PocketPal AI: language models on your phone, offline
Runs language models on your phone itself. No account, no connection, nothing uploaded.
Last verified Chatbots and apps
What is PocketPal AI?
PocketPal AI runs language models on the phone itself. Not a client for a service and not a remote API: the model file sits in the app's storage and inference happens on the device's own processor. Download a model once, the project says, and it works with no connection and no account. It is MIT licensed and free.
At a glance
| Category | Apps |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free |
| Starting price | Free |
| Free tier | YesThe whole app. No subscription, no pro tier, no account and no card at any point. |
| Free trial | No |
| Card required at signup | No |
| Account required | No |
| Payment methods | Card |
| Platforms | iOS, Android |
| Generation modes | Text chat, Text generation |
| Content filtering | No documented output filter |
| Age policy | None stated |
| Position on minors | Not applicableRuns on your hardware and receives no user content. |
| Data retention | The project states that every prompt, response and document stays on the device and that nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. Two exceptions are named by the project itself and both are opt-in: sharing a benchmark result, and sending feedback. Because there is no account, there is no account record to retain and nothing to request the deletion of.source |
| Trains on your content | No |
| Deletion on request | Self-serve in account settings |
| Anonymous use | Supported |
| Company | PocketPal AI project, maintained by a-ghorbani, Not applicable, open-source project |
| Last verified | by ClickTugger |
Product identity
| Official name | PocketPal AI | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | PocketPal AI project, maintained by a-ghorbani | Documented |
| Jurisdiction | Not applicable, open-source project | Documented |
| Website | github.com/a-ghorbani/pocketpal-ai | Verified |
| Also known as | PocketPal, Pocket Pal AI | Verified |
Who it is for
Anyone who wants AI on a phone without a company in the middle. It is the only entry in this directory where the model runs on the device you carry, which makes it the answer for people on unreliable connections, people who travel, and people whose objection to every hosted app is that a server sees everything.
Who it is not for
Anyone wanting characters, images, voice or roleplay tooling: this is a plain chat app for local models. Phone hardware also limits which models are usable, so output will not match a desktop with a decent GPU, and large models simply will not fit.
Pricing
Nothing at all. The project states there is no subscription and no pro tier, which is a more useful sentence than an absent pricing page because it forecloses the question rather than leaving it open. Models are downloaded separately and the widely used open-weight ones are free too.
The entire app is the free option, with nothing held back. What limits you is the phone: model files run to several gigabytes and how large a model you can load depends on memory and storage rather than on any tier.
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free |
The project states there is no subscription and no pro tier. |
Refunds: Nothing is sold, so no refund terms exist.
Signup friction
There is nothing to sign up for. No account, no email address and no card, and the project states that a downloaded model works with no connection and no account. That makes it one of very few genuinely anonymous entries here.
- No card at signup
- No account required
- Anonymous use supported
Platforms
iOS and iPadOS, and Android on phones and tablets. Inference uses GPU acceleration where available, Metal on iOS and OpenCL on Android, plus NPU acceleration on Qualcomm Hexagon hardware, and falls back to CPU where none of that exists.
- iOS
- Android
Feature matrix
Absence of evidence is not recorded as absence of a feature. Anything that needs an account to confirm is marked not tested rather than "no".
| Text chat | Yes | Documented |
|---|---|---|
| Character chat | Not offered | Documented |
| Image generation | Not offered | Documented |
| Image to image | Not offered | Documented |
| Video generation | Not offered | Documented |
| Voice | Not offered | Documented |
| Web | Not offered | Documented |
| iOS | Yes | Documented |
| Android | Yes | Documented |
| Desktop | Not offered | Documented |
| API | Not offered | Documented |
| Runs locally | Yes | Documented |
| Long-term memory | Needs an account | Not tested |
| Group chat | Needs an account | Not tested |
| Custom system prompt | Needs an account | Not tested |
| Model selection | Needs an account | Not tested |
Privacy and data
It states that every prompt, response and document stays on the device and that nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. Two exceptions are named by the project rather than found by us, and both are opt-in: sharing a benchmark result and sending feedback. Naming your own exceptions is the mark of a claim worth trusting, and there is no account here, so there is no record to retain or delete.
| Retention | The project states that every prompt, response and document stays on the device and that nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. Two exceptions are named by the project itself and both are opt-in: sharing a benchmark result, and sending feedback. Because there is no account, there is no account record to retain and nothing to request the deletion of.source |
|---|---|
| Trains on your content | No |
| Deletion | Self-serve in account settings |
| Privacy policy | Read the vendor policy |
Privacy disclosure
| Trains on your content | Stated: nosource | Documented |
|---|---|---|
| Account deletion | A control in the account | Documented |
| Deletion control seen working | Needs an account | Not tested |
| Chat export | Needs an account | Not tested |
| Usable without an account | Yes | Documented |
| Payment methods disclosed | Yes | Documented |
What the vendor lets you know before paying
This measures disclosure, not quality. A good product can document nothing, and that is worth knowing separately from whether it is any good.
| Price published | Yes, from $0source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Operating company named | PocketPal AI project, maintained by a-ghorbani | Documented |
| Jurisdiction stated | Not applicable, open-source project | Documented |
| Retention period stated | Yes, in the privacy policysource | Not documented |
| Training policy stated | Yessource | Documented |
| Refund terms published | Yes | Documented |
| Content policy published | Self-hosted, not applicable | Not documented |
| Position on minors published | Not applicable | Not documented |
Content policy and safety
PocketPal AI documents its output filtering asno documented output filter, and its age policy as none stated.
