Proton is launching a privacy-focused AI chatbot

Proton, the institution down the encrypted email work Proton Mail, has launched an AI assistant aimed astatine preserving idiosyncratic privacy. The caller chatbot, called Lumo, tin summarize documents, make code, constitute emails, and more, portion storing information locally connected users’ devices.

Proton says it volition support this accusation utilizing “zero-access” encryption, which grants users an encryption cardinal that lone they tin usage to presumption their content, preventing 3rd parties, including Proton, from accessing the information. This helps guarantee that Proton can’t stock idiosyncratic information with advertisers oregon governments, oregon usage it for grooming ample connection models, Proton says.

Though Lumo comes with the quality to hunt the web, Proton turns this diagnostic disconnected by default to “give users maximum privacy.” If users alteration the feature, Lumo volition hunt the web for answers utilizing “privacy-friendly” hunt engines. Additionally, Proton says Lumo tin analyse uploaded files, but it doesn’t prevention immoderate of its information. Users tin nexus Proton Drive files to Lumo arsenic well, which are expected to enactment end-to-end encrypted erstwhile interacting with the chatbot.

Proton positions its AI chatbot arsenic an alternate to the ones offered by larger companies, similar OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta AI, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. “Big Tech is utilizing AI to supercharge the postulation of delicate idiosyncratic information to accelerate the world’s modulation to surveillance capitalism,” Andy Yen, the CEO and laminitis of Proton, says successful the announcement. “Our imaginativeness for Lumo is AI that puts radical up of profits.”

Lumo is powered by respective open-source ample connection models that tally connected Proton’s servers successful Europe, including Mistral’s Nemo, Mistral Small 3, Nvidia’s OpenHands 32B, and the Allen Institute for AI’s OLMO 2 32B model. The AI chatbot volition tract requests done antithetic models depending connected which is better-suited for the query. “For instance, programming-related questions are handled by OpenHands, which specializes successful coding tasks,” Proton spokesperson Betsy Jones tells The Verge.

You tin entree Lumo present by heading to lumo.proton.me, oregon downloading the Lumo app for iOS and Android. Users who don’t person an relationship with Lumo oregon Proton tin lone inquire the chatbot a “limited number” of questions each week, and they won’t beryllium capable to entree their chat histories. Meanwhile, users with a escaped relationship tin presumption an encrypted chat history, upload tiny files, and favourite a constricted fig of chats. There’s besides a $12.99-per-month Lumo Plus program for entree to unlimited chats, extended encrypted chat history, unlimited favorites, and the quality to upload ample files.