FAQ¶
The questions people actually ask, grouped. Every answer stays inside what is publicly true of the product today — where a detail lives elsewhere on this site, it is linked rather than repeated.
The product¶
What is Bartimaeus? A personal AI agent that runs in the cloud and is controlled from your phone or browser. It works inside your own apps — email, calendar, tasks and notes — with your approval on anything sensitive and a receipt for what it did. You bring your own AI key, so the model bill stays yours. The full answer takes two minutes.
Do I need to be technical? No. The only setup step that needs care is adding an AI key — the guided wizard shows you exactly where to get one and checks it for you. After that, it is asking for things in plain English.
Does it run all day and night? No — and that is deliberate. Sessions exist only while work is happening and stop when it is done. Your agent is always available and wakes in under a second, but it is never sitting in the background. That is what keeps a flat price honest.
Where can I use it? Any modern browser, on a phone or a computer. On an iPhone you can add it to the home screen so it behaves like an app and can send notifications. A native iPhone app is in development — no date promised yet.
What can it actually do today? Chat that plans and acts; Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Notion, Todoist and messaging channels; notes; reminders that notify your phone; routines that run on a schedule, each with a practice run first; and a browser tool for websites without an API. It works in any browser and installs to the iPhone home screen. More connections are being added now. It will not run software on your computer, and it only ever uses the tools it has been given.
Is there a free plan? Yes. The Free plan is £0: 30 minutes of active compute a month, your own key, and write access through the same approval process as paid — no scheduled runs and no browser tool. It is enough to see what an agent does with your own accounts before you decide.
Keys and models¶
Why do I need my own AI key? Because it makes the pricing honest. Your key pays your provider for the model, at their rates; Bartimaeus charges for the agent only. No bundled tokens, no token meters, no per-run fees. Bring your AI key explains it end to end.
Which provider should I choose? OpenRouter is the recommended starting point — one key gives you access to many models. Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and DeepSeek are also listed first in the wizard, and further providers are below those. Any of them works; the wizard carries each provider's own "Get a key" link.
What will the model cost me? Your provider's published rates, whatever they are — you pay them directly on your provider account, and Bartimaeus adds nothing on top. The model bill page explains where to look and what to watch.
Can I change models later? Yes. The model picker is searchable and lives in Settings and the composer. Switching is instant and reversible.
Is my key safe? Your key is stored encrypted, under a key belonging to your account only. It is never shown to the model, never written to logs, and used only to call the provider you chose. If a key ever leaks, deleting it in the provider's console disables it immediately.
Apps and connections¶
Which apps can I connect? Today: Gmail (read and draft), Google Calendar, Google Drive and Photos, Todoist, Notion and messaging channels. More are being added — the Connecting apps page tracks the current list.
What can it see inside my email? Only what you connect and only what it needs for the task. Bartimaeus connects read-only where a service allows it, and Gmail is read-and-draft only — a draft does not become an email until you tap send.
Will it send emails without me? Never. Sends, shares and posts get their own approval card every single time — never automatic, never bundled together. See the safety model.
How do I switch a connection off? Every connected app has its own kill switch in Settings. Turning it off cuts your agent's access to that service immediately, mid-conversation if needed.
Can it do things on websites with no app? Yes, on paid plans: the browser tool covers deliveries, supermarkets and bookings. Browser sessions are ephemeral — nothing is kept from them — and it hands control back to you if a site asks for a human check.
Safety and approvals¶
Is my data safe? Several layers. It starts read-only — the agent can see only what you connect, and only when it needs to. Anything sensitive pauses and asks you first: you get a notification, and deny is one tap. Gmail drafts stay drafts until you tap send. Every connection has its own kill switch. Your AI key is encrypted and never shown to the model, and Bartimaeus has no access to payments at all.
What happens if I ignore an approval card? Nothing. The card waits for you — it does not time out. The run stays paused until you decide, or until you stop it.
How do I stop it in a hurry? Three ways, all one tap: the stop button ends a running task immediately; a connection's kill switch cuts that app's access; and since nothing runs when idle, there is never a background process to chase.
Could a malicious website or email trick it? Fetched content — pages, emails, documents — is treated as data, never as instructions. Instructions only ever come from you. On top of that, every tool call passes a policy check inside the service; the model cannot approve its own actions.
Pricing¶
What does it cost? The Free plan is £0. Premium is £5.00 a month on the web (£5.99 on the App Store), or £50 a year on the web (£59.99 on the App Store — two months free). Your model key is paid to your provider, not to us. The plans page has the full detail.
Why is it £5 when other AI tools cost $20 or more? Because you bring the model key, there is no token bundle to pay for and no overage to fear — you pay your provider for what you use, at their price. Our price covers the agent itself, and nothing else.
What is metered? Premium is flat: no token meters, no per-run fees. Included are up to eight session-hours a day pooled across your sessions, up to 30 automated starts a day, and an included gateway allowance of 2,000 tool calls a month (with a warning at 70% and a stop-and-notify at 100%). The sessions page explains the model.
Can I cancel or downgrade? Yes, at any time. Downgrading to Free keeps your account and history; you lose scheduled runs and the browser tool, and routines pause rather than disappear. See Upgrade and cancel.
Data and privacy¶
Where is my data kept? On EU servers by design. The Your data page summarises what is stored and where, and links the Privacy Policy — the single canonical source.
Can I delete my data? Yes — in-product deletion and export controls, or by asking. See Delete your data.
When is the iPhone app coming? The web app works on iPhone today, home-screen install and notifications included. The native app is in development; when it is ready, TestFlight details will be shared — no date is promised yet.