The latest articles on DEV Community by samontab (@samontab). https://dev.to/samontab https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3402575%2F0763eefb-d9a4-47ae-a77f-8498deb9a4f5.png https://dev.to/samontab en samontab Fri, 01 Aug 2025 02:45:31 +0000 https://dev.to/samontab/ai-is-amazing-but-i-dont-want-to-share-my-data-1bl4 https://dev.to/samontab/ai-is-amazing-but-i-dont-want-to-share-my-data-1bl4 <p>AI can do incredible things today. It can <strong>automatically transcribe hours of audio</strong> or <strong>instantly find that one picture</strong> from your huge photo library.</p> <p>But most AI tools require sending your private data to the cloud. <strong>Your meeting notes, personal recordings, or even your entire photo library may be processed on someone else's servers</strong>.</p> <p>I value my privacy, so sending my personal data to external servers is a problem for me.</p> <h2> Why I Started Building My Own Tools </h2> <p>I wanted to enjoy the power of AI <strong>without giving away my data</strong>, so I started creating <strong>privacy‑first apps</strong> that run entirely <strong>offline on your device</strong>.</p> <p>No internet.<br> No tracking.<br> No cloud uploads.</p> <p><strong>Just AI that works locally, keeping your data yours</strong>.</p> <h2> Some Of The Tools I Have Built </h2> <p>Here are some of the privacy‑first AI tools I have built:</p> <h3> <a href="https://samontab.itch.io/private-transcriber-pro" rel="noopener noreferrer">Private Transcriber Pro</a> </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgkw9r5cwrc3xkfajrsah.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fgkw9r5cwrc3xkfajrsah.gif" alt="Demo of how Private Transcriber Pro works" width="704" height="576"></a></p> <p>Transcribes audio or video files <strong>entirely offline</strong>. Perfect for meetings, interviews, videos, or personal notes without ever sending them to the cloud.</p> <h3> <a href="https://samontab.itch.io/find-that-image" rel="noopener noreferrer">Find That Image</a> </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fw9i5z25c4ssy3036mrzo.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fw9i5z25c4ssy3036mrzo.gif" alt="Demo of how Find That Image works" width="720" height="621"></a></p> <p>Searches your <strong>local photo library</strong> using either text or an example image. All processing happens on your device, so your photos never leave your computer.</p> <h3> <a href="https://samontab.itch.io/simple-background-remover" rel="noopener noreferrer">Simple Background Remover</a> </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fm5p8ah775272iv7dckiy.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fm5p8ah775272iv7dckiy.gif" alt="Demo of how Simple Background Remover works" width="635" height="475"></a></p> <p>Automatically extracts the <strong>foreground</strong> from any image with a simple <strong>drag and drop</strong>. It can also process entire folders in batch mode. Everything runs locally to keep your images private.</p> <p>All of these apps use state‑of‑the‑art AI models and run smoothly on most modern computers, even without a GPU.</p> <h2> Why Privacy-First AI Matters </h2> <p>More and more people are starting to <strong>demand privacy in AI tools</strong>.<br> Local processing is becoming faster, models are shrinking, and users are realizing they <strong>do not always need the cloud to do impressive things</strong>.</p> <h2> Explore More Privacy‑First Apps </h2> <p>If you are curious to try these tools or explore other apps I have built, you can find them on <a href="https://samontab.itch.io" rel="noopener noreferrer">my Itch.io page</a>.</p> <p>Itch.io is an independent app store outside of big tech, which makes it a natural home for indie and privacy‑friendly software like the apps I have shared here.</p> <h2> Your Thoughts </h2> <p>Would you prefer to keep your AI apps offline, or is cloud convenience still worth it to you?</p> <p>If you care about AI that respects privacy, I would love to hear your thoughts.</p> ai privacy productivity indiedev