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Compass - Local AI Review: Free On-Device AI Chat for iPhone

·6 min readBy Hans Kuepper · Founder of PromptQuorum · Discovery engine for open-weight & open-source AI

Compass - Local AI is a free iPhone chat app that, according to its listing and README, answers on the device with Apple Intelligence and reads attached images with on-device OCR. Web search is optional and off by default; when you switch it on, your search query goes to DuckDuckGo or Brave.

Key Takeaways

  • Developer: the App Store seller is Shryas Bhurat and the copyright line reads Camou Labs; the first release came on 29 March 2026.
  • Requirements: iOS or iPadOS 26.0 or later; the full Apple Intelligence experience needs a device that supports it.
  • Source: the code is public on GitHub, but the repository has no licence file and no published releases.
  • Website: the listing links no developer website, and the only public pages found are the repository and the App Store listing.

📍 In One Sentence

Compass - Local AI is a free iPhone and iPad chat app that uses Apple Intelligence for on-device answers, reads attached images with OCR and can optionally search the web.

💬 In Plain Terms

You install it from the App Store and type a question. The answer is produced by the model built into your device; if you turn on web search in Settings, the app also sends a search query to DuckDuckGo or Brave to cite sources.

📌Note: This review is based on the App Store listing, Apple's lookup data and the public README, checked on 26 October 2026. It involved no hands-on use, network inspection or benchmarking.

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Compass - Local AI is a free chat app for iPhone and iPad from the App Store seller Shryas Bhurat, with Camou Labs in the copyright line. According to its listing and public README, it handles chats on the device through Apple Intelligence, reads attached images with on-device OCR and offers an optional web search. This review reflects the store listing and README as checked on 26 October 2026.

Compass - Local AI Review: Free On-Device AI Chat for iPhone

What Is Compass - Local AI?

Compass - Local AI is a minimal chat assistant for Apple devices; its App Store subtitle is "On-device AI assistant." The listing describes a Notes-style chat, screenshots and photos read with on-device OCR, streaming answers and a home screen where recent chats can be reopened or deleted.

The download is 2.3 MB, small because, per the README, the app uses the model Apple ships with the device instead of bundling its own. The listing names no company website.

Where Your Chats Run

According to the README, every step runs on the device by default; the one exception is the optional web search.

  • Chat. On a device with Apple Intelligence, the README says answers come from Apple's Foundation Models; other devices use a lightweight on-device fallback that the README does not describe further.
  • Images. Attached screenshots and photos have their text extracted with Apple's on-device Vision OCR. The listing does not claim that the model interprets the picture itself.
  • Memory. Conversations and a rolling memory summary of each long session are stored in the app's local storage.
  • Web search, optional. It is off by default. When it is on and the device is online, the query text goes to DuckDuckGo, or to Brave if you add your own API key; the README says no identifiers or conversation history are attached, and results are ranked on the device.

Get It

Platform
Where to get it
iPhone and iPadApp Store (free download, iOS or iPadOS 26.0 or later)
MacSame App Store listing (macOS 26.0+, Apple M1+); designed for iPad, not verified for macOS
Source codeGitHub repository CamouLabs/Compass (Xcode project; no releases published)
WebsiteNo official website found; the App Store listing links none
Privacy policyCompass privacy policy (a section of the repository README)

Version reviewed: 6.1, released on 20 August 2026 with the note "Better UI". Version 6.0 (11 August 2026) added a thinking mode that shows the thought, search and answer steps, shorter answers, compact sources and stronger web search. The app is free and lists no in-app purchases.

Features Listed by the Developer

Everything below comes from the App Store description, release notes and README; none of it was tested.

  • Chat. A Notes-style chat with streaming answers; recent chats can be reopened or deleted from the home screen.
  • Images. Attach screenshots or photos and let the app read their text with on-device OCR.
  • Long-session memory. The last turns stay verbatim, older ones are folded into a rolling summary, and relevant older messages are recalled by on-device similarity search.
  • Answer pipeline. The README describes a small on-device pipeline that decides whether fresh facts are needed, retrieves and reranks sources when search is on, and drops citations the answer does not support.
  • Thinking mode. Since version 6.0 the app can show its thought, search and answer steps while it works.

Privacy Policy and Data Flow

The privacy policy says Compass does not collect, store or transmit personal data to the developer and that the developer operates no backend that can access conversations. It names no analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs and says Photo Library access is limited to the images you choose to attach.

The policy sits in the public README, and the App Store privacy label says "Data Not Collected", which Apple notes it has not verified. The policy discloses the optional web search and the two providers; the store description does not.

📌Note: The source can be read, but the App Store build was not compared with it and network traffic was not inspected. Anyone who enables web search should expect the query text to reach DuckDuckGo or Brave.

Who Should Use It

  • iPhone owners with an Apple Intelligence device who want a simple, free chat app that answers on the device.
  • Readers who want to check a privacy claim in code before trusting it, since the Xcode project is public.
  • People who want cited web answers without an account: search works with DuckDuckGo out of the box.

What We Could Not Verify

  • Hands-on behavior. This review did not time answers, test offline use or judge answer quality, including the thinking mode.
  • The fallback model. The README calls it lightweight but does not name it or say how it compares with Apple Intelligence.
  • The licence. The repository has no LICENSE file, so the terms for reusing the code are unclear.
  • Store build versus repository. No releases or tags exist, and the last repository push (11 August 2026) predates version 6.1 of 20 August 2026.
  • Support and maker. The listing shows no website or support link, although the policy points readers to a support email on the App Store page.
  • Mac build. The listing says the app is designed for iPad and not verified for macOS.

Competitors and Alternatives

Ensu

Platforms:
iOS, Android, desktop
Price / license:
Free / AGPL-3.0
Key difference:
Open-source app with downloaded models and image input
Articles about Ensu (1)

Also mentioned in:

Competitor details change often; confirm each app's current price, license and platforms on its own listing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Compass run on Android?

No Android build was found; the listing covers iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision devices only.

Can I use Compass in a language other than English?

The listing shows English as the only language, and no other language is mentioned in the README.

Can I build Compass myself?

Yes, the README gives an Xcode setup: open the project, choose a signing team and run it on a device. Without a licence file, the terms for reusing the code are not stated.

Verdict

Compass - Local AI is a small, free iPhone chat app that has been updated several times since its March 2026 launch and, according to its README, keeps answers on the device by default. Its limits are a repository without a licence file, a store description that leaves out web search, a single seller with no website and no hands-on test here. It suits readers with an Apple Intelligence device who want a minimal on-device chat; anyone who wants to choose and download models should compare Locally AI or PocketPal AI.

Sources

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