A practical guide to using AI chatbots without handing over everything you tell them, built on interviews with Johns Hopkins cryptographer Matt Green and Signal creator Moxie Marlinspike. It explains why a chatbot is a better honeypot for your secrets than text messages ever were — most are set by default to store what you say, with few limits on training, sharing, or handing it to a court — and walks through the options that actually reduce the exposure.
Why I recommend it: The clearest plain-language explanation of why this matters, and the best thing to read before you pick any of the tools above. Marlinspike's line is the useful one: the private things people used to text are now the things they tell an AI, and the protections have not caught up. One flag — WIRED meters free articles, so if you hit a sign-in wall, tell me and I will note it on this entry.
AI assistant and agent powered by GLM-5.3-Flash. Can build websites, write code, handle long-horizon tasks and answer questions.
From the site: Meet Z.ai, the AI assistant powered by GLM-5.3-Flash. Build websites, write code, handle long-horizon tasks, and get instant answers. Fast, smart, and reliable.
Why I recommend it: Check current usage limits on site; Z.ai typically offers free access with model-rate limits and may offer paid tiers.
DeepSeek's chat assistant. Free tier gives unlimited messages and file uploads on a daily-reset quota; no payment required. One of the most significant free AI releases of the past two years.
Why I recommend it: Worth trying on reasoning-heavy work and long documents. Note it is a Chinese service — read its data terms before pasting anything confidential.
OpenAI's conversational AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and support tasks. Free tier with message and model limits; paid plans lift them.
Why I recommend it: The single most useful free tool for brainstorming marketing copy and business ideas.
