Why You Need a Private AI Chat App
There are already countless AI chat apps. So why build another one?
Because most of them aren't just apps — they're a middleman standing between you and the model behind them. Every chat, every question, and every stray thought you type gets shipped off to a data center. If you're fine with that, sure — those apps are convenient, they work smoothly, and they "just work."
But a lot of people aren't fine with that. For us, privacy isn't a nice-to-have — it's the whole point. That's exactly why we built BayesChat.
Privacy isn't a feature. It's the foundation.
Here's the distinction that matters more than you'd think: BayesChat is a client, not a server.
When you use a traditional chat app, your conversation is sent to their servers, stored, processed, and sometimes even analyzed. Nothing like that happens with BayesChat unless you choose to make it happen.
You bring your own API key. You pick the model. Your data stays on your device — your keys in the Apple Keychain, your chats in SwiftData. No account. No middleware. No company in the middle. And for maximum privacy, plug in your own local model and your chats never leave your hardware.
This is about more than privacy, though. It's about ownership.
Why BYOK matters (it's not just about privacy)
BYOK — Bring Your Own Key — often gets sold as a privacy feature. It's also just practical, and it's about your wallet.
Here's what BYOK lets you do:
- Run local models. If you run models on your own hardware, your chats never leave your device. Full stop.
- Reuse keys you already pay for. Bring your OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini keys into BayesChat. No double-charging just to have a conversation.
Why MCP is essential (and why most apps fall short)
An AI model without tools is just a fancy chat companion.
This is the part people underestimate. An app that only lets you talk is fun for a while — it stops being useful the moment you want it to do something.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is what connects an AI to the real world: your files, your apps, your workflow, your data sources. Without it, the usefulness hits a ceiling fast. That's why we built MCP support into BayesChat from day one. It's the line between a toy and a tool.
Why Chat Presets matter (and why you should care)
Quick question: how much time do you spend reconfiguring your model, parameters, and tools every single time you open an app?
If you're like most people, more than you'd admit.
Chat Presets change that. You save everything — prompt, model, parameters, tools — as one preset, then switch to it with a single tap. If you run the same model for the same kind of task, why rebuild those settings every time? Presets let you focus on the actual work instead of fiddling with knobs.
The full picture
That's just the beginning. Here's everything BayesChat brings to the table:
- Multi-provider (BYOK) — connect to any OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible model, including local ones.
- Chat Presets — save prompt, model, parameters, and tools as reusable presets; switch with one tap.
- MCP support — bring in third-party tools via the Model Context Protocol.
- Fine-tune parameters — shape every response with precise, flexible controls.
- Live streaming — real-time typewriter animation with LaTeX and Markdown rendering.
- Custom themes & colors — set your theme and colors exactly the way you like.
Start owning your chat
None of this is accidental. BayesChat is built to put you in control: your keys, your data, your choices. If privacy-first chat sounds like your kind of app, take a look.