# Local Chat: Private AI Chatbot — Offline assistant, open LLM

> Offline AI chatbot using open language models on Apple devices. (iPhone/iPad app by Anthony R. DePasquale.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-chat-private-ai-chatbot/id6504043428 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Anthony R. DePasquale](https://appshunter.io/developer/1696305034)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 56 App Store ratings · 28 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 144 MB
- Languages: American English, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (France), German (Germany) and 23 more
- Released: 2024-07-14
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-chat-private-ai-chatbot/id6504043428/reviews.md

## What is Local Chat?

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.

---

Privacy policy: https://localchat.co/privacy
Terms of use: https://localchat.co/terms

## Key features

- Offline AI chat
- Open language models
- Private conversations
- Cross-device sync
- Customizable personality
- Model selection

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Local Chat Pro | $8.99 | per month |
| Local Chat Pro | $39.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Local Chat Pro | $99.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 28)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-chat-private-ai-chatbot/id6504043428/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Garbage

*2026-04-25, version 2025.25*

Absolute garbage, ui doesn’t make sense, it even has a placeholder language setting, and it asks $99 for lifetime lol

### 5/5 — Allows loading arbitrary models from Huggingface

*2026-04-18, version 2025.25*

Would be even better if we could load models from all of huggingface, not just-mlx-community.

### 3/5 — Good, but not great

*2026-02-10*

I’ve been using the app for the last several months.  The overall design and interface is a little clunky until you get used to it.  When you’re downloading a new local model, you have to stay active on that screen, or it will stop downloading if you go to another screen. What would make this app even better is a little more polishing with the UI and conversation syncing via iCloud.

**Developer response:** Please send me an email at support@localchat.co, because both of the things you're claiming are not accurate. Downloads work no matter what screen you're on in the app, and conversations sync via iCloud. I've spent a lot of time polishing the UI and would like to understand what you think doesn't work well.

### 5/5 — Legends

*2026-01-26, version 2025.25*

I love your app. It’s finally an ai that is private and not used to train models.

### 1/5 — Gave it a shot thumbs down

*2026-01-08*

It took over an hour to download the AI I wanted. And then anytime I asked a question the app crashed. Also it’s confusing on the other side of things. I have no idea how to use an API code? Like what? Would be a cool app if it worked

**Developer response:** I put a lot of time into making sure Local Chat works well, and I'm always available to fix any issues that you encounter. Please send me an email at support@localchat.co so that I can better understand the problem and make any necessary changes in the app.

### 1/5 — Does not work with all providers

*2025-12-24, version 2025.25*

Does not work with all openAPI compatible providers, seems buggy.

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2025-09-15, version 2025.22*

Absolutely ideal for local prompt engineering before using up cloud credits. I’ve found it invaluable so far as a writing aid.

### 5/5 — The best choice

*2025-07-04*

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**.

### 4/5 — there are better options

*2025-06-30*

ui isnt great, limited model selection

**Developer response:** You can add any compatible model from the MLX Community on Hugging Face, in addition to the recommended models in the app. I work really hard to make the UI great. If you have suggestions for how it could be improved, please let me know at feedback@localchat.co. If this response has been helpful to you, please consider updating your review.

### 5/5 — Super !

*2025-06-22*

Efficace avec MLX et ne s’exécute qu’en local.
Merci.
Idées d’amélioration :
- indiquer les tokens/s pour le PP et TG
- dans shortcuts, ne mettre dans la liste des modèles que ceux qui sont installés.
- permettre de rendre persistant le modèle chargé en mémoire (via une option parametrable) : j’ai l’impression qu’à chaque fois que je reviens sur l’application, le modèle se reloade

## Frequently asked questions about Local Chat

### What does Local Chat do?

Local Chat allows you to run advanced open language models directly on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone. You can engage in conversations with AI chatbots even when your device is offline, ensuring complete privacy as no internet connection is required for interaction.

### What are the key features of Local Chat?

Key features include offline AI chat functionality, the ability to run various open-source language models like Llama 3 and Mistral, private conversations, cross-device syncing via iCloud, and customizable chatbot personalities through system prompts.

### Is Local Chat free to use?

The app itself is free to download and use, offering core functionality. However, it does feature in-app purchases, suggesting that certain models, advanced features, or expanded capabilities may require a purchase.

### What devices are compatible with Local Chat?

Local Chat is compatible with Mac (M1 and later), iPhone 12 and later, and various iPad models including iPad Pro (M1 and later), iPad Air (4th gen and later), iPad mini (6th gen and later), and iPad (10th gen and later). Older devices can view synced chat history.

### How does Local Chat ensure privacy?

Privacy is a core focus of Local Chat. Since the AI models run directly on your device and no internet connection is required for interaction, your conversations remain entirely private and are not sent to any external servers.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2026.2 — 2026-07-14

This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.

### 2026.1 — 2026-06-08

This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.

### 2025.25 — 2025-12-24

This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.

### 2025.24 — 2025-11-21

This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.

### 2025.23 — 2025-10-20

This update includes performance improvements. We’d love to hear your feedback at feedback@localchat.co.

## Apps similar to Local Chat

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [MLC Chat](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937) | 4.2 (78) | Free | Productivity |
| [Local AI Chat - pocket](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-ai-chat-pocket/id6476791661) | 4.4 (65) | Free | Productivity |
| [Local Brain](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-brain/id6476066730) | 1.3 (6) | Free | Productivity |
| [Mollama](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mollama/id6736948278) | 3.6 (29) | Free | Productivity |
| [Enclave - Local AI Assistant](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/enclave-local-ai-assistant/id6476614556) | 4.7 (1,029) | Free | Productivity |
| [PocketGPT: Private AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketgpt-private-ai/id6479569299) | 4.4 (17) | Free | Productivity |

## More apps by Anthony R. DePasquale

- [Security Camera: Watchful Cam](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/security-camera-watchful-cam/id6451049580)

All apps by Anthony R. DePasquale: https://appshunter.io/developer/1696305034

## Related topics

[open source ai](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/open-source-ai) · [le chat mistral](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/le-chat-mistral) · [offline chatbot](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/offline-chatbot) · [chat llm abacus](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chat-llm-abacus) · [chat gpt atlas](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chat-gpt-atlas)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*