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6 apps · Ranking

Ask AI about a PDF on iPhone without uploading it

Updated · Data checked on the App Store on 4 November 2026

Most "chat with PDF" apps upload your file to a server. These six run the AI model on the iPhone, so a contract, a medical report or a bank letter stays on the phone and works in airplane mode. For the most polished app on iOS 27, Enclave. For long PDFs and books, free, Noema. For Word and CSV files too, KernelAI. For a scanned PDF with no setup, Pinku.

Phone-sized models are small: they summarize and find passages well, but they are weaker than ChatGPT or Claude at long reasoning. See apps that run open-source AI models on iPhone for what each model family is good at.

At a glance

AppPrice (US)Files, per listingMin iOSApp Store privacy labelVersion (date)Rating (US)
Enclave - Local AI AssistantFree; Pro $9.99PDFs, text files, images and source code27.0Data Not Linked to You1.77.0 (1 Oct 2026)4.7 (1,117 ratings)
Noema: Local AI & Offline LLMFree (no in-app purchases)PDFs, EPUBs and textbooks, indexed for search18.0Data Not Collected4.2 (20 Oct 2026)4.6 (36 ratings)
KernelAI - Offline AI ChatFree; optional tips $1.99 to $6.99PDF, DOCX, CSV, Markdown and text; photos and screenshots16.4Data Linked to You; Data Not Linked to You2.2.0 (15 Oct 2026)4.6 (43 ratings)
Private Offline AI Chat: PinkuFree with Llama 3.2 1B; Pinku Pro $16.99 a year or one-timePDFs (even scanned), text and Markdown; photos with Gemma 4 E2B18.6Data Linked to You1.4 (31 Oct 2026)4.7 (12 ratings)
Off Grid AI - Private Local AIFree (no in-app purchases)Documents in Projects; receipts through the camera; voice notes17.0Data Not Collected0.0.120 (3 Nov 2026)3.4 (40 ratings)
Reins: for Ollama & LM StudioFree; $6.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $99.99 lifetimeImages, PDFs, CSVs and text files17.0Data Not Collected2.3.3 (21 Oct 2026)4.6 (317 ratings)

Prices are the US App Store on 4 November 2026; all six are free to download. You need Wi-Fi once to download a model; after that, documents are read on the device, per each listing.

1

Enclave - Local AI Assistant

Best for: the most polished app for documents, if your iPhone runs iOS 27.

  • Its listing says you attach PDFs, text files, images and code, and get answers, summaries and key points, all processed on the device.
  • Voice chat; hundreds of open models; the most ratings here.

Limits: needs iOS 27, and its Pro cloud models send chats off the phone (you choose).

App Store page →

2

Noema: Local AI & Offline LLM

Best for: long PDFs and books: answers grounded in indexed passages, for free.

  • Its listing says you import PDFs, EPUBs and textbooks and get answers grounded in indexed passages, offline.
  • Also on iPad, Mac and Apple Vision; downloads models that fit your device.

Limits: few ratings (36), and no voice or image input is named in the listing.

App Store page →

3

KernelAI - Offline AI Chat

Best for: the widest list of file types, including Word files, on older iOS.

  • Its listing says you ask questions about PDFs, DOCX, CSV, Markdown and text files, with on-device search and summaries.
  • Checks model compatibility before you download, so you pick one that fits your iPhone or iPad.

Limits: few ratings (43), and its privacy label includes data linked to you.

App Store page →

4

Private Offline AI Chat: Pinku

Best for: reading a PDF, even a scanned one, with no setup: it only shows models your iPhone can run.

  • Its 1.4 release notes say it reads PDFs (even scanned ones), text and Markdown files, and with Gemma 4 E2B it can see photos; everything stays on the device.
  • No account; interface in 33 languages; also on Mac.

Limits: photo reading needs Gemma 4 E2B, a Pro model; only 11 curated models; its privacy label lists purchase data linked to you, not chats.

App Store page →

5

Off Grid AI - Private Local AI

Best for: asking across several work documents at once, grouped in a Project.

  • Its listing says you put documents in a Project and ask about them, point the camera at a receipt, or talk instead of typing.
  • No account; chats, files and photos stay on the phone.

Limits: a version below 1.0 with a 3.4 rating, English only, and the listing does not name the file types.

App Store page →

6

Reins: for Ollama & LM Studio

Best for: using the same app with your home Ollama or LM Studio server for bigger documents.

  • Its listing says you attach images, PDFs, CSVs and text files; its 2.3.3 notes add on-device models with all of Reins' features.
  • Also connects to Ollama, LM Studio or any OpenAI-compatible server.

Limits: made first as a client for a home server, English only, and the listing does not say which features need a plan.

App Store page →

Who should use what

Use cases

How we checked

On 4 November 2026 we read each app's US App Store page, its latest release notes and Apple's lookup data. An app is here only if its listing or notes say it reads PDFs or documents with on-device models, and it was updated in the last 60 days. We did not test answers.

Left out: ChatPDF (uploads the file, last update May 2025) and Maple Chat (end-to-end encrypted, but the AI runs in the cloud). See also PocketPal AI alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Can I chat with a PDF on iPhone without uploading it?

Yes. Enclave, Noema, KernelAI, Pinku, Off Grid AI and Reins read documents with an AI model that runs on the iPhone, per their listings, so the file does not leave the phone.

Does it work without internet?

Yes, after you download a model once on Wi-Fi.

Can it read a scanned PDF?

Pinku's 1.4 release notes say it reads scanned PDFs. The other listings do not say.

Which is free?

Noema and Off Grid AI list no purchases; KernelAI only tips. Enclave, Pinku and Reins are free to download with paid options.

Sources