How Separately Protects Your Privacy From AI

Putting the details of your separation into an online tool can feel daunting. It is some of the most sensitive information in your life, and trusting it to anything involving AI is a fair thing to pause over. We built Separately with that concern in mind. This is how we keep your identity separate from the analysis, what happens to your data at each step, and why a purpose-built tool handles sensitive information differently from a general chatbot.

This is general information about how Separately works, not legal or financial advice.

The short version: your names in, pseudonyms out

When you use Separately, your real names and other identifying details are replaced with neutral labels such as "Partner A" and "Partner B" before the analysis happens. The assessment is run on the substance of your situation, your assets, debts, superannuation and contributions, without the AI ever working with who you actually are. Your real names are put back only at the end, so the assessment you read is personal and easy to follow.

This technique is called pseudonymisation.

What pseudonymisation means

Pseudonymisation is a recognised data protection method that replaces identifying details with placeholders, or pseudonyms. Think of it like code names. Instead of carrying your real name and your former partner's real name through the system, Separately assigns generic labels before any analysis begins.

The information that could identify you is kept separate from the financial data the assessment needs. The key that links "Partner A" back to your real name is held separately and securely. The analysis can then run on the facts of your situation without being tied to your identity.

Pseudonymisation is different from full anonymisation. With full anonymisation, the link between the data and the person is permanently broken and cannot be restored. Pseudonymisation keeps that link, but only under controlled conditions. For us, that is what lets us put your real names back into your final assessment so it reads naturally for you, while keeping those names out of the analysis itself.

It is worth being precise here. Under Australian privacy law, information is still personal information if a person is reasonably identifiable from it, and the OAIC treats robust de-identification as a spectrum rather than a single guarantee. Pseudonymisation is a strong privacy-enhancing step, and we treat the information you give us as personal information throughout, with care, security and a clear purpose.

How Separately handles your data, step by step

We would rather show you the process than ask you to take it on faith.

Step 1: You enter your information

You start by entering details about your relationship, including your name and your former partner's name, then your financial information such as assets, debts and superannuation balances. At this point the information is in your browser, on your device.

Step 2: Pseudonymisation before analysis

This is the step that matters most for your privacy. Before your personal details are used for analysis, the names you entered are replaced with pseudonyms. "Olivia" and "James" become "Partner A" and "Partner B". The AI that produces your assessment works only with those labels, not your real name.

Step 3: Analysis with pseudonyms

The pseudonymised data is analysed on our secure servers. The assessment looks at the financial picture, contributions and each person's circumstances, and works through the situation of "Partner A" and "Partner B", not you by name.

Step 4: Your assessment is generated

Separately produces your property settlement assessment, explaining a likely range for how property might be divided and the reasoning behind it. Through this stage the data stays in its pseudonymised form.

Step 5: Re-identification, for your eyes only

In the final step, as your assessment is delivered in your secure session, the pseudonyms are swapped back to the real names you entered. This makes the assessment clear, readable and personal to you. Re-identification happens at the very end, so the analysis itself was done without your identity attached.

What you see versus what the analysis sees

A quick example makes the difference concrete. Imagine a couple, Sarah and Ben. They own a home and have a car loan.

What Sarah and Ben see on their screen:

• Names: Sarah and Ben
• Assets: family home at 123 Main Street, Toyota Kluger
• Debts: Westpac mortgage

What the analysis works with:

• Names: Partner A and Partner B
• Assets: Property 1, Vehicle 1
• Debts: Liability 1

The identifying details are replaced with neutral labels before the analysis runs. The assessment still has everything it needs about the financial situation, without being tied to the real people involved.

Why this is different from a general AI chatbot

Separately was purpose-built for the sensitive nature of property settlement after separation, and that changes how your information is treated.

• We do not use your data to train AI models. The details you provide are used to generate your assessment, not folded back into a model.
• It is a closed loop for a single purpose. Separately is a specialised tool, not a general knowledge engine, and your data is handled within our own secure infrastructure.
• Privacy is part of the design. Pseudonymisation is built into the architecture, because we knew people would be entering some of their most personal information.

With a general-purpose chatbot, you often cannot be sure how your input is stored or whether it may be used to improve the model. For financial and relationship details, that uncertainty matters. A specialised tool lets you get a considered assessment without that trade-off.

How the assessment thinks about your situation

Separately's assessment reflects the way property is approached under the Family Law Act 1975. Following changes that commenced on 10 June 2025, the law sets out that the courts identify the property and liabilities of the parties, assess each person's contributions to the property pool and to the welfare of the family, and assess each person's current and future circumstances. Where relevant, the economic effect of family violence is now also part of that assessment.

An assessment from Separately is an informed estimate to help you understand the shape of your situation and have clearer conversations. It is not a court order and it is not legal advice. Outcomes turn on the specific facts, and a court must be satisfied that any division is just and equitable.

When you are ready to formalise things

If you reach an agreement, there are two main ways to make it legally binding, and both are worth getting independent advice on:

• Consent orders, where you ask the court to formalise what you have agreed. You are not required to have a lawyer, but the court itself recommends getting independent legal advice about the effect of the orders you propose.
• A binding financial agreement, which is a contract under the Family Law Act 1975. Here, each person must receive independent legal advice before signing for the agreement to be binding.

Separately is a starting point for clarity, not a substitute for that advice.

Key takeaways

• Your real names are replaced with pseudonyms before any analysis begins.
• The analysis works with neutral labels, not your personal identifying details.
• A purpose-built tool handles sensitive information differently from a general chatbot.
• Your data is not used to train AI models.
• Your real names are restored only at the end, so your assessment reads naturally for you.

If and when it helps, you can run an assessment to see the likely shape of your property settlement, calmly and in your own time.