Ensu is a local LLM chat app from Ente, the company behind Ente Photos and Ente Auth. Models run entirely on your device with no server calls, so your prompts stay local. The app is open source and available for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux, with an optional end-to-end encrypted sync via your Ente account.
Ensu
ente.com/ensu
Our take
The honest case for Ensu is privacy you can actually verify: no prompt ever leaves your machine, and the open-source code is auditable. The catch is capability: on-device models are genuinely weaker than frontier cloud AI for complex tasks, so if you rely on ChatGPT for heavy reasoning or coding you will feel the gap. For sensitive journaling, offline drafting, or casual Q&A without trusting a cloud provider, Ensu is the cleaner choice.
GitHub at a glance
ente-io/ente
Stars
27,256
+ 224 this week
Last commit
today
healthy
License
AGPL-3.0
Latest release
photos-v1.3.56
12d ago
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Ensu alternatives
Ollama Ollama lets you download and run large language models locally via a simple CLI and REST API. Supports a growing library of open models including Llama, Mistral, and Gemma on Windows, Mac, and Linux with no data sent to the cloud.
llamafile A Mozilla project that packages a complete LLM and its runtime into a single executable file. Download one file, run it on Windows, Mac, or Linux with no installation, no dependencies, and no network connection required.
KoboldCpp KoboldCpp is a self-contained local AI inference tool with a built-in web UI. It runs GGUF text, image, and speech models with no installation beyond a single binary, primarily aimed at creative writing and roleplay workflows.
Ensu license, in plain English
AGPL-3.0 Strong copyleft · network
Free to use, even commercially. Changes must be published under the same license, and running a modified version as a network service counts as distributing it.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Network use is distribution
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: The network clause is the point. Anyone who runs a modified version as a hosted service has to publish those changes, so the code handling your data stays inspectable. This is why privacy-first projects reach for AGPL.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.