Danish entrepreneurs launch GDPRchat, another European alternative to ChatGPT
The demand for European AI is overwhelming.
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- Danish firm FRITS AI Aps launched GDPRchat, an AI assistant designed to keep user data within Europe.
- The chatbot uses Mistral AI’s large language model and is hosted in Germany.
- GDPRchat targets European privacy concerns over US services, including fears about foreign law enforcement access to data.
- High demand has delayed immediate sign-ups, putting new users on a waiting list while the company scales capacity.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The Danish alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT promises to keep data within the EU borders and ensure robust European privacy rights.
As its name suggests, the AI assistant is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the landmark EU data protection law.
It integrates the large language model (LLM) from Mistral AI, the leading French AI company, and is hosted on the infrastructure of Hetzner, a German cloud hosting company.
GDPRchat relies on the US-based Brave search engine for web searches, but the company says it receives only query text, stripped of any identifiers, such as account data and IP addresses. The queries are sent from European servers.
Lars Kolind, a chairman of the Copenhagen-based company FRITS AI Aps, which is behind the GDPRchat, wrote in a Facebook post that the assistant stores data in Europe, unlike its American counterparts, which lack transparency about data use.
“My data is mine, and mine alone. That’s why I use European instead of American AI,” he wrote.
Kolind’s statement echoes growing concerns across Europe. US laws, such as the 2018 Cloud Act, compel American companies to hand over data requested by law enforcement, regardless of the targets' nationality.
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At the same time, ChatGPT remains the most used chatbot in Europe, followed by Google’s Gemini and Microsoft Copilot. This illustrates the challenges European chatbots, including Mistral’s Vibe, face when competing with American technologies.
How can I use GDPRchat?
The chatbot can be used by anyone aged 16 or older and is available on both the Google Play Store and the App Store.
However, immediate sign-up is currently impossible due to “overwhelming” demand, which, according to the company, will be addressed by scaling up its capabilities. New joiners are currently put on the waiting list.
GDPRchat offers both a free plan with a daily credit allocation that resets each day and paid plans with higher credit limits and additional features.
The company says the chatbot does not use any third-party analytics, tracking, or advertising services.
Moreover, its compliance with GDPR allows users to access information about the data processed by the platform and to request deletion of their account and associated data.
