The most important difference between private AI chat options is where your prompt goes. A model running on your device can avoid sending that prompt to a model provider for inference; a browser assistant may send page context to a server; and a hosted service processes prompts on remote infrastructure. Training settings, chat history, retention, attachments, and account sign-in are separate questions, so no single “private” label answers them all.
This comparison uses official product and privacy documents available as of October 4, 2026. Those documents describe the providers’ stated practices, not independent verification of their systems.
What “private AI chat” means in practice
Privacy can mean several different things: keeping prompt content off a provider’s servers, limiting how long a provider retains it, preventing its use to improve models, or controlling which extra information accompanies a prompt. Those goals do not always coincide. A service might process a prompt remotely but say it is not used for training; a local model might keep inference on-device while its application still has separate telemetry or integrations.
For any particular feature, check these questions rather than relying on a browser’s private-window label or an app’s general privacy description:
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- Where does inference happen? On your device, on a browser vendor’s server, or on a hosted AI provider’s infrastructure?
- What context goes with the prompt? Could the feature include page text, URLs, files, images, browsing context, Memories, or account information?
- What happens afterward? Is the interaction saved, for how long, and are there safety, legal, or feedback-related exceptions?
- How can the content be used? Is it used to improve models by default, by opt-in, or under stated exceptions?
- Does account state matter? Signing in or linking an account can change which preferences and policy terms apply.
These distinctions are more useful than a single privacy score, which would depend on what you are trying to protect and which trade-offs matter most to you.
How browser AI tools handle prompts
“Browser AI” does not describe one architecture. A browser can include on-device models for some tasks and offer a cloud-connected assistant for others. Inspect the specific feature you plan to use.
Some Firefox features run on-device
Mozilla’s Firefox Privacy Notice, effective May 4, 2026, says that certain features—including automated translation and PDF alt-text suggestions—use small language models downloaded to the device. For those specified features, Mozilla says the relevant page content, PDFs, images, and tab URLs stay on the device. That statement is limited to the named kinds of features; it does not establish that every AI function offered through Firefox is local.
Firefox Smart Window can send a prompt to Mozilla’s server
Mozilla’s Smart Window Privacy Notice, last updated September 1, 2026, describes a different flow. A local intent-classification model decides whether an input is chat or search, but a chat prompt may be supplemented with browsing context and Memories. Mozilla says it sends the resulting prompt to its server and forwards it to a third-party large language model (LLM). The third-party model receives the request from Mozilla and sees a Mozilla IP address rather than the user’s IP address; the prompt may still contain the user’s query, relevant browsing context, and Memories.
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Mozilla’s notice puts the key point plainly: “The assistant sends the full prompt (including your query, any relevant Memories, and any additional relevant browsing context) to a Mozilla server.” The fact that an intermediary, rather than the user’s IP address, is visible to the third-party model does not mean that the prompt itself stays on the device.
Mozilla says users can review or delete a specific Memory, block Memories from a chat, or turn off Memory creation. Those controls affect Memories; they do not change the stated fact that Smart Window sends a prompt to Mozilla’s server when the assistant is used.
A private browser window is not a data-path guarantee
A private-browsing window and an AI assistant’s processing location are different things. The Firefox examples show why: a browser may have specific features that process data locally and another assistant that sends a prompt to a server. Check the data path and context rules for the assistant itself rather than assuming the browser’s window mode determines them.
What running a model locally changes
When inference genuinely takes place on your device, the prompt need not be transmitted to a model provider for that inference. That can make a local model a strong fit when keeping prompt content away from hosted-model infrastructure is the priority. It does not, by itself, establish that the entire application keeps all related information local.
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The Firefox features described in Mozilla’s May 4, 2026 notice are examples of on-device language models, but the reviewed notices do not establish that every app marketed as “local AI” avoids telemetry, update requests, or other network connections. Before relying on a local setup for sensitive material, check the application’s network behavior, model download method, logging, integrations, and selected endpoint.
Match the computer to the model and workload
Local inference requires compatible hardware and software. Compare memory, model compatibility, speed, power and noise needs, and the cost of a suitable device against the work you intend to do. A device’s ability to run some local models does not imply that it can run every model or run one at a useful speed.
Apple’s Mac mini product page, accessed October 4, 2026, lists configurations with up to 64GB of unified memory and says multiple Mac mini devices can be clustered to run larger local AI models. Those are Apple’s product descriptions, not independent benchmarks. The stated maximum is a configuration limit on the product page, not a guarantee that every Mac mini configuration can run every model.
How hosted-service privacy settings differ
Hosted services process prompts on provider infrastructure, but their policies can differ by account, plan, settings, and the specific way you access the service. “Not used for training” is not interchangeable with “not processed,” “not retained,” or “never reviewed.”
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Claude: improvement use, Incognito chats, and feedback
Anthropic’s consumer guidance dated March 16, 2026 says Claude chats and coding sessions may be used to improve models when a user opts in, when a conversation is flagged for safety review, or when the user otherwise explicitly opts in. It says Incognito chats are not used to improve Claude, even if Model Improvement is enabled. That is a statement about model improvement, not a promise that an Incognito chat is never processed or retained.