PocketPal AI does not offer clothing removal from photographs of real people. ClickTug does not list tools that do. Its stated position on the likeness of real people is that documented consent is required.
What the vendor prohibits
- Nothing is enforced by the app, which ships no model of its own
- What a session refuses is a property of the GGUF file you downloaded
General-purpose local software rather than an adult product. It is listed for the local cluster, and behaviour belongs entirely to whichever model you loaded onto the device.
PocketPal AI runs on your own hardware, so it receives none of what you generate. ClickTug does not require a minor safety policy or an acceptable use policy from a tool that never receives user content, because there would be nothing for such a policy to govern. Any optional hosted tier is a separate service under its own terms.
ClickTug verdict
The only entry here where the model runs on the phone in your hand rather than on somebody's server. PocketPal AI is MIT licensed and free with no subscription and no pro tier, needs no account, and states that every prompt, response and document stays on the device with nothing uploaded to external servers. It names its own two opt-in exceptions, benchmarks and feedback, which is what separates a claim from a slogan. The trade is real: phone hardware limits you to small models, and it does chat and nothing else.
Strengths
- The model runs on the phone itself, so prompts never reach a server
- No account, no email and no connection needed once a model is downloaded
- MIT licensed, so the privacy claim is inspectable in the source
- Names its own exceptions, both opt-in: benchmark sharing and feedback
- Uses GPU and NPU acceleration where present, with CPU fallback where not
It is the only tool in this directory where the model runs on the phone in your hand. Everything else described as a mobile AI app is a client that sends your text to a server. This does not, states so plainly, names its own two opt-in exceptions, and is MIT licensed so the claim can be checked in the source rather than taken on trust.
Limitations
- Phone hardware limits you to small models, so output is weaker than desktop or hosted
- Chat only. No characters, roleplay tooling, images or voice
- Applies no content policy, because it ships no model of its own
- General-purpose software rather than a product built for this category
- No support beyond the project's issue tracker, and no warranty
A phone is a phone. The models that fit are small, so the writing will be weaker than anything a desktop or a hosted service produces, and larger models will not load at all. It is also chat only, with no characters, roleplay tooling, images or voice, and there is no support beyond the project's own issue tracker.
Hands on
Every other app in this directory that calls itself mobile is a client. You type on the phone and the text goes to a server, where a model you cannot see produces a reply and a company you have to trust decides what to keep. PocketPal AI is the one where that does not happen.
The model file lives in the app’s storage on the device. Inference runs on the phone’s own processor through llama.cpp, using the GPU where there is one, the NPU on Qualcomm hardware where that exists, and the CPU where neither does. The project’s own description of the experience is the useful part: download a model once and it just works, with no connection and no account.
The privacy claim is stated the way a credible one is stated. Every prompt, response and document stays on the device; nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. Then the project names its own two exceptions, benchmark sharing and feedback, and says both are optional. A vendor writing marketing copy leaves those out. Naming them is what makes the rest worth believing, and the MIT licence means anyone can check it in the source rather than taking it on faith.
The limits are physical rather than commercial and worth being blunt about. A phone has a few gigabytes of usable memory, so the models that fit are small ones, and small models write less well than the large ones a desktop or a hosted service can run. Large models will not load at all. It is chat only: no characters, no lorebooks, no images, no voice.
It is also general-purpose software rather than a product built for anything this directory specifically covers, and it is listed on that basis. It applies no content policy because it contains no model, so behaviour and quality both belong to whichever GGUF file you chose to put on your own phone.
How PocketPal AI compares
Every figure on the right is computed across the 37 tools ClickTug currently tracks, at the moment this page was built. They are facts about this catalogue rather than about the market, and they move as it grows.
| Measure | PocketPal AI | Across ClickTug |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not published | $11.99 median of 17 that publish one |
| Publishes a price | Yes | 26 of 37 tracked |
| Free tier | Yes | 30 of 37 tracked |
| Names its operating company | Yes | 33 of 37 tracked |
| States a training position | Yes | 18 of 37 tracked |
PocketPal AI compared with the alternatives
Every cell is read from the same records as each tool's own listing, so nothing here can claim something its page denies. Rows needing an account to confirm are left out entirely rather than guessed at, and live in each listing's feature matrix instead.
| PocketPal AI | Jan | GPT4All | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | Free | Free |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Card to start | No | No | No |
| Account required | No | No | No |
| Runs on your hardware | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image generation | No | No | No |
| Video generation | No | No | No |
| Voice | No | No | No |
| API | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | No |
| Trains on your content | States no | States no | States no |
| Account deletion | In account | In account | In account |
| Company named | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Position on minors | N/A | N/A | N/A |
PocketPal AI vs JanFree
Choose Jan instead if you want the same fully local approach on a desktop, where more memory means larger and better models.
