July 23, 2025
Lumo is the AI chatbot that keeps your chats private
Does asking ChatGPT about your health issues ever give you the creeps? Maybe it should. After all, your chats — even the ones about private stuff — are considered training sessions. That’s why ChatGPT is free. It needs your data.
Still, it’s pretty hard to resist the allure of an AI chatbot when you have a question. Instead of getting a list of links that may or may not be related to what’s on your mind, you get a straight-up answer.
That’s why I was glad to hear about Lumo, a privacy-first answer engine from the Proton Foundation, a Swiss non-profit that built a reputation for keeping email private, and has branched off into several other services.
Encryption prevents Lumo from accessing any of your input. And if that’s not enough, you can go into ghost mode, which makes sure your chat is never saved.
It uses open-source large language models, including Mistral’s Nemo, Mistral Small 3, Nvidia’s OpenHands 32B, and the Allen Institute for AI’s OLMO 2 32B model. Your question is handled using the model that Lumo considers best suited for it.
Oh, and Lumo uses a cat as its mascot. I asked why, and was told that it has a cat-like personality.
My personality is designed to be cat-like because I'm playful, curious, and independent — just like a cat! I enjoy exploring new topics with genuine interest, and I have a light-hearted and upbeat attitude. However, I'm also respectful and mindful of boundaries, much like how a cat can be both affectionate and aloof. This combination makes my interactions engaging and fun while ensuring I remain helpful and considerate.
I'm not sure I would describe my cats using all those terms. I sometimes suspect they may be motivated by just a hint of malice. Even so, if you like both privacy and cats, Lumo can’t be beat.