Anthropic separately says that submitting feedback through its thumbs-up or thumbs-down mechanism may cause the related conversation to be stored for up to five years. This is a stated maximum for the feedback case, not a general retention period for all Claude conversations.
Anthropic’s 30-day notice is limited to specified organizational deployments
Anthropic’s covered-model retention notice, effective June 9, 2026, applies to specified organizational zero-data-retention deployments for designated covered models. It describes automatic deletion after 30 days, except for data flagged by safety systems or required by law, and says the change does not affect consumer Free, Pro, and Max plans. Do not apply that organizational policy or its 30-day figure to ordinary consumer chats.
ChatGPT through Apple integrations: account linkage matters
OpenAI’s Help Center says ChatGPT can be used through Apple integrations without a ChatGPT account. For that unlinked route, OpenAI says requests are processed to provide a response and comply with applicable laws, and are not stored or used for training. If you connect a ChatGPT account, account preferences and OpenAI policies apply, and interactions may be saved in chat history depending on your choices and use.
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Apple’s privacy page says the ChatGPT extension is off by default and that users choose what content to send. It also says signed-in requests may be logged or used under the account’s OpenAI policies. These statements describe the Apple integration, not every way to use ChatGPT.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Compare the options by the question that matters to you
| Option or example | Where processing happens | Context and account considerations | Retention or model-improvement details in the cited documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specified Firefox on-device features | Small language models downloaded to the device process the specified content locally, according to Mozilla’s Firefox Privacy Notice, effective May 4, 2026. | For the named features, Mozilla says relevant page content, PDFs, images, and tab URLs stay on the device. This does not cover every Firefox AI feature. | Not stated for these features in the cited notice. |
| Firefox Smart Window chat | Mozilla says it sends the resulting prompt to a Mozilla server, which forwards it to a third-party LLM; the local model classifies intent. | The prompt may include the query, relevant browsing context, and Memories. The third-party LLM sees a Mozilla IP address rather than the user’s IP address. Mozilla describes controls to review or delete a Memory, block Memories from a chat, or turn off Memory creation. | Not stated for this feature in the cited notice. |
| Local model in another application | Inference can happen on the user’s device if the selected model and endpoint are genuinely local. | Check the application’s network behavior, integrations, logging, telemetry, model download method, and endpoint. Hardware and model compatibility vary. | Not established for local AI applications generally by the cited notices. |
| Claude consumer chats | Hosted service; prompts are processed on provider infrastructure. | Anthropic’s March 16, 2026 consumer guidance describes improvement-use conditions and says Incognito chats are not used to improve Claude. | Feedback may result in the related conversation being stored for up to five years. No universal consumer retention period is established by the cited guidance. |
| Specified Anthropic organizational deployments | Hosted service under a scoped organizational zero-data-retention deployment for designated covered models. | The June 9, 2026 notice does not apply to consumer Free, Pro, and Max plans. | Automatic deletion after 30 days, except data flagged by safety systems or required by law, under the notice’s specified scope. |
| ChatGPT through Apple integration without a linked account | OpenAI processes requests to provide a response and comply with applicable laws. | OpenAI says users can access the integration without a ChatGPT account. Apple says the extension is off by default and users choose the content to send. | OpenAI says unlinked requests are not stored or used for training. |
| ChatGPT through Apple integration with a linked account | OpenAI processes the request; account preferences and OpenAI policies apply. | Apple says signed-in requests may be logged or used under the account’s OpenAI policies. | Interactions may be saved in chat history depending on choices and use, according to OpenAI. |
Choose based on the privacy outcome you need
If your priority is keeping prompts off a model provider’s servers
Prefer a workflow where inference is confirmed to run on-device, then verify the application’s endpoint, integrations, and network behavior. A browser feature’s local processing claim should be applied only to that feature, not to a separate cloud assistant in the same browser.
If you want a browser assistant to use the page you are viewing
Check whether page content or other browsing context is included in the prompt and which server receives it. In the Smart Window example, Mozilla says relevant browsing context and Memories may be included in a prompt sent to its server and forwarded to a third-party model.
If your main concern is model training or improvement
Read the service’s exact improvement-use conditions and exceptions. For Claude, the March 16, 2026 guidance distinguishes opt-in and stated safety-review cases from Incognito chats, which Anthropic says are not used to improve Claude. Do not treat that specific promise as a statement about all processing or retention.
If you need a cloud service without linking an account
Check the terms for the exact integration. OpenAI’s description of ChatGPT through Apple integrations distinguishes unlinked requests from use with a connected ChatGPT account. The unlinked terms should not be generalized to ChatGPT on other platforms.
If sensitive work must not leave a controlled environment
Do not rely on a broad “private” label. Confirm whether the chosen feature sends prompts, files, page content, or identifiers outside your device or organization, and whether its retention and review terms match your requirements. If you cannot verify the data path, avoid sending material that requires stronger confidentiality.
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