Question 1

What does BYOK mean?

Accepted Answer

Bring Your Own Key — Open Chat doesn't sell tokens. You paste an API key from a provider you already have (or create), and the app talks to that provider directly on your behalf.

Question 2

Which providers are supported?

Accepted Answer

Anything that speaks the OpenAI chat completions protocol: OpenAI, Anthropic (via compatible endpoints), Groq, OpenRouter, Together, Mistral, Fireworks, plus local runtimes like Ollama and LM Studio.

Question 3

Where are my API keys stored?

Accepted Answer

On your Android device, in the Android Keystore. Keys never touch our servers.

Question 4

Do you see my chats?

Accepted Answer

No. Conversations are stored locally and sent only to the provider whose key you configured. We have no server that receives your chat content.

Question 5

Can I use local models?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Point Open Chat at http://localhost:11434 for Ollama or your LM Studio endpoint. You'll get the same UI with zero external calls.

Question 6

Is Open Chat open source?

Accepted Answer

The client is source-available on GitHub. See the repo for the license and contribution guide.

Question 7

How do I switch models mid-chat?

Accepted Answer

Use the model picker in the top-left of any conversation. Switching preserves the chat history and applies the new model to your next message.

Question 8

What happens if my provider is down?

Accepted Answer

Open Chat surfaces the provider's error verbatim. You can retry, switch providers, or fall back to a local model without losing context.

Questions, answered.