Russet runs AI models on your iPhone and iPad, so your chats stay on your iPhone and iPad.
Most AI apps are a window onto someone else's computer. Everything you type goes to a server you'll never see, and you just hope it's treated well. Russet works the other way around. It runs models on the phone itself, either Apple Intelligence or open models like Qwen and Gemma that you download once and can then use with no connection at all. When you need something bigger, you can add your own OpenAI or OpenRouter key. Either way, your chat history lives on your device and nowhere else.
Russet can also do something most AI apps can't: ask two models the same question at once. Put two cloud models in a group chat, say GPT and Claude, and each one answers without seeing the other's reply. Send a message to both, or to just one. When both have answered, tap Consolidate. A third model, which can be either of the two or any other, reads both answers and writes one. It keeps what's right in each, says where they agree, and where they differ, says which one is better supported. Two models that disagree tell you more than one model that sounds sure.
A local model is easy to demo and hard to live with every day. Russet has what everyday use needs.
- Group chats. Two models, one question, two independent answers. Each model keeps its own history of the chat.
- Consolidate. Turn two answers into one that shows where they agree and where they don't. It works on any earlier turn too.
- Private by default. Local models run offline. Nothing you type goes anywhere unless you pick a cloud model.
- Your calendar, contacts, and health. Ask what's on tomorrow, when you're free, or how you slept, and the answer comes from data that never leaves your phone.
- Flow. Paste in some text and summarize it, translate it, rewrite it, or have it argue the other side.
- Speech. Turn text into natural-sounding speech on the device.
- Projects. Keep related chats and files together. A file only goes to a cloud provider if you turn that on for that file.
- Personas. A writing coach, a study buddy, a devil's advocate, or just a good listener.
- Briefings. A daily, tomorrow, or weekly summary of what's coming up.
- Your Mac, from your phone. Pick up a chat that's running on your Mac. The Mac does the work, and your keys stay there.
- Widgets and Siri Shortcuts for starting a chat in one tap.
So helpful to have Russet always available even when there’s no WiFi
Developer Response
Thank you 😊
Great app
Mytinytown
Pretty cool app, clean interface easy to use. Developer is pushing updates regularly which is always great to see : )
Developer Response
Thanks for your kind feedback 😊
Cute icon, awesome app
Kimmmmm3
The icon is super cute!! But more importantly the app is actually so helpful and unique compared to other AI. It’s also completely free which I love ☺️
Developer Response
Glad you’re liking Russet 😊
Amazing app!
The Arlonator
I found Russet while looking for a good on-device AI app to see what my iPad was capable of. I also love that it is completely free. BUT— It has just recently started to crash on launch. I have an iPad Pro M4 1TB running ipadOS 27.2. I still gave it a 5-star review by looking at the response times, and that the responses aren’t just the generic computer-generated ‘Thank you for reaching out to ___! We would love it if you could submit your feedback to www.wedontcareaboutourcustomers.com! You are doing an amazing thing, keep it free, keep it on-device, and keep caring, and everyone will love it.
Developer Response
Thank you for your kind words and patience :) Prioritizing locating and resolving the crash you’ve identified as an update to be pushed within 24 hrs. Hang tight!
- Group chats: turn on Group chat when starting an OpenAI or OpenRouter chat to talk with two models at once. Send each message to both or just one, and compare their answers.
- Use your iPhone and iPad as a remote to control chats with Russet on Mac locally.
- Russet is now organized around projects, so each project's chats, speeches, files, and instructions stay together and are easy to pick back up.
Version 2026.10.16
The developer, South Bay Compute, LLC, 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 Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
