Privacy Policy

In brief

Free Model is a public information directory with an optional, tightly limited Chat workspace. You can browse the directory and use Chat without creating an account or supplying an OpenRouter API key. Directory code examples call OpenRouter directly from your own environment. Chat requests instead pass through Free Model's server and OpenRouter to the selected model provider, using a dedicated Free Model service credential.

This policy explains the limited information that may be processed when you visit the site, use Chat, or, if you are an authorized operator, use its administrative tools.

Information we may process

Public visits

Our hosting and security providers may process standard request information such as your IP address, browser type, requested URL, timestamps, referring page, and basic device information. This information is used to deliver the site, diagnose failures, prevent abuse, and protect the service.

The site may store a local preference, such as your light or dark theme. Public directory use does not require an advertising profile or a Free Model account.

Chat messages and browser-local history

When Chat is available and you send a message, the current conversation context, selected model ID, and generation controls needed for that request are transmitted from your browser to Free Model, then to OpenRouter and the selected model provider. Generated response data returns through the same path. OpenRouter and the selected provider process that content under their own privacy policies and terms.

Free Model does not intentionally persist Chat prompts or model responses in its database or application logs. Chat history is stored only in your browser's local storage so that it can survive a refresh. Anyone with access to that browser profile may be able to read it, and clearing site data removes it. Do not submit API keys, passwords, health records, confidential business information, personal data you do not have permission to share, or other sensitive content.

To enforce abuse and budget limits without keeping raw network addresses in the Chat quota table, Free Model derives pseudonymous bucket identifiers from request characteristics. The shared database stores those hashes, expiring window boundaries, and counters; it does not store prompts, responses, or raw IP addresses. Hosting and security providers may still process standard request metadata as described above.

Free Model loads Plausible Analytics to understand aggregate public-site usage, such as page views and referrers. Plausible is used for privacy-friendly analytics and does not require us to create advertising profiles. Customer-service browser widgets are not loaded in this release. Infrastructure providers and the model-processing chain remain necessary to deliver Chat.

Analytics

Free Model uses a self-hosted Plausible Analytics service at analytics.groupai.io for aggregate, privacy-friendly website measurement. The Plausible browser script may process page URLs, referrers, browser and device metadata, and similar request information needed to produce aggregated analytics. Production visits are not sent to Plausible Cloud. We do not use directory searches to build advertising profiles or sell visitor data. Our hosting and security providers may still produce operational request metrics from the standard request information described above.

Operator accounts

Authorized maintainers may sign in to administrative tools. For those accounts, we may process an email address, authentication records, roles, security events, and an audit history of editorial actions. This access is not part of the public browsing experience.

Verification data

Free Model uses a dedicated operator-controlled credential to test selected OpenRouter routes. That credential is a service secret, not a visitor credential. It is encrypted or supplied through protected deployment configuration and is never included in public evidence.

Verification records may include the requested model ID, resolved route, interface and modality, account cohort, broad test region, timestamp, result category, latency, token usage, and cost confirmation. We deliberately exclude prompts containing personal data, full model output, authorization headers, and raw private error details from the public record.

Chat uses a separate, operator-controlled OpenRouter credential. It is stored encrypted in restricted Admin Settings or supplied through protected server-only deployment configuration. It is never sent to the browser. Free Model checks its finite spending cap, free-only model permissions, and current server allowlist before exposing Chat.

How we use information

We process information only as needed to:

• serve and secure the website;
• remember interface preferences;
• transmit a requested Chat conversation to OpenRouter and the selected provider and return the generated response;
• enforce pseudonymous, time-bounded Chat abuse and budget limits;
• measure aggregate reliability from necessary hosting and security request metadata;
• operate restricted editorial and verification workflows;
• investigate errors, abuse, and security incidents; and
• meet legal obligations.

Information we do not collect or intentionally retain

Free Model does not:

• request, store, or manage a visitor's OpenRouter API key;
• intentionally persist Chat prompts, responses, or conversation titles on its servers;
• write Chat content to the template's server-side conversation tables;
• process payments for model access;
• sell personal information; or
• claim ownership of third-party models or provider accounts.

If you copy a directory example and call OpenRouter yourself, that request goes directly from your environment to OpenRouter and does not pass through Free Model. This is different from the optional Chat workspace, whose messages must transit Free Model's server, OpenRouter, and the selected provider to return a response.

Third-party services and links

The directory links to OpenRouter documentation, account pages, model pages, and other source material. Following those links, using a third-party API, or sending content through Chat is subject to the relevant third party's privacy policy and terms. We are not responsible for a third party's data practices.

Infrastructure providers may process data on our behalf for hosting, storage, authentication, and security. We limit access to what is necessary for those functions and expect providers to protect the information they process.

Retention and security

Request and security logs are retained only as long as reasonably necessary for operations, abuse prevention, and legal compliance. The application is designed not to put Chat prompts or responses in those logs, but infrastructure providers may apply their own logging and retention practices. Pseudonymous Chat quota windows and counters are retained only as needed to enforce limits and investigate abuse. Operator audit and verification records may be kept longer because historical evidence is part of the directory's public-interest function.

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including access controls, secret masking, encryption for stored service credentials, and sanitized public projections. No internet service can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and rights

You can browse without signing in, decline non-essential cookies where controls are offered, and clear local preferences and Chat history by clearing this site's browser data. Depending on your location, you may also have rights to request access to, correction of, deletion of, or restriction on personal data associated with you.

Because most public visits are not tied to an account, we may need enough information to locate a relevant log record before acting on a request.

Children

Free Model is intended for developers and general technical audiences. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the product or its infrastructure changes. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. Material changes will be described on the site when appropriate.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, use the contact method published on the Free Model website or project repository. Do not include an API key, password, or other secret in your message.