Small AI models on your phone — what local processing means

Some keyboard word suggestions work even in airplane mode

Your keyboard may suggest the next word before you finish typing. Some devices can do this offline using a model installed on the device. Whether your feature works this way depends on the keyboard, device and settings. This guide shows you how to test one harmless example and check what the result does and does not tell you about privacy.

First try: test one feature that runs on your device

1. 1

   Open your phone’s keyboard, dictation or AI settings

   Find the section in settings for the keyboard, dictation or AI assistant. On many phones, at least some of these functions are described there as on-device or offline features. The wording varies by manufacturer.

2. 2

   Choose a feature already on your phone

   Choose word suggestions or dictation that your phone’s help describes as supporting offline use. Availability varies by device, language and settings. Dictation may require a language package, including for Finnish, to have been downloaded first. Use an existing feature; if it is not ready for offline use, note that limitation rather than assuming it will work.

3. 3

   Switch on airplane mode and try it

   Switch on airplane mode, then check that both Wi-Fi and mobile data are off; Wi-Fi can remain enabled on some phones. Try harmless, made-up text without names, health information or other personal details.

4. 4

   Reconnect and compare

   Turn the connection back on and try the same feature again. Compare its speed and result: did it work just as well in airplane mode? Finally, check what the settings or the app’s help pages say about data processing.

Try this

I will remember to buy milk and call Mum tomorrow.

Check and improve

Explain in everyday language why keyboard word suggestions or turning dictation into text can continue on a phone without an internet connection, while creating an AI image, for example, usually stops as soon as the connection drops. Briefly explain what this difference generally means for privacy, too.

Tell me exactly what you cannot know about my particular phone in this conversation, and where in the settings I need to check it myself.

This test shows whether your chosen feature can complete that task without a connection. It does not prove that all processing is local in every mode, or that nothing will be sent after you reconnect. Check the app’s help and privacy information as well.

Where the difference shows up in everyday life

You are at a summer cottage with no network connection at all, dictating a note using your phone’s dictation feature. What difference does it make whether the phone processes your speech on the device or sends it to a server first?

You are abroad without mobile data and try to translate a sign using your phone. Why do some translation apps still work while others only show an error message?

Your phone’s photo gallery finds an old picture when you search for “dog” or “beach”, even though you have never labelled the photos with those words yourself. The photos are already on your phone. Does that mean the search also works offline?

A smaller model makes different mistakes

My keyboard’s word suggestions just worked without a network connection. Make a short checklist: what happens directly on the device, what information the feature might send online, what permissions it asks for, and where I can find this information in the phone’s or app’s own settings.

Once you have the basics

If you want to go further, you can later try installing a separate app that runs a small language model entirely on your device. If you would first like to understand the general differences between models, continue to the guide on Mistral or open models.