Last updated: October 16, 2026
Own AI is designed as a local-first AI app. This Privacy Policy explains what information the app processes, when information stays on your device, when information may be shared with third parties you choose to use, and how monetization features such as in-app purchases and free-tier limits work.
This policy applies to the Own AI iPhone app, its Apple Watch companion features, and the related legal and support pages linked inside the app.
When you use downloadable local models, AI inference runs on your device. In that mode, your prompts, document text, conversation history, and voice-derived text are processed locally by the app.
When you use local models, Own AI does not send your prompts, documents, or chat history to Google, Meta, Microsoft, Alibaba, Hugging Face, or other model publishers for AI inference.
If you choose Apple Intelligence, your prompts, relevant conversation context, and attached document text may be sent to Apple Inc., including Apple Private Cloud Compute, to generate a response. This happens only when you select that model experience and grant the required permissions.
The categories of data that may be shared include prompt text, conversation context, and extracted text from attached documents needed to answer your request.
When you download a model, the app retrieves files from Hugging Face, Inc. or other hosting infrastructure used for model distribution. Those requests may include:
No chat prompts, imported document content, or conversation history are intentionally sent as part of a model download request.
When you search for models, the app sends your search terms, or the model link you entered, to Hugging Face, Inc. to list matching models and their files. If you add a Hugging Face access token, it is stored in your device's Keychain and sent only to Hugging Face with those requests. No chat prompts, documents, or conversation history are sent.
Live Web Search is off unless you turn it on. When it is on and a model decides a question needs current information, the app sends a short search query written by the model from your question to DuckDuckGo and gives the model the result titles, links, and snippets. The query is sent without cookies or account identifiers. Your conversation, documents, and history are not sent.
When you attach a web page by its address, the app downloads that page directly from the website you entered so it can be read like a document. Only the address you entered is requested; nothing about your chat is sent with it. The website may see your IP address and basic request metadata.
If you are signed in to iCloud, the list of Hugging Face models you added or bookmarked (model names, repository identifiers, versions, and sizes) is kept in your own iCloud key-value storage so a reinstall or another of your devices can offer them again. Chats, documents, model files, and access tokens are never synced. You can turn this off in the app.
If you purchase, restore, or manage Own AI Pro, those transactions are handled by Apple through StoreKit and the App Store. We do not receive your full payment card details. Apple may provide us with transaction and entitlement information needed to determine whether Pro is active on your device.
For users who do not have Own AI Pro, the app limits how many messages can be sent each day. The daily allowance can vary from day to day and resets at the start of each day. Short messages such as greetings may not count toward it.
That daily limit, usage counter, and warning state are stored locally on your device. They are used only to enforce feature access inside the app and are not intended as analytics profiling.
Own AI is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our own servers.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The version posted here is the current version, and continued use of the app after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.
If you have questions about this policy, please contact us at alice.turcanu91@gmail.com.