What 'Bring Your Own Key' Means for an AI App

"Bring your own key" (BYOK) means an app doesn't sell you AI usage — instead, you bring an API key from a provider you already trust, and the app talks to that provider directly on your behalf. Scowld is built this way from the ground up.

The practical result: there's no Scowld subscription, no paywall, and no middle-man server holding your conversations or your keys.

Why BYOK matters

• Privacy: requests go from your device straight to the provider you configured. Scowld runs no backend that receives, proxies off-device, or stores your keys or chats.
• Cost: you pay your chosen provider for actual usage instead of a flat monthly fee, which is often far cheaper for typical use.
• Control: switch providers and models whenever you want, and stop instantly by removing the key.

Where your keys are stored

Keys you enter live in the iOS Keychain on your device. They are not bundled in the app binary, not written to plain preferences, and not committed to the open-source repository. Delete the app or remove a key in Settings and it's gone.

Which providers Scowld supports

You can mix and match across AI chat, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech:

• AI chat: Google Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Ollama, Groq, OpenRouter, xAI, Together AI, Hugging Face, Venice AI, and Moonshot AI.
• Speech-to-text: native iOS speech, OpenAI Whisper, Groq Whisper, Deepgram, AssemblyAI, and Google Cloud Speech-to-Text.
• Text-to-speech: ElevenLabs and OpenAI voices.

Getting started

Download Scowld, open Settings, choose an AI provider, and paste your key. Add an ElevenLabs or OpenAI key under Text-to-Speech if you want spoken replies. That's the whole setup — no account, no card on file with Scowld. Scowld is also open source under the MIT License, so you can read exactly how your keys are handled.

Frequently asked questions

Try Scowld

Scowld is a free, open-source iOS AI voice companion. Download it on the App Store or read more about Scowld.