Your Hermes
Agent, wherever you are.

The Abyss is a native iOS, iPadOS and macOS client for Hermes Agent, the self-improving autonomous agent by Nous Research. Hermes itself lives on a server — a Mac Mini, a homelab box, a VPS — where its memory, skills, tools and model access all run. The Abyss is one more surface over that same mind: a thin, beautiful window that connects over the network and renders a remote agent. It never runs an LLM on-device.

What it does

• - Connects to any running Hermes backend with a single URL and token — or a single QR scan
• - Streams replies live, with tool calls (shell, files, web) rendered as expandable cards
• - Keeps every session on your own server, cached locally so history works offline
• - Hands-free voice: on-device transcription in, streamed speech out
• - Reaches your agent from anywhere over Tailscale, LAN, or HTTPS

The design language

The whole app is built around an aesthetic I called "The Abyss": occult-baroque, antiquarian dread. Think monochrome mezzotint engravings emerging from near-black under a single tenebrist light, overlaid with dithered grain, set in high-contrast serif type. The agent speaks in an old manuscript face (Spectral); you type at a terminal (JetBrains Mono); titles are tracked small-caps serif (Cormorant). A duotone plate shifts hue with context — verd green when connected and idle, gild gold for rare emphasis — and a hand-drawn presence sigil breathes while the agent thinks.

Tech stack

• SwiftUI on iOS 26 — Liquid Glass, MeshGradient, PhaseAnimator, sensoryFeedback, no back-deployment shims.
• Swift 6 with strict concurrency; networking on a dedicated actor.
• URLSession for REST and a hand-rolled SSE line-reader for live token streaming — no third-party networking library.
• SwiftData for the offline session cache; Keychain for every credential (never UserDefaults for tokens).
• An adapter layer pinned to /v1/capabilities, not a version string, so a fast-moving preview API only ever touches one file.
• No analytics, no trackers — the privacy label is "Data Not Collected" by design.

The hard parts

• Onboarding had to be friendly to two people at once — someone whose backend already runs and just needs a URL + token, and someone starting from zero who needs the server-setup tutorial. The wizard branches early on the only question that matters: "Is Hermes already running somewhere?"
• Reachability is the real problem, not chat. Plain HTTP to a Tailscale or LAN IP is blocked by App Transport Security, so the connection paths are HTTPS-first with scoped exceptions for local networking — never a blanket cleartext allowance that draws a rejection.
• Texture vs legibility. Engraving, grain and duotone are gorgeous and a real legibility risk, so chat text always sits on a calm near-solid panel — never on the plate — and meets WCAG AA against every hue, with "reduce backdrop / grain / motion" toggles throughout.
• Forward compatibility. Hermes is a fast preview, so unknown streaming events render a generic card instead of crashing — every decode tolerates extra or missing fields.

It ships as an independent client — not affiliated with or endorsed by Nous Research — analogous to an SSH or terminal client for your own self-hosted agent.

Effective date: 2026-06-29 · Last updated: 2026-06-29

This Privacy Policy explains how the iOS app "The Abyss" (the "App") handles your data. The App is published by Vladimir Adamovic ("we", "us"). Contact: hey@vlado.me.

The short version: the App does not collect, store, transmit, or sell your personal data to us or to any third party. Everything you type, say, or share in the App flows between your device and the self-hosted "Hermes" backend that you yourself configure and control. We are not in the middle.

If you only read one section, read Section 2.

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1. What the App is

The Abyss is a remote-control client for Hermes, an open-source AI agent that you run on hardware you own (your computer, your VPS, your home server). The App does not include any hosted AI service. It is a user interface for the backend you point it at.

This means the privacy guarantees of your data depend on the backend you connect to, not on the App. We have no visibility into, and no control over, your backend.

2. Data the App does NOT collect

We do not collect, receive, or have access to any of the following:

• - Your name, email, phone number, or any contact information.
• - Your messages, prompts, or chat content.
• - Your voice recordings or transcriptions.
• - Your photos or attached images.
• - Your IP address, device location, or network identifiers.
• - Your usage patterns, taps, screen views, session durations, or any analytics.
• - Crash logs or diagnostics.
• - Advertising identifiers.
• - Any unique identifier tied to your Apple ID.

We do not use third-party SDKs of any kind. The App does not contain analytics, tracking, advertising, A/B testing, remote logging, or crash reporting services.

3. Data the App stores on your device

The following data is created and stored locally on your iPhone or iPad. It never leaves the device except when you explicitly send a message to your backend.

You can wipe all of this at any time by removing a backend (Backends → Remove) or by uninstalling the App.

4. Data that flows over the network

When you use the App, network traffic happens only between:

• - Your device, and
• - The Hermes backend(s) you have configured.

We do not operate any servers. We do not have a backend. The App does not phone home.

You decide what your backend does with the data you send it. Read your backend's privacy policy (or write one, if you're the one running it). If your backend is on your home network or your Tailscale tailnet, the data does not leave your network.

5. Permissions the App requests

The App asks for a few iOS permissions. Each is used only for the stated purpose and only while you are using the relevant feature.

We never send the contents of camera, microphone, or photo library to ourselves. They go only to the backend you have explicitly configured, and only when you take an action that initiates a send.

6. Third parties

The App contains no third-party SDKs. We do not share data with anyone, because the App does not have data to share.

If you choose to connect the App to a third-party Hermes backend (for example, a hosted instance run by someone other than yourself), your data is subject to that party's privacy policy, not ours.

7. Children

The App is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect any data from children. Because we do not collect data at all, this is structurally guaranteed — but if you are a parent or guardian and you believe your child is using the App, you can uninstall it at any time. There is nothing for us to delete.

8. Your rights (GDPR, CCPA, and similar)

Because we do not collect, store, or process your personal data, requests to access, correct, delete, or port your data have nothing to act on at our end. Such requests should be directed at the operator of the Hermes backend you have connected to (which may be yourself).

For data stored locally on your device, you can:

• - Access it: directly through the App's UI.
• - Delete it: by removing the backend in Settings → Backends, or by uninstalling the App.

9. Security

• - Credentials are stored in the iOS Keychain, the system's secure encrypted store.
• - Network connections to your backend use whatever transport your backend exposes. The App supports HTTPS and pairing-by-QR for credential transfer.
• - The App permits insecure HTTP connections only when explicitly configured by the user (e.g. development backends on a local network). This is a deliberate trade-off for the self-hosting audience the App serves.
• - We do not have access to your credentials. If you forget them, your backend operator can reset them; we cannot.

10. International users

You can use the App from anywhere iOS is supported. Because we do not collect any data, no cross-border data transfer occurs at our end. The flow between your device and your backend may cross borders depending on where your backend is hosted — that is governed by your backend, not by the App.

11. Changes to this Policy

If we change this policy in any way that affects how the App handles data, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this document and post the new version at the URL where you found this one. Because we do not collect contact information, we cannot email you about the change. We recommend checking back when the App receives a major update.

Material changes (anything that broadens what the App collects, stores, or shares) will also be summarised in the App Store release notes for that version.

12. Contact

Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy:

• - Email: hey@vlado.me
• - Subject line suggestion: "The Abyss — Privacy"

We aim to respond within 7 business days.

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Summary