---
title: Understanding Agent Memory
description: How Pinchy agents remember information and what that means for your team.
---

Pinchy agents have a memory system that persists knowledge across conversations. When you talk to an agent, it can remember important information and use it in future conversations — giving better, more contextual responses over time.

## Personal vs. shared agent memory

Pinchy has two types of agents, and they handle memory differently:

### Personal agents (Smithers)

Every user gets their own personal agent — called Smithers by default. This agent is **completely private**:

- Only you can talk to your Smithers.
- Memory is isolated. Nothing you discuss leaks to other users.
- Treat it like your personal notebook.

### Shared agents

Shared agents are team resources. When **any** team member talks to a shared agent, the agent may remember that information and use it when helping **other** team members. This is by design — it builds team knowledge.

Think of a shared agent like a shared Slack channel: everyone with access can see what's been discussed.

## What this means for your team

- **Shared agents are great for**: team knowledge bases, project assistants, domain experts, onboarding new team members.
- **Personal agents are the right choice for**: tasks involving sensitive or private information.
- **Rule of thumb**: Don't share anything with a shared agent that you wouldn't share with your entire team.

## How Pinchy communicates this to users

You don't need to explain the memory model to your team — Pinchy handles it in the product:

- When users open a shared agent's chat, they see a **"Shared" badge** in the header and a notice explaining that conversations contribute to shared team knowledge.
- When users open their personal agent, they see a **"Private" badge** confirming their conversations are isolated.

## What's coming next

- **Per-agent memory toggle** — ability to disable memory for specific agents.
- **Memory inspection** — tools for admins to see what agents have memorized.
- **Memory deletion** — right to erasure for compliance requirements.
