Brethof AI Reviews

Chatbox Desktop review

Ollama ready, PDFs read locally, no account needed

Not sponsoredModels & AI Infrastructure

Tested on Linux · Freemium · Open source

Chatbox is a free desktop chat app that talks to AI models from many providers, including Ollama on your own machine. It runs no model itself. We tested version 1.23.5 on Linux, with a cloud model through our local Ollama.

The good

  • Ollama built in. Ollama is built in, already pointed at your own machine. No key, no account. One click fetches your models.
  • PDF chat, locally. Drop in a PDF and the app reads it locally. A file under 256 KB of text goes into the prompt whole, with no account. It shows no citations.
  • No account, no login wall. No account is needed. Skip guide on the first screen lands you in a working app, with no login wall.

The not so good

  • First run pushes Chatbox AI. The first-run guide recommends the maker's hosted Chatbox AI service over your own keys, and the model picker opens on it too.
  • Four trackers on by default. Four trackers are on by default, and the build adds code that is not in its GPL community source. One checkbox stops all four, yet the privacy policy names two. It also contacts the maker at every launch and every hour.

Our verdict

Recommended with caveats

Ollama ready with no account, and PDFs read on your computer. But four trackers are on while its privacy policy names two, the build carries tracking code not in its open source, and the first run pushes Chatbox AI.

Reviewed: Chatbox Desktop 1.23.5 · facts checked 2026-10-22

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