Local Ollama or hosted AI API? Choosing a model endpoint for JoeBro

I’m Joe, creator of JoeBro and JoeBro Mobile. One of the choices I wanted to keep visible in JoeBro is where a model runs. The workspace can stay on machines I control while I choose a local Ollama endpoint or a hosted API for a particular conversation.

What happens with Ollama

JoeBro supports Ollama and other OpenAI-compatible endpoints. When I select an Ollama model, the prompt goes to the endpoint I configured. That might be Ollama on the Mac itself, or an Ollama server elsewhere on my network. “Local model” therefore needs a little precision: the Mac may not be the machine doing inference, and another network host still has its own operator and security boundary. I should know where the endpoint lives before sending it private context.

Running inference on hardware I control can keep prompts away from a model vendor, but it also means I choose the model and endpoint capacity myself. The repository does not promise a particular response speed or quality across models. It is a trade between control, convenience, and the hardware and model I am prepared to manage.

What happens with a hosted API

I can instead add a provider API key and select that model. JoeBro stores the key locally, but the prompt still goes to the provider for processing. Local storage of credentials does not make the model request local. The provider's handling of the prompt is governed by that provider's own terms and settings, so I need to decide what content is appropriate to send.

Cloak Mode is on by default. It replaces recognized values such as API keys, passwords, email addresses, payment-card, passport, and account numbers with placeholders before a request leaves the backend. This can reduce exposure of those values, yet the remaining prompt is still sent to whichever endpoint I chose.

My rule is to choose per task: use an endpoint I control when keeping that prompt on my own network matters, or a hosted provider when I accept that data boundary. JoeBro makes that choice possible; it does not make the choice for me.