Perplexity vs Cursor: which is safer for work?
On the facts we could verify, Cursor carries lower data-exposure risk for default at-work use. Both should still be used on an approved tier for anything sensitive.
| Fact | Perplexity Low risk · 20 Perplexity AI, Inc. · Search | Cursor Low risk · 17 Anysphere · Coding |
|---|---|---|
| Trains on consumer-tier data | Opt-out | Opt-out |
| SOC 2 Type II | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 | Unverified | Yes |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| HIPAA BAA | Unverified | Unverified |
| EU data residency | Unverified | Unverified |
| SSO / SAML | Yes | Yes |
| Data retention | Consumer: data retained unless 'AI data retention' is disabled; Enterprise Pro offers configurable retention and a Zero Data Retention mode; Sonar API retains no request data. | With Privacy Mode enabled, Cursor maintains Zero Data Retention (ZDR) agreements with inference subprocessors so prompts/completions are not retained; without Privacy Mode, code data may be stored to improve and train models (specific retention windows not published). |
Full profiles: Perplexity · Cursor. Facts are sourced from each vendor's own policies; confirm the tier before relying on them.