Frequently Asked
Questions

ByteChat is a BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) multi-AI chatroom — meaning you connect your own API keys from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more, with no ByteChat markup. Chat with multiple AI models simultaneously in a single conversation, @mention a bot to address it directly, and watch all responses stream in real time. Learn more about BYOK →

BYOK stands for Bring Your Own Key. Instead of paying ByteChat to access AI models, you connect directly to AI providers using your own API keys. Your keys are stored locally in your browser — they never touch our servers. You pay providers directly at their published rates, with no ByteChat markup.

You can try ByteChat with a free account — no API key and no credit card required. Sign up takes under 30 seconds. Demo mode gives you 15,000 characters of conversation across two pre-configured bots (GPT and Claude). Once you hit the limit, you can add your own API key to continue with unlimited usage.

Each AI provider has their own key page:

• Anthropic (Claude) — console.anthropic.com
• OpenAI (ChatGPT) — platform.openai.com
• Google (Gemini) — aistudio.google.com
• DeepSeek — platform.deepseek.com
• Grok (xAI) — console.x.ai
• Perplexity — perplexity.ai

Most providers give free credits to get started. OpenAI and Anthropic typically give $5–18 of free credits — enough for hundreds of conversations.

API usage costs vary by provider and model, but is typically much cheaper than subscription plans for moderate users. For example, GPT-4o-mini costs about $0.15 per million input tokens — a typical conversation message is around 200 tokens, meaning $1 gets you roughly 3,000 message exchanges. Claude Haiku is similarly priced. You only pay for what you use, with no monthly minimum.

Type @BotName at the start of your message to address a specific bot. For example: @Claude explain quantum computing. If you have only one bot in the chatroom, you don't need to @mention — just type your message and it routes automatically. With multiple bots, you can @mention more than one to get concurrent responses: @Claude @Gpt which is better for coding?

Yes — this is ByteChat's core feature. @mention multiple bots in one message and all of them respond simultaneously, each streaming their answer into their own bubble. Long responses collapse to keep the conversation readable, and you can expand any response with a tap.

Tap any bot bubble to reveal the action bar, then tap Reply. A quote strip appears in the input showing the first few words of that bot's response. Your reply is sent to that specific bot with the context of what it said — the bot receives its own prior message as reference, not the entire multi-bot conversation.

Yes — two ways. Right-click (desktop) or long-press (mobile) on any bot chip above the input to open a live model picker for that bot. Alternatively, tap + bots → tap edit next to any bot → select a new model → save. Either way a notification pill appears in the thread marking the model change.

Tap the ■ Stop button that appears below the input while bots are responding. This immediately aborts all active streams — stopping token generation and spend at the provider side.

Your API keys are stored exclusively in your browser's localStorage — on your device only. They are never sent to ByteChat's servers, never stored in any database, and never logged. The only time a key leaves your device is when it's passed directly to the AI provider's API endpoint in the request header, via our stateless proxy.

No. Your conversation messages are passed through our Cloudflare Worker proxy to your chosen AI provider and back. The Worker does not log, store, or process message content — it only relays the stream. Conversations are stored in your browser's localStorage and never leave your device unless you're sending them to an AI provider.

Clearing browser data (localStorage) will remove all saved conversations, bot configurations, and API keys from that browser. Your API keys themselves remain valid with the provider — you simply need to re-enter them. Cross-device sync and cloud backup are planned for a future release.

We recommend using ByteChat only on your personal devices. API keys stored in localStorage are accessible to anyone with physical access to your browser on that device. Always sign out of the browser session when using a shared computer, and consider using a browser profile dedicated to ByteChat.

The Starter plan is free forever with your own API key. It includes unlimited conversations, up to 3 bots, basic messaging features, dark/light theme, and conversation history. To unlock concurrent multi-bot streaming, unlimited bots, and panel view, upgrade to Plus.

Both Plus ($6/mo) and Pro ($14/mo) include unlimited bots, concurrent streaming, and all core features. Pro adds priority support, early access to new features, higher rate limits for API calls through our proxy, and any future team/collaboration features. For most individual users, Plus is the right choice.

Yes. Cancel anytime from your Account Settings → Manage Billing. You'll retain access until the end of your current billing period. No questions asked, no cancellation fees.

We offer a full refund within 7 days of your first payment if ByteChat doesn't meet your expectations. Contact us at support@bytechat.io. After 7 days, we handle refund requests on a case-by-case basis.

Yes — these are two separate bills. ByteChat charges a flat platform fee (free, $6/mo, or $14/mo). Your AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) charges separately for API usage at their published per-token rates. ByteChat adds zero markup to provider costs.

ByteChat currently supports 8 providers: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), DeepSeek, Grok by xAI, Perplexity AI, Kimi by Moonshot AI, and Qwen by Alibaba. More providers are added regularly — request one at support@bytechat.io.

Yes. ByteChat is fully optimised for mobile browsers — Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. The sidebar collapses into a drawer, the input prevents iOS zoom, and all interactions are touch-friendly. Native iOS and Android apps are in development.

You can attach text-based files (TXT, Markdown, CSV, JSON, Python, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, etc.) to any message. The file content is injected into the API call as context. Image and PDF attachments are planned for a future release.

ByteChat currently stores conversations in your browser's localStorage, which is device and browser specific. Cross-device sync is on the roadmap. For now, you can continue conversations on the same device and browser where you started them.