Local Chat allows you to run the latest open language models on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Once you've downloaded the models, you can use the chat function even when your device is offline. Your chats remain totally private, since no internet connection is required to interact with the chatbots. It's like having your very own ChatGPT right on your device.
You can choose to save your chat history on your devices or delete your chats automatically after you're finished. Any chats that you choose to save in your history will be synced via your private iCloud storage to your other devices.
Try the latest, best-in-class models from the open-source community, including Llama 3 from Meta, Gemma 2 from Google, Phi 3 from Microsoft, Qwen 2 from Alibaba Cloud, and Mistral. Choose from different sizes to find the best fit for your device.
You can also customize the chatbot's personality with a system prompt, whether you prefer a helpful assistant, an encouraging coach, a witty conversationalist, or anything else you can imagine.
The chat function works with the following devices:
- Mac (M1 and later)
- iPhone 12 and later
- iPad Pro (M1 and later)
- iPad Air (4th generation and later)
- iPad mini (6th generation and later)
- iPad (10th generation and later)
On earlier devices, you can view your chat history from your other devices synced via your private iCloud storage.
Local Chat is just getting started, and we're planning to continue adding new features in the coming months. If you have any feedback about the app, we'd love to hear it at feedback@localchat.co.
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Privacy policy: https://localchat.co/privacy
Terms of use: https://localchat.co/terms
Among all the AI apps I've used for running lightweight models locally on iPhone, **LocalChat stands out as the absolute best**. The interface is clean, intuitive, and beautifully organized — no clutter, no confusion. It supports the **widest variety of models**, from open-source LLMs to vision-language models, and switching between **local and cloud inference** is seamless with just one tap. Even more impressive, it has **multimodal capabilities**, letting users work with text, vision, and more — all from a single app. This is a game-changer for anyone exploring real on-device AI. **Highly recommended**. If you're serious about local AI, **download this app now**.
Best one and I’ve tried them ALL
sportswook489
Shortcuts integration just works. Connects to my local OpenAI compatible LLM server perfectly. Finally, I have just one app as my go-to AI chat client. Deleted all the others that I’ve bought and tried. THIS is the one.
Might be the best!
Cybernettr
I've downloaded and tested three AI apps the run directly on your phone, and I've gotten by far the best results from this one! All the apps allow you to download and experiment with different models, but this one has given me the best results right out of the box! Like all AI models, it can make mistakes, but this is the most reliable app I've tried that runs directly on my phone!
Lame
Blackbery-12
The free version offers a limited selection of models, while the best ones require a pro upgrade. However, since they don’t develop the models themselves, the app functions the same regardless of which one you use. The only difference is access, which feels like more of a paywall than an added functionalit. It would make more sense if they were offering something unique, but that’s not the case. You also can’t load custom models so you can’t choose one. That’s not in their list.
Developer Response
All the models are now available on the free tier. Note that I also helped write the open-source code that runs some of the models. Creating Local Chat has taken a lot of hard work over the past year. Subscriptions allow people to support my work on the app and my contributions to open-source projects. I'll always try to find the right balance so that people can try Local Chat on the free tier. Please consider changing your rating, since one-star reviews negatively impact my livelihood and don't reflect the care I've put into creating Local Chat.
This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.
Version 2026.1
The developer, Anthony R. DePasquale, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
