Public testing

Lantern

Your own private AI. Runs entirely on your computer — nothing you type is ever sent anywhere else.^*

*Except an optional, off-by-default voice feature — see the FAQ below.

Download for Windows

This won't work on Mac, Linux, phones, or tablets — pick the right tab above for your computer.

Free Private by design No API key Windows

hey, can you help me plan a workout for this week?

Of course! What are you focusing on — strength, cardio, or a bit of both?

Message…

What you're getting

A real conversation, not a toy. Lantern runs a genuine AI model on your own machine using Ollama — not a scaled-down demo.
Actually private by default. No account, no cloud, no data collection for the core chat — works with no internet connection at all once set up. The one exception is an optional voice feature, off unless you turn it on.
Opens like a real app — its own window and icon, not a browser tab.
Organized how you like. Multiple conversations, grouped into projects, renamed and deleted freely.
Made for one person. The first time it opens, it asks your name and what to call it — and remembers, just for you.

Getting started

Download and unzip the file above, anywhere you like.
Install Ollama — free, from ollama.com/download. This is the free program that actually runs the AI.
Open the unzipped folder and double-click Start Lantern.bat. It checks everything and gets the AI model on its first run — that part takes a few minutes, once.
That's it. It opens on its own from here on.

How to download a different model

Lantern comes with llama3.2 already set up, which suits most computers. If replies feel slow (or you want something smarter), here's how to switch — it takes about two minutes.

Open Command Prompt. Press Windows, type cmd, press Enter. A black window opens — that's normal.
Copy the command for your computer from the list below (tap Copy), then paste it into that black window with Ctrl + V and press Enter.
Wait for it to finish. You'll see a progress bar. Most models are 1–5GB, so this takes a few minutes depending on your internet.
Pick it in Lantern. Open Lantern, tap the three-lines icon (top left), and choose your new model from the Model dropdown. It appears within a few seconds — no restart needed.

Very old or very low-end laptop

~2–4GB RAM · struggling with the default

ollama pull llama3.2:1b

The smallest usable option — only worth switching to if the default is genuinely too slow. Answers are noticeably simpler, but it stays responsive where bigger models crawl.

Average laptop

~4–8GB RAM · no graphics card

ollama pull llama3.2

This is the default Lantern already installs, and the best all-round balance for most people — you likely don't need to change anything. If you want stronger reasoning at similar speed, phi4-mini is a good swap.

Newer laptop or gaming PC

8GB+ RAM, or any dedicated graphics card

ollama pull llama3.1:8b

Meaningfully smarter and more capable — the best step up if your machine can handle it. With 16GB+ or a dedicated graphics card you could go bigger still (phi4 is a strong 14B option), but 8B is the reliable sweet spot.

Not sure what you have?

how to check

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, click the Performance tab, then Memory — the number at the top right is your RAM. Start with the default; only switch if it feels slow.

Questions

Why do I need to install Ollama separately?

Ollama is the free program that actually runs the AI model on your computer. Lantern is the interface on top of it. This split is what keeps everything free and private — there's no company server involved anywhere.

Is it actually private, or is that just marketing?

Genuinely private for how you'll actually use it day to day. Text chat is 100% local — no account, no analytics, no data collection, and once Ollama and the AI model are downloaded, you could turn off WiFi entirely and keep chatting. The one honest exception: an experimental, off-by-default voice mode sends audio to Google's cloud speech-to-text and text to Microsoft's cloud text-to-speech when you turn it on, since reliable on-device voice recognition isn't there yet. You'll see a clear consent prompt before any of that happens, and typing works exactly the same as always if you'd rather skip voice entirely.

Can I trust everything it tells me?

Not blindly — no AI model is perfect, including this one. It can sound confident while still being wrong, especially on specific facts, dates, or numbers. Treat it like a knowledgeable friend rather than an authoritative source, and double-check anything that actually matters — particularly medical, legal, or financial questions.

How my data is handled

The chat itself never leaves your computer — see the privacy question above for what that does and doesn't cover. Separately, the "Having trouble?" and "Got feedback?" links on this page just open your own email app with an address already filled in — whatever you write goes directly to whoever maintains this site, the same as any other email you send. It isn't sold or shared beyond that. Skip them if you'd rather not reach out at all.

Does this cost anything?

No. Ollama is free, the AI model is free to download, and Lantern is free. The only "cost" is your own computer's processing power while it's generating a reply.

Is Mac or Linux as reliable as Windows?

Windows has been tested the most, through real back-and-forth with actual testers. Mac and Linux are newer — the core (the local server, the AI conversation itself) has been directly tested and works the same way everywhere, but the platform-specific setup pieces haven't had the same real-world mileage yet. If something doesn't work, the exact error message helps a lot — nothing is designed to fail silently.

It's really slow to reply — did I do something wrong?

Probably not. The AI runs on your own computer's hardware, so speed depends entirely on your machine — laptops without a dedicated graphics card have to work much harder. Switching to a lighter model (see the section above) usually fixes it. Closing other heavy programs while chatting helps too.

Something's not working right — is that expected?

Possibly! This is early, hand-built software being tested with a small group of friends, not a finished product. If something breaks or feels off, that's genuinely useful to know — use the "Having trouble?" box below.

Having trouble?

Tell me what happened and I'll help sort it out.

Helpful to include: what you were doing when it happened, and the exact wording of any error you saw.

Email me about it

Got feedback?

Ideas, complaints, anything — it comes straight to me.

Send feedback

© 2026 Lantern. Free to download and use — the code itself may not be copied, redistributed, republished, or reused elsewhere without permission.
Lantern is experimental software tested by a small group of people, not a professionally audited product. Provided as-is, with no warranty of any kind — use it at your own risk.
The "Having trouble?" and "Got feedback?" links just open your email app — nothing is collected or stored by this site itself. See the FAQ above for the full privacy picture.
Lantern isn't designed with additional safeguards for children, and isn't intended for use by minors without a parent or guardian's involvement.