The Problem with AI Lock-In
Most AI-powered productivity tools give you no choice. They pick the model, they control the pricing, and your data flows through their infrastructure. If they raise prices, you pay more. If they switch providers, you adapt. If they go down, you wait.
We built Vyneron differently.
What is BYOK?
BYOK — Bring Your Own Key — means you can connect your own AI provider API key to Vyneron. Instead of relying solely on our managed AI, you plug in your own key from Google Gemini, OpenAI, or Groq and use Vyneron's full feature set powered by your preferred provider.
Every feature works the same: natural language task creation, AI chat, image text extraction (OCR), audio transcription, smart function calling — all of it. The only difference is which AI processes your requests.
Why Use Your Own Key?
Full Cost Control
With BYOK, you pay your AI provider directly at their published rates. No markup, no bundled pricing, no surprises. Google Gemini's flash-lite model costs fractions of a cent per request — a typical user might spend $1-3/month on AI calls.
No Rate Limits
System users share a pool. BYOK users have their own quota directly with the provider. If you're a power user sending 200+ AI messages a day, BYOK removes the ceiling.
Data Privacy
When you use your own key, your messages go directly from Vyneron to your chosen provider. We never see, store, or process the AI conversation content — it's between you and your provider. Your API key itself is encrypted at rest using AES-128 (Fernet) before it ever touches our database.
Provider Choice
Different providers have different strengths:
| Provider | Best For | Models | |----------|----------|--------| | Google Gemini | Speed, vision, cost efficiency | gemini-2.0-flash-lite, gemini-2.0-flash, gemini-2.5-flash | | Groq | Ultra-fast inference, open-source models | Llama 3.3 70B, Llama 3.2 90B Vision | | OpenAI | GPT quality, broad compatibility | GPT-4o-mini, Whisper |
You're not locked into one. Switch anytime from Settings.
How to Set Up BYOK
Step 1: Get Your API Key
Pick your provider and grab a key:
- Google Gemini → aistudio.google.com/app/apikey
- Groq → console.groq.com/keys
- OpenAI → platform.openai.com/api-keys
All three offer free tiers or credits to get started.
Step 2: Connect to Vyneron
- Open Settings in Vyneron
- Go to the Plan tab
- Select your provider from the dropdown
- Paste your API key
- Click Test to verify it works
- Click Save
That's it. Every AI feature in Vyneron now runs through your key.
Step 3: Verify
Send a message to the AI chat — you should see a response powered by your chosen provider. If something goes wrong, Vyneron shows a clear error message so you can check your key.
How It Works Under the Hood
When you set a custom provider, Vyneron stores your API key encrypted with Fernet (AES-128). The plaintext key only exists in memory during an active AI call — never in logs, never in responses, never in plain text on disk.
The architecture is straightforward:
- You send a message (text, image, or audio)
- Vyneron checks your company's AI provider setting
- If BYOK → your decrypted key is used to call your provider directly
- If system default → Vyneron's managed chain handles it (Gemini → Groq fallback)
- The AI response comes back through the same path
For BYOK users, there's no fallback chain. If your key has an issue, you see the error immediately — no silent failures, no mystery behavior. You're in control.
Smart Model Selection
Vyneron doesn't just call one model. Each provider has an optimized model chain based on the task:
- Chat messages → Start with the cheapest model (e.g.,
gemini-2.0-flash-lite), escalate only if needed - Image OCR → Use vision-capable models (e.g.,
gemini-2.0-flash) - Audio transcription → Use specialized audio models (e.g., Whisper)
- Function calling (create tasks, set reminders) → Use models with tool-use support
This means your API costs stay as low as possible — simple chat doesn't burn expensive model credits.
BYOK vs. Paid Plans
BYOK works on any plan, including free:
| Feature | Free + BYOK | Pro ($6/mo) | Founder ($39/yr) | |---------|-------------|-------------|-------------------| | AI messages | Unlimited* | Unlimited | Unlimited | | Smart calendar | — | ✓ | ✓ | | Email notifications | — | ✓ | ✓ | | File storage | 50 MB | 2.5 GB/user | 2.5 GB/user | | Max files | 10 | 500/user | 500/user | | Team members | 1 | 5 | 250 |
*You pay your provider directly for API usage.
Free users with BYOK get unlimited AI — you just bring your own key. Pro and Founder users get BYOK plus premium features like smart calendar, email notifications, and expanded storage.
Security Details
We take key security seriously:
- Encryption at rest: Fernet (AES-128) with PBKDF2-derived keys (100,000 iterations)
- Environment-isolated: Encryption keys stored as environment variables, separate from the database
- Masked display: Your key is never shown in full — only the first and last 4 characters appear in the UI
- Admin-only access: Only workspace owners and admins can change AI provider settings
- No logging: API keys are never written to application logs
Who Should Use BYOK?
- Privacy-conscious users who want direct provider relationships
- Power users who need more AI calls than the system pool provides
- Teams who want to track AI costs through their own billing dashboard
- Developers who already have API keys and want to maximize their value
- Free tier users who want unlimited AI without upgrading
Get Started
BYOK is available right now — no special activation needed. Sign up for Vyneron, go to Settings, pick your provider, paste your key, and you're running.