AI assistants
Ollama privacy rating
Open-source tool for downloading and running large language models on a local computer through a command line, API and desktop app. Optional cloud-hosted models are also offered.
Summary
Ollama scores 81 out of 100 (grade B) on the AI assistants criteria. It meets 6 of 8 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, no training on your data, runs locally, limited chat retention and no account needed. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry. It does not meet independent audit.
Score 81 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- Yes
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Partial
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
No third-party trackers, but Ollama collects limited device and usage metadata such as app version and request counts, without prompt content.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Free to run locally, with paid plans for cloud models. The privacy policy states data is not sold.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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Yes
No training on your data Weight 3 of 3
Are prompts, chats and files kept out of model training by default?
Local prompts never reach Ollama, and prompts sent to cloud models are not used for training.
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Yes
Runs locally Weight 2 of 3
Can the assistant run on your own device or server, so prompts never leave it?
Models run on the user's own computer by default.
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Yes
Limited chat retention Weight 2 of 3
Are chats deleted by default or on request, with no long-term server copy?
Local chats are not sent to Ollama's servers. Cloud model prompts are processed transiently.
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Yes
No account needed Weight 1 of 3
Can it be used without an account or personal details?
No account is needed to run models locally. An account is only needed for cloud models.