How BYOK works — your keys, your cost

§01Why BYOK?

Most tools that query AI models on your behalf either charge a large markup over API costs, or pool all users through shared keys. Both approaches have problems: markups inflate costs 3–5×, and shared keys expose you to rate limits set by other users.

Find me Cited uses a Bring Your Own Key model instead. You add your API keys once in Settings and we store them encrypted (AES-256-GCM) in your account. API calls are made server-side using your key — you pay the AI provider directly at their published rates, with no markup.

Keys are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and are never logged or exposed in plaintext. The hero quick-check on our homepage makes direct browser-to-provider calls using a key you enter manually — nothing is stored in that case. For saved checks in the dashboard, calls are proxied server-side using your stored encrypted key.

§02Which keys you need

You need a separate key for each model you want to check against:

You don’t need all four. If you only care about Claude and Perplexity, add just those two keys and we’ll only check those models.

§03Getting your Anthropic key (Claude)

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and sign in or create an account.
2. Navigate to API Keys in the left sidebar.
3. Click Create Key, give it a name (e.g. “findmecited”), and copy the key.
4. Add $5+ in credits under Billing — Anthropic requires a positive balance.

Key format: starts with sk-ant-

§04Getting your OpenAI key (ChatGPT)

1. Go to platform.openai.com and sign in.
2. Click your account icon → API keys.
3. Click Create new secret key, name it, copy it immediately — it won’t be shown again.
4. Make sure your account has a positive credit balance under Billing.

Key format: starts with sk- (not sk-ant-)

§05Getting your Google key (Gemini)

1. Go to aistudio.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
2. Click Get API key in the top-left menu.
3. Click Create API key in new project and copy the result.
4. Gemini has a free tier (60 requests/min on Gemini Flash) — no billing setup required to start.

Key format: starts with AIza

§06Getting your Perplexity key

1. Go to perplexity.ai/settings/api and sign in.
2. Click Generate under API Keys.
3. Copy the key and add credits under Billing (minimum $5).

Key format: starts with pplx-

§07Adding keys in Find me Cited

Once you have your keys, go to Settings → API Keys. Add each key to the corresponding field and click Save. We validate the key format before saving.

Keys are encrypted with AES-256-GCM and stored securely in your account — they’re available across any browser or device as long as you’re signed in. You can remove a key at any time from the same Settings page.