A person,
on the other side.

Where things stand

Ownkin 1.0 for Mac is available to download from this site. The iPhone and iPad app is coming to the App Store. There is no open beta enrollment.

What do I need?

A Mac with Apple silicon running macOS 27 or later. The iPhone and iPad app needs iOS or iPadOS 27 and pairs with that Mac; it does not run the model itself.

How do I install the Mac app?

Download the disk image from the home page, open it and drag Ownkin to Applications. It is signed with Tlon OU’s Developer ID and notarized by Apple. To check your download, run shasum -a 256 on the file in Terminal and compare the result with the SHA-256 shown under the download button.

How does the Mac app update?

Choose Check for Updates… in the Ownkin menu. On its second launch the app asks whether to check for updates automatically, about once a day. Updates are signed, checked before they are opened, and never install without your click.

What does first setup download?

On the Mac, setup shows the download size and asks before downloading the Qwen 3.5 4B model files from Hugging Face. Voice is a separate, optional 2.8 GB download, offered the first time you use the microphone or Read aloud on the Mac.

How do I pair my iPhone or iPad?

On the Mac, choose Pair an iPhone or iPad and copy the invitation. On the phone, paste it and tap Connect to my Mac, then approve the device on the Mac after checking that both show the same identity. Disconnect from the phone’s menu or revoke the device on the Mac.

Why didn’t I get a reply?

Replies come from your Mac, so it must be awake and reachable. Messages you write while it is unavailable stay on your device until it is back. If replies stopped on the Mac, choose Restart replies in its sidebar.

Which tools can it use, and what needs my approval?

On the Mac it can check and add Calendar events and Reminders, look up Contacts, read files in folders you choose in Settings, read web pages, and do decimal math. macOS asks for Calendar, Reminders and Contacts access the first time a tool needs it. Adding an event, a reminder or a schedule waits for your approval, which you can give on any paired device.

How does web search work?

Web search uses Exa with your own Exa API key, entered in the Mac’s Settings. Only your search query is sent to Exa. Without a key, Ownkin reads only the pages and files you give it.

How do research briefs work?

When you ask something worth researching, Ownkin prepares a brief. Start it on your Mac. It reads the sources, checks each claim and writes a brief whose citations point to the passage they came from. You can stop it or retry it.

Why did a scheduled task run late?

Schedules run on your Mac only while it is awake. A Mac can’t wake itself for Ownkin, so a run that was due while it slept happens once when it wakes, and the timeline says it ran late.

What does Ownkin remember, and how do I remove it?

It remembers what you ask it to remember. Each fact is listed under Memory on the Mac and the phone, with Correct and Forget. Learning from conversations is off unless you turn it on on the Mac.

Is the vault on my iPhone?

No. The vault is on the Mac only. Saved logins can be filled with AutoFill on the Mac after Touch ID or your password. Ownkin can’t read your passwords or card numbers and never fills forms on its own.

What do iPhone alerts contain?

A fixed sentence such as a reply being ready, never your messages. Alerts are delivered through Apple’s push service by way of Tlon’s push relay, which receives the device token, the alert kind and its timing but no message content.

Can it read my Gmail or Outlook?

Not in this version. Mail connectors are not available.

When you write

Tell us what you were trying to do and what happened. If you’re testing a development build, include its version, your device, and operating system.

Please remove private content from screenshots or logs. Don’t send passwords, access tokens, or private application data. We haven’t set a guaranteed response time.

Privacy questions

Use the same address for privacy questions. The privacy policy explains what the apps and this website do with your information.