PocketPal AI vs GPT4AllFree
Choose GPT4All instead if you want local AI on an older laptop rather than a phone, with a document feature that keeps your files on the machine.
Quick answers about PocketPal AI
Generated from the same records as the tables above, so an answer here cannot contradict a figure there. Questions only appear when the answer says something specific to this product.
- Is PocketPal AI free?
- There is a free tier. The whole app. No subscription, no pro tier, no account and no card at any point.
- How much does PocketPal AI cost?
- No price is published. Free and MIT licensed with no subscription and no pro tier. The project states this directly rather than leaving it to be inferred from an absent pricing page.
- Does PocketPal AI require a credit card to start?
- No card is required to reach the free layer. One is needed for any paid plan.
- Does PocketPal AI offer refunds?
- Nothing is sold, so no refund terms exist.
- Does PocketPal AI have an app?
- Yes, on iOS and Android.
- Can PocketPal AI run locally?
- Yes. It runs models on your own hardware, so prompts and output never leave the machine and the retention question does not arise.
- Does PocketPal AI train on my conversations?
- The vendor states it does not use user content to train models. That is a written commitment, and rarer in this category than it should be.
- Can I delete my PocketPal AI account?
- Yes, through a control in the account rather than by asking support.
- Can I use PocketPal AI without an account?
- Yes. The service can be reached without registering, which almost nothing else in this directory permits.
- Is PocketPal AI actually uncensored?
- ClickTug records no documented output filter, which is a different claim from having no rules: its terms still prohibit a specific list of conduct, set out above.
- What company owns PocketPal AI, and where?
- PocketPal AI project, maintained by a-ghorbani, Not applicable, open-source project. Publishing an identifiable counterparty is worth noting: several tools in this directory name no company at all.
PocketPal AI FAQ
Is PocketPal AI free?
Yes, and the project says so explicitly: free, MIT licensed, with no subscription and no pro tier. That is a more useful statement than an absent pricing page, because it closes the question rather than leaving it open. Models are downloaded separately and the widely used open-weight ones are free as well.
Does PocketPal AI work offline?
Yes. The project states that once a model is downloaded it just works, with no connection and no account. Inference runs on the phone's own processor through llama.cpp, using GPU acceleration where available and falling back to CPU where it is not, so a flight or a dead signal changes nothing.
Does PocketPal AI send my conversations anywhere?
It states that every prompt, response and document stays on the device and that nothing is uploaded or stored on external servers. The project names two exceptions itself, both opt-in: sharing a benchmark result and sending feedback. Naming your own exceptions is the difference between a commitment and a slogan.
What phone do I need for PocketPal AI?
It runs on iOS and iPadOS and on Android phones and tablets, with GPU acceleration through Metal or OpenCL, NPU acceleration on Qualcomm Hexagon hardware, and CPU fallback where none exists. The real limit is memory and storage: model files are several gigabytes and how large a model you can run depends on the device rather than on any paid tier.
Is PocketPal AI an adult AI tool?
No, and it is listed here on that basis openly. It is general-purpose local AI software, included because ClickTug covers the local cluster where running the model yourself removes the retention and filtering questions rather than answering them. What any model does once loaded is your choice and your responsibility.
Does PocketPal AI need an account?
No. There is no account, no email address and no sign-up of any kind, which is stated by the project alongside the offline claim. That also means there is no account record to retain, nothing to request deletion of, and nobody holding anything about you.
How we checked PocketPal AI
- Checked
- 10 August 2026
- Documents read
- 1
- Claims checked
- 0
- Documentation gaps
- 3
What we did
- Read every policy document linked from this page, in full
- Loaded the pricing page, and re-loaded it in a rendering browser where it was empty
- Checked the homepage against the pricing and policy pages for disagreement
- Ran the vendor's own homepage through ClickTug's excluded-terms gate
- Searched for reporting, incident-database entries and independent testing
What we have not done
Everything below needs an account, and ClickTug does not hold one here. These are recorded as not tested rather than guessed at, which is why they are absent from the tables above rather than marked "no".
- Signup completed
- Email verification required
- Card required at signup
- First response generated
- Long-term memory
- Voice feature
- Character creation
- Delete-account control
- Chat export
- Cancellation flow
Verified ClickTug observed this directly on the vendor's own pages.Documented The vendor states this in a document we have linked.Not documented We read the document that would carry this and it is absent.Not tested Checking this needs an account. We have not held one, so we have not checked.
Sources for this listing
ClickTug last checked these facts on 10 Aug 2026 against 1 vendor source. Pricing and data policies in this category change within weeks, so treat the date as part of the fact.
Something wrong or out of date? Report this listing. If this listing concerns you personally, use our removal request form.