Moxie Marlinspike, co-founder of Signal, has launched Confer, a privacy-focused AI chatbot designed to provide a ChatGPT or Claude-like experience without compromising user data. While OpenAI is already testing ads for ChatGPT free users, Confer ensures that conversations cannot be accessed by the host, used for training models, or monetized through advertising.
The system combines several layers of security: messages are encrypted using WebAuthn passkeys, server-side inference runs inside a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), and remote attestation verifies system integrity. Open-weight foundation models handle user queries within this secure environment, providing functionality comparable to mainstream AI chatbots while safeguarding privacy.
Confer offers a free tier with 20 messages per day and five active chats. Paid subscribers, at $35 per month, gain unlimited messages, access to more advanced models, and personalization features. Marlinspike emphasizes that these measures are necessary for a service that handles highly sensitive, personal conversations. The project showcases how AI can be deployed responsibly, providing robust capabilities without compromising user trust or privacy.
