user can query. * **[Column-level security (CLS)](/core/build/security-and-governance/column-level-security-cls)** can restrict which columns are visible. * **Organization isolation** separates one customer’s Toucan configuration from another’s. *** ### Security responsibilities [#security-responsibilities] | Responsibility | Your app / backend | Toucan AI platform | | ---------------------------------- | :----------------: | :----------------: | | End-user authentication | ✅ | — | | Embed token generation | ✅ | — | | API key storage | ✅ | — | | Define RLS attributes & rules | ✅ | — | | Enforce RLS at query time | — | ✅ | | Store platform config & AI history | — | ✅ | | Store your table data | ✅ (your DB) | — (queries only) | *** ### Typical risks [#typical-risks] * Missing RLS on sensitive tables * Sensitive content in AI chat that gets stored in conversation history *** ### Related pages [#related-pages] * [Token security](/core/govern/security-model/token-security) * [API security](https://github.com/ToucanToco/toucan-ai/blob/main/docs/govern/security-model/api-security.md) * [Data storage & retention](/core/govern/security-model/data-storage-and-retention) * [PII & personal data](/core/govern/security-model/pii-and-personal-data) * [Third-party subprocessors](/core/govern/security-model/third-party-subprocessors)