Trader memory with consent: how Hippo adapts, and how it forgets
Hippo adjusts how it explains things to each trader’s experience level, so a first-time trader and a derivatives regular get answers pitched differently. If the trader opts in, Hippo also remembers their preferences between conversations, such as the markets they follow or how much detail they like. Memory is off until the trader turns it on, and they can wipe it at any time.
Personalisation and privacy usually pull in opposite directions. The design here is to get the first without giving up the second.
Two different things: adapting and remembering
They are easy to blur, so it helps to separate them.
| Adapting to experience | Personal memory | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Pitches explanations at the trader’s level | Keeps preferences between conversations |
| Default | On | Off |
| Trader control | Can ask for more or less detail at any time | Opt in, wipe at any time |
Memory is the part that carries preferences from one conversation to the next, and it does so only with consent.
How does adapting to experience work?
The same question deserves different answers for different traders. “What is a funding rate?” from someone on their first day needs the basic idea: perpetuals have no expiry, so a periodic payment between longs and shorts keeps the price near spot. The same question from an active derivatives trader is probably about something specific, such as how the rate is calculated on this venue.
Hippo adjusts the depth and vocabulary of its answers to fit. It never changes the facts, only how they are explained. A trader can always ask for more or less detail. For the full explanation of the example, see perpetual futures funding rates, explained.
What does memory keep, with consent?
If a trader opts in, Hippo remembers preferences that make later answers more useful, such as:
- The markets they follow
- How much detail they want
- Terms they already know, so Hippo does not define them every time
The test for what is worth remembering is whether it makes the next answer better for the trader. Nothing is remembered before the trader opts in.
How does a trader control it?
From the chat settings, under personal memory:
- Opt in to let Hippo remember preferences.
- Wipe to clear what it has kept. The next conversation starts from scratch.
Does memory change what Hippo will say?
No. Memory changes how Hippo explains, not where the line sits. Knowing that a trader follows SOL closely does not mean Hippo will tell them whether to buy it. A trader with a long history of conversations gets the same refusal to give a verdict as a new one, followed by the same facts.
That is a deliberate limit. An agent that grew more willing to advise the better it knew someone would be drifting toward exactly the thing it is built not to do. The rule is explained in why Hippo explains and never advises.
Why it matters to the exchange
Answers that fit the trader keep the trader. A new trader who gets an answer at the right level is more likely to understand the product and keep going; an experienced one who does not have to wade through basics is more likely to keep asking. Both happen inside the exchange’s app.
And the consent design means the exchange is not taking on a personalisation feature its privacy team has to argue for. It is opt-in, visible to the trader, and erasable by the trader.
Personal memory is live on Hippo’s demo exchange today. If you run product at an exchange or broker, askthehippo.com has more on how a pilot works.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hippo remember traders by default?
No. Personal memory is opt-in. Until a trader turns it on in the chat settings, Hippo does not keep their preferences between conversations.
What does Hippo remember if a trader opts in?
Preferences that make answers more useful, such as the markets the trader follows, the level of detail they want and the terms they already know.
How does a trader delete Hippo's memory of them?
From the chat settings, at any time. Wiping memory clears it; Hippo starts from scratch in the next conversation.
Does memory change the advice boundary?
No. Knowing a trader's preferences changes how Hippo explains things, not what it is willing to say. Hippo never gives investment advice, whatever it knows about the trader.
Hippo provides information, not investment advice.
