Comparison

Tinfoil vs Private.ai

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tinfoil

This AI chat application prioritizes user privacy by processing conversations within secure hardware enclaves, ensuring they are inaccessible to everyone, including the developers. It offers the speed of cloud-based AI with the privacy of a local model, backed by open-source code for transparency and auditability.

Highlights
  • Verifiable privacy through secure hardware enclaves
  • End-to-end encryption for all conversations
  • Runs state-of-the-art open-source AI models
  • Open-source code for public auditability
  • Privacy equivalent to local models
  • Automatic enclave security verification
Features
Read full description

An AI chat with verified privacy. The only way to protect your conversations is to make them inaccessible to anyone in the first place. Other AI applications ask you to trust them with your data, promising to anonymize them later or telling you they won't train on it. Tinfoil is built to prevent data leakage from the get-go. All our models run inside secure hardware enclaves that ensure your chats are private to you and invisible to everyone else, including Tinfoil. You can chat with state-of-the-art open-weight models without worrying about who else can see your conversations. THE HIGHLIGHTS • Your conversations are exclusively processed inside isolated, encrypted environments powered by NVIDIA confidential computing technology. Think of it as a digital vault that even Tinfoil can't unlock. It's the same hardware protection used for your iPhone biometrics, extended to cloud GPUs that run powerful large models and agents. • Every conversation starts with automatic enclave security verification. You can confirm that the app is connected to secure hardware running the correct AI model, isolating your conversation so that it is only between you and the intelligence on the other end. • You get the speed and features of the most powerful cloud-based AI services while getting the privacy equivalent of having a local model running on your phone. • All our privacy claims are backed by open-source code you can inspect, enabling public auditability and complete transparency. Visit https://github.com/tinfoilsh/ • Stop sharing your data with advertisers, model labs, and data brokers. Tinfoil keeps your conversations between you and the model, period. HOW IT WORKS Instead of trusting a privacy policy, you verify the protection yourself. Tinfoil's open-source inference software runs inside NVIDIA confidential computing enclaves, creating an encrypted sandbox that is cryptographically isolated from the rest of the cloud and the world. Every session begins with a security attestation you can inspect in the Verification Center, proving that the correct model is running and that nobody—not even Tinfoil—can peek inside it. You can read more about all the technical details in our documentation: https://docs.tinfoil.sh/verification/secure-enclave-primer In summary, you get: • End-to-end encryption and privacy from everyone, including Tinfoil. • The latest and most powerful open-source models. • Fully verifiable privacy through open-source code transparency, secure hardware, and public auditability. SUPPORT • Visit: https://tinfoil.sh • Source code for this application: https://github.com/tinfoilsh/tinfoil-ios • Follow us: @TinfoilAI on X LEGAL • Tinfoil Privacy Policy: https://tinfoil.sh/privacy • Tinfoil Terms of Use: https://tinfoil.sh/terms • Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Private.ai

This AI chat application prioritizes user privacy by not storing or selling conversations. It offers a secure and encrypted experience, allowing users to interact with AI without compromising their personal data. Guest access is available, with subscription options for full functionality.

Highlights
  • Encrypted on-device conversations
  • No user data storage or profiling
  • Anonymous account and payment options
  • Remixed question processing for tracking prevention
  • Secure US-based encrypted hardware
  • No data retention for sale or breaches
Read full description

Private.ai is a private AI chat you can trust — capable AI without handing over your life to get it. Most AI apps keep your conversations, learn who you are, and turn what you type into a product. Private.ai is built the other way around: the systems that would collect your data simply aren’t there. Your chats aren’t stored, logged, profiled, or sold. There’s no history for anyone — including us — to go looking through. Try Private.ai free as a guest, no account needed. Subscribe for full use, with monthly and yearly plans. What you get: • Nothing kept. Your conversations stay encrypted on your device, and we don’t keep a copy. • No name needed. Your account and payment don’t have to be tied to your identity. • Harder to track. Your questions are remixed and run more than once, so your activity can’t be fingerprinted. • Solid ground. Runs on US-based, encrypted hardware that’s rotated regularly. • Nothing to leak. With nothing retained, there’s nothing to sell, subpoena, or breach. Whether you’re handling sensitive work, protecting a client’s trust, or simply tired of being the product, Private.ai gives you the AI you need with your privacy kept intact. Privacy you don’t have to take on faith — it’s built into how the app works. Terms of Use: https://private.ai/terms Privacy Policy: https://private.ai/privacy

Screenshots

Tinfoil4 screens
Private.ai3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tinfoil at every 2 days against Private.ai's weekly. Tinfoil also leads on ratings volume (33 vs 4). Private.ai's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tinfoil sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per month and Private.ai sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Private.ai holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tinfoil has 33 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tinfoil ships an update every 2 days, Private.ai weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Tinfoil versus Private.ai: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTinfoilPrivate.ai
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (33 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings33 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB42 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperTinfoil, IncStrongwall.ai

Customer experience

Tinfoil

All ratings33 ratings
Positive93.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Private.ai

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Tinfoil

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Chat Subscription$19.991 Month
2 purchases

Private.ai

Subscriptions2
  • Private.ai Monthly1 Month trial$12.991 Month
  • Private.ai Yearly1 Month trial$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Tinfoil free?
Tinfoil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Private.ai free?
Private.ai is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tinfoil or Private.ai?
Private.ai is rated higher. Tinfoil averages 4.8 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Private.ai averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Tinfoil or Private.ai have ads?
Neither Tinfoil nor Private.ai shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tinfoil or Private.ai?
Tinfoil ships an update every 2 days, and Private.ai weekly. Most recently, Tinfoil was updated on November 6, 2026 and Private.ai on October 31, 2026.

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