This isn’t a joke, though it almost seems like one. It uses Llama 3.1, and supposedly the conversation data stays on the device and gets forgotten over time (through what the founder calls a rolling “context window”).
The implementation is interesting, and you can see the founder talking about earlier prototypes and project goals in interviews from several months ago.
iOS only, for now.
Edit: Apparently, you can build your own for around $50 that runs on ChatGPT instead of Llama. I’m sure you could also figure out how to switch it to the LLM of your choice.
I actually cant talk shit about this one. So far seems to be what you’d want for the data side. All on device. No subscription. It does come off as weird and still is probably a bad idea to receive advice. But at 99 bucks its gotta be one of the cheapest AI device from a startup so far. I won’t get one, but I dont absolutely hate it.
All-on-device AIs that could run on an iPhone would be terrible. Its sending tokens somewhere I guaran-fucking-tee.
The FAQ says that it requires an Internet connection.
It also mentions e2ee, which isn’t too reassuring when one of the ends is their servers.
Exactly, there are ways to make the tokens unreadable even in a server hosted LLM but I know for a fact that’s not what’s going to happen here.
And I fully expect all of our engagement data to be used in the 2028 election to target us.
This was my big concern as well. E2EE only matters if you control each end. That’s why I’ll let the YouTubers and security analysts dissect it first.
Check my edit for instructions on how to build your own. It’s even called “Friend,” so it’s probably the same thing tweaked for a different LLM.
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