Hark Pro asks for your inbox, files and cards, promising privacy without ads

Hark, founded less than a year ago by serial founder Brett Adcock, has widely released Hark Pro, a full-screen AI assistant built on a model trained specifically for computer use, TechCrunch reports. It is free, with a paid tier for heavy users. Like rival assistants, it asks for access to email, calendar, hard drive and credit cards, then acts on a user’s behalf. Its stated goal is an operating system for future AI computers rather than a single app, and it promises an AI-native device in 2027.

Design lead Abidur Chowdhury, a former Apple staffer, positions Hark as the alternative to Meta and OpenAI, saying the company is not there to sell ads and take user data. TechCrunch places it in a crowded field that includes Muse, Instinct and Dots (Muse on Mac).

Hark shows a small window of the agent navigating the web as it works. Most assistants hide that process. Letting people watch is a simple way to build trust, and it gives users a chance to catch a mistake before it costs money. It also sets a bar that competing assistants, including Meta’s Muse (Muse and trust), may be pushed to match.

TechCrunch also raises an honest product question: people often struggle to think of useful tasks to hand off, and a model trained narrowly for computer use may be faster and cheaper while giving up some broader knowledge. An anecdote of the assistant renewing a colleague’s DMV registration shows the potential, and also how much authority these systems are being given.

In the reporting available, the privacy case is a statement of intent: no ads, and an understanding of the user focused on tasks. That is welcome but is not an architecture. The coverage does not detail where data is stored, what stays on the device, how long it is kept, or what happens if the business model changes. No ads today does not guarantee no ads tomorrow. When a product holds someone’s inbox, files and card numbers, those specifics are central.

Every computer-use agent shares a broader risk. Software that can click, type and pay on someone’s behalf is what attackers want to trick or hijack, and the more of a digital life it touches, the larger the damage from a compromise. The trend of agents requesting payment credentials is spreading (agents want your card). Published policies and independent security testing would turn Hark’s promise into something users can evaluate. More in our agents coverage, tools coverage and cybersecurity coverage.