💬 Chatbots and assistants
GPT4All
By Nomic AI. Visit GPT4All
Warning: read this before you buy or sign up. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free, open-source desktop chat app that runs open AI models on your own Windows, Mac or Linux computer, with a LocalDocs feature to chat with your own files. It was one of the first easy ways to run a chatbot offline. Development appears to have stopped: the last release was in February 2025 and the maker now sells AI tools to architecture and engineering firms.
Our take: Treat it as a stalled project; families curious about local AI should choose a maintained tool.
| Ages it suits | about 16+ with a parent (no age in license) |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Not stated; the app ships under an MIT open-source license with no age rule. Nomic's website privacy policy says it does not knowingly collect data from under-13s. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free and open source (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Windows, Mac |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | Runs large language models on your own computer. |
What's good
- Free, offline, open source
- Chat with your own documents
Watch for
- No child safety filter by default
- No new release since February 2025, so no fixes or updates
- Needs technical skill and a strong computer
- Datalake sharing can be switched on by a child
Data and privacy
Chats stay on your computer by default. A 'Datalake' setting, off by default, shares chats with the GPT4All community if turned on. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No independent study found.
In the Big Index
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all
- https://www.nomic.ai/privacy-policy
- https://www.nomic.ai/terms-of-service
- https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all
- https://docs.gpt4all.io/gpt4all_desktop/settings.html
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.