Private AI
The AI you can tell anything.
Because there's no one on the other end.
A cloud AI conversation starts by sending your words to a server, where the provider handles them under its own retention, review, and training settings. Loci doesn't take that route. The model runs on your device, so the prompt and the reply never need to reach anyone's service.
Incognito hides your history, not your question
A private browser window only hides where you've been from your own device. The question itself still goes out — through your internet provider, across the internet, to a server that receives exactly what you typed.
A local Loci chat never makes that trip. No provider receives it, and no account is attached to it. The safest data is the data that never moves.
What runs on the device
- Chat: understood and answered locally.
- Voice: processed on the device, not streamed to a server.
- Photos: image understanding happens on-device.
- No account required for any of it.
The online features are separate
Core chat and model inference stay on your device. Online sources are separate and may run automatically for eligible questions according to your source setting or when you ask for them. A source request can send a bounded search query or the fields needed for live data, based on the question or task being answered, directly to one or more third-party providers; Loci may also request selected result pages. The request does not pass through a Loci server, but network recipients may receive ordinary connection information such as an IP address, and text you type—including confidential information—may be included. See the Privacy Policy for location, provider, continuation, and request details.
| What matters | Loci | Cloud AI |
|---|---|---|
| Where chat is processed | On your device. Conversations don't leave it. | Sent to remote servers to be answered. |
| Who's on the other end | No one. The model answers locally. | A provider receives the prompt and handles it under its own retention and training settings. |
| Account | None required for local AI. | Usually tied to an account and an identity. |
Using private AI on a Mac?
The private AI for Mac guide traces each data flow on its own, and shows how to prove it by pulling the Mac offline.
Privacy questions
Does Loci send my chats to a server?
No. Local conversations are processed on your own device, so chat data isn't uploaded to a Loci server.
Can anyone read my conversations?
For local chat, there's no server receiving them, so there's nothing on the other end to read.
Do I need an account?
No account is required for local AI.
Is any feature online?
Model downloads and online sources use the internet. Sources may run automatically for eligible questions according to your source setting or when you ask for them. Core chat and model inference stay local.
For sensitive questions
Keep the question on your device.
Use Loci for the things you'd rather not hand to a cloud account.