BYOK: How Bring Your Own API Key Works --- ## Further Reading - [Prompt Engineering for Legal Teams: The Ultimate Guide to AI in Law](/blog/prompt-engineering-legal-teams) - [AI Code Review Workflows: 7 Templates That Catch Bugs](/blog/building-ai-powered-code-review-workflows-custom-prompts) - [What Is Prompt Engineering? A Complete Guide](/blog/what-is-prompt-engineering)

BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) is a model where you provide your own Google Gemini API key to use with AI Prompt Architect. This means you pay Google directly for API usage at their published rates — with zero markup from us.

How Is My API Key Protected?

Your API key is encrypted in your browser using AES-256-GCM before it ever leaves your device. We use a zero-knowledge architecture — meaning even our own team cannot see your key. During API calls, your key exists in server memory for less than 2 seconds and is never logged or stored in plain text.

Who Should Use BYOK?

BYOK is ideal for developers and teams who want full control over their API costs and already have a Google Cloud account. It's available through our API Tier subscription, which gives you unlimited platform access while you manage your own API billing.

Getting Started with BYOK

Sign up for the API Tier, generate a Gemini API key from the Google AI Studio, and paste it into your AI Prompt Architect settings. The platform handles the rest.