"Running an LLM on your phone" means two different things, and app descriptions blur them on purpose. Know which one you are signing up for. - On the phone itself: PocketPal AI loads GGUF models on-device and chats offline. Nothing leaves the phone. Small models only. - Phone as remote control: Ollama, LM Studio, or Jan on a home machine, phone as the window. Desktop-class models from the couch, but you need an always-on machine. - True offline privacy on the go: go on-device. Model quality with data staying home: go remote. - Either way, start with the model, not the app icon. The model decides the experience. Want it running without the setup? PrivateLLM deploy puts a private LLM on your AWS for $50 plus usage.