Choosing how your questions are answered

Deeta doesn't decide on your behalf which AI answers your questions. You pick, in Settings → AI.

Private Mode — nothing about your contacts leaves your phone

Settings → AI → AI Provider → Private Mode.

Every question is answered on your iPhone. Nothing about your contacts is sent anywhere, to anyone.

If a question needs something public — nearby restaurants, opening hours — on Plus and above Deeta sends an anonymous web search only: never your contacts, names, phone numbers, email addresses or sensitive details. The results are matched against your contacts on the device.

Two consequences worth knowing:

• It costs you nothing. Private Mode answers don't count toward your monthly AI queries or your AI capacity. You can ask as many as you like on any plan.

• It's more limited. Your phone is a phone. Small, targeted questions work well. Apple's built-in model can only read a few dozen contacts at once, so it won't answer a broad question over more than that — Deeta says so and suggests narrowing it with a group or tag, or choosing a provider. The enhanced on-device model works through your contacts in several passes instead, which takes longer. Either way, if an answer on your iPhone takes more than about 30 seconds, Deeta stops and tells you rather than keep you waiting. When a big question was only partly covered, the answer says a cloud model would answer better and faster, which you can choose in Settings → AI Provider.

Whether you can use it

Private Mode needs something on your phone capable of answering. There are two ways to have that, and either one is enough:

• Apple's built-in intelligence, on an iPhone that supports it — with Apple Intelligence switched on in iOS Settings and its model downloaded

• The enhanced on-device model, which Power subscribers can download — see below

If your phone has neither, Private Mode isn't shown in the list at all, rather than appearing and refusing to work.

Choosing a provider

If you'd rather have the capability, pick who provides it:

Choose which AI services your Deeta queries. We never tell you which to pick.

The choices are OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Grok. Tap Learn more about these providers for what each one is.

What you start with. If your iPhone can run Private Mode, that's the starting choice. Otherwise it's OpenAI, with Google as the backup. In the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland it's Google, with Anthropic as the backup.

A backup provider. Under Secondary (Used only if your primary is unavailable.) you pick where a question goes if your first choice is down. Choose None and the question fails instead. With Private Mode there's no backup, because there's nothing to fall over to.

Your choice is honoured — Deeta doesn't quietly send your question somewhere else. The exceptions are the ones you control: the backup you choose, small questions answered on your phone, the Power larger model (described below, and disclosed on the answer), and a one-time offer you have to tap.

What that provider receives

The contacts relevant to the question, as they actually are — real names, real details. It isn't anonymised or replaced with placeholders first.

• Only what the question needs — up to a limit. A broad question, or one naming someone Deeta can't match, sends as much of your contacts as fits, which can be all of them. Narrow it with a chip, a group or a tag to send less.

• Deeta keeps nothing. Each provider processes your question under its own data-processing terms, and every provider Deeta uses is under terms that forbid training on what you send.

• In the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland, questions are answered on EU-based infrastructure.

This is the actual difference between the two options, so it's worth choosing deliberately rather than leaving on the default.

In the EU, the EEA, the UK and Switzerland

Your question is answered on EU-based infrastructure, and two providers are set up for that: Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini), both running on Google's EU infrastructure under terms that forbid training on what you send.

OpenAI and Grok have no in-region route. If you'd chosen one of those, or you're connecting from the region, your questions won't be answered — you'll see a note saying AI isn't available in your region. Switch provider and it works.

Private Mode works everywhere, because your contacts don't leave the phone.

Query Routing Optimization

A toggle just below, on by default:

When it's on, Deeta picks the best place to answer each question.

In practice:

• Small questions are answered on your iPhone — private, fast, and they don't use your monthly allowance

• Bigger questions go to the AI provider you picked

• On Power, a question too big even for that provider uses a larger model automatically, and the answer says so

Turn it off and every question goes to your chosen provider, whatever its size.

There's a What is Query Routing Optimization? link that explains the same thing in the app.

This is about routing small questions locally to save you money and time. It doesn't override Private Mode — if you've chosen Private Mode, everything stays on the device regardless of this setting.

The enhanced on-device model (Power)

Power subscribers can download a larger model that runs on the phone. It widens what Private Mode and local answering can handle — and on a phone without Apple's built-in intelligence, it's what makes Private Mode available at all.

Settings → AI → AI Provider, just under Private Mode. Tap Enhanced on-device model for the details and the controls.

• About 2.6 GB, downloaded on Wi-Fi only, with pause and resume

• Needs iPhone 15 Pro or later

• Answers from this model use no cloud provider and count toward no limit

• Delete it any time to reclaim the space

Once it's downloaded, Private Mode uses it — you don't have to switch anything on.

If your Power subscription lapses, the file stays on your phone and simply stops being used. The screen says "Paused — resumes when you're back on Power. Your download is kept." You can still delete it, and coming back to Power doesn't mean downloading it again.

Which should I pick?

Troubleshooting

Private Mode isn't in the list. Your iPhone has neither Apple's built-in intelligence available nor the enhanced model downloaded. Check Apple Intelligence in iOS Settings, or download the model on Power.

"Private Mode is selected but isn't available on this device right now." It was available and isn't at the moment — Apple Intelligence may be switched off, or its model still downloading. Pick a provider, or try again later.

"Private Mode is paused right now, so I can't answer this on your device." On-device answering has been switched off from our side, for everyone, while something is looked at. Below it Deeta may offer Send this question to [provider] instead, naming the provider you'd used before. It's one question at a time and never automatic — ignore it and nothing leaves your phone. There's no offer when you're offline, or when that provider isn't available in your region. If you'd downloaded the enhanced model it stays yours, and you can still delete it.

"This is taking longer than it should on your iPhone, so I stopped…" Answers on the device are cut off after about 30 seconds. Narrow the question with a group or tag, or pick a provider in Settings → AI → AI Provider.

"This question covers N contacts, and the model built into this iPhone can only read a portion of them at a time…" Apple's built-in model can't take in that many contacts at once. Narrow with a group or tag, or pick a provider. On Power, the enhanced on-device model can work through more.

"Your previous AI provider is no longer available. Default restored." A provider you'd chosen has been withdrawn. Pick another.

The routing toggle is greyed out with "Available at Power tier." Routing needs either a Private-Mode-capable iPhone or a Power plan.

An answer said it used a larger model. That's the Power escalation — your question was too big for your chosen provider. The larger model is Anthropic's, whichever provider you'd picked, which is why the answer tells you. Turn routing off to opt out entirely.

Some providers are missing from the list. In the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland you'll see Anthropic and Google only — the two with a verified in-region setup. Deeta hides the others rather than routing you somewhere non-compliant.

Questions

Does Private Mode cost anything? No, on any plan — including Free.

Can I change my mind later? Any time. It applies from the next question.

Does my provider choice affect what Deeta stores about me? No. Deeta stores no questions or answers regardless of where they're answered. What it affects is who sees the question in the moment.

Will I be told which route a question took? Yes. Every answer carries a small mark showing where it came from — your phone, or which provider. A Power escalation to a larger model is called out in the answer itself as well.