NamerynPrivate AI Agents: What Stays on Your Device
A personal AI agent learns a lot about you. This page shows where each one keeps that memory, what you can see and delete, how long it is kept, and whether any of it stays on your own device. Every cell was read on the maker's own page; where the maker does not say, the cell says so.
Snapshot of October 19, 2026
| Agent | Where memory and data are kept | What you can see or delete | How long it is kept | Stays on your device? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory on your own machine | ||||
| OpenClawOpen sourceChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: docs.openclaw.ai | Plain Markdown files in a workspace on your own machine (~/.openclaw/workspace by default): MEMORY.md, USER.md and daily notes | Open, edit or delete the files yourself; the model remembers only what is saved to disk, with no hidden state | As long as you keep the files | Memory, yes. Each message still goes to the model you connect, unless it is a local model: OpenClaw supports an Ollama host with local models only source |
| On the device first | ||||
| SiriAppleChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: apple.com | Your Siri and Dictation history is stored on your device; Siri settings sync across your Apple devices through iCloud with end-to-end encryption | Settings > Siri > Siri & Dictation History > Delete Siri & Dictation History; turning off Siri and Dictation deletes the transcripts on the device | Apple does not store your audio unless you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation | Mostly. On the device first; larger requests go to Private Cloud Compute, where Apple says user data is never available to Apple and is not kept after the answer source |
| Kept by the maker | ||||
| MuseMetaChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: about.fb.com | Muse Secure VM, a dedicated virtual machine at Meta that houses both the agent and your data | You can tell it to forget specific things it has learned; the announcement names no list of memories to review | The maker's announcement doesn't say | No. The agent and your data live on Meta's virtual machine |
| dotsOpenAIChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: help.openai.com | Your dot's own context at OpenAI, encrypted while stored and in transit; it can receive ChatGPT memories and add to them | You cannot view, delete or change single dot memories; deleting the dot deletes its context; turning off ChatGPT Memory stops the sharing | As long as you keep the dot; its context does not keep credentials, images or screenshots | No. It reaches your computer's camera, microphone or screen only after you connect the computer |
| GeminiGoogleChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: support.google.com | Gemini Apps Activity in your Google account: your chats and the files, screens and photos you share | Review and delete your activity at any time, or turn Keep Activity off | Deleted after 18 months by default (3 or 36 to choose); 72 hours with Keep Activity off; chats people reviewed, up to three years | No. Chats are kept with your Google account |
| CopilotMicrosoftChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: support.microsoft.com | Your conversation history and a memory of what Copilot learns about you | View, edit and delete what it remembers, ask it to forget something, or Memory > Delete all Memory | Conversation history kept 18 months (Microsoft's page for the older Copilot app) | No. Microsoft's page describes no on-device memory |
| Alexa+AmazonChecked on October 19, 2026. Source: amazon.com | Amazon's cloud: a recording of each request after the wake word, with its transcript | Review and delete voice recordings, transcripts and typed requests in More > Alexa Privacy in the Alexa app | The maker's page we read doesn't say how long by default | No. No audio is stored or sent before the wake word; after it, the request goes to the cloud |
The weekly check rereads every source and lists the pages that moved for a person to read before anything here changes. Prices and names for the same agents are on Personal AI Agents Compared.
What Private Means Here
Two things decide how private an agent is: where its memory lives, and where the model that reads each message runs. An agent can keep its memory at home and still send every message to a model in the cloud. And every app you connect, from email to a calendar, is one more place your data goes, so connect only what the job needs.
A Fully Local Setup: OpenClaw and a Local Model
- Install OpenClaw on your own computer or server. OpenClaw Hosting Compared lists five places to rent one. Its memory is plain Markdown files in its workspace (MEMORY.md, USER.md and a note for each day), which you can open, edit or delete. OpenClaw memory docs
- Run the model on the same machine. OpenClaw works with an Ollama host serving local models only; Ollama's cloud models send requests to ollama.com, so leave them off. OpenClaw Ollama docs
- Connect only the apps you need. A chat app, a mailbox or a search tool you connect receives what the agent sends it, whatever runs at home.
- Give it a name and a voice of its own. OpenClaw takes any name, written in its IDENTITY.md; the persona card writes that file, and the AI agent name generator finds a name that is easy to say.
FAQ
Which AI agent keeps my data on my device?
OpenClaw keeps its memory as Markdown files on your own machine, and with a local model on an Ollama host nothing needs to leave it. Siri keeps its history on your iPhone and sends larger requests to Apple's Private Cloud Compute. Muse, dots, Gemini, Copilot and Alexa+ keep your memory and data with the maker.
Can I delete what an AI agent remembers about me?
Gemini, Copilot and Alexa+ let you review and delete your history, Siri deletes its history on the device from Settings, and Muse forgets specific things when you ask it to. With dots you cannot delete single memories: deleting the dot deletes its context. With OpenClaw you open and edit the memory files yourself.
Is OpenClaw private?
Its memory is: plain files in a workspace on your own machine, with no hidden state. Each message still goes to the model you connect, so for a fully private setup point it at a local model on your own computer.
Does Siri send my requests to Apple?
Siri works on the device first. Requests that need a larger model go to Private Cloud Compute, where Apple says your data is never available to Apple and is not kept after the answer. Apple stores audio only if you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation.
How current is this table?
Each row carries the date we read it on the maker's page, and the page states its snapshot date. The weekly check rereads every source and lists the pages that moved, and a cell changes only after a person reads the page again.