FAQ

Is Hermit free?

Yes. There’s no subscription, no account and no ads. You pay the network fees a chain charges, and a swap carries its route’s own costs, which the review shows before you approve. Private Cloud in our TestFlight builds comes with 30 free messages a day per device. With your own NEAR AI Cloud key you pay NEAR AI for what you use.

Which iPhones and Macs does it run on?

iPhones on iOS 26, and Apple silicon Macs on macOS 26. The iPhone 15 Pro and newer run the full Hermit 1.2 model. iPhones with 6 GB of memory get Hermit 1.1 Lite. Lite asks for 5 GB, so on a 4 GB iPhone like the iPhone 12 or 13 the Models list shows “Needs 5 GB of memory”, and Private Cloud is the way to chat.

Why is the download 2.3 GB?

That’s the model. Hermit 1.2 is a 4-billion-parameter model squeezed to 4 bits, and it has to live on your device so your chats can stay there. Lite is about 1 GB. It downloads once, checks every piece against a hash built into the app, and keeps going in the background. More on first launch.

Does it work offline?

Chat does. Once the model is on your device, turn on Airplane mode and ask something, and it still answers. Prices, balances, quotes and anything that moves money need the network, because they come from the chains and markets themselves.

Is it custodial?

No. Your recovery phrase is made on your device and sealed with a key in its Secure Enclave. It never syncs to iCloud and never reaches us, and every signature needs Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. See keys and recovery.

Can you see my chats?

No. We don’t run a server that sees your chats or your wallet, and there’s no analytics. On-device chats stay on the device. In Private Cloud mode your message goes to a NEAR AI Cloud enclave, only after your device has checked the enclave’s proof. The full list is on what leaves the device.

Why is it on mainnet?

Because the things Hermit does only exist there. NEAR Intents, Hyperliquid, Jupiter and Aave are the real ones, and a pretend version wouldn’t tell you whether it works. Real swaps move real money, so start with a small amount.

What’s a dry quote?

A price check that creates nothing. You see what you’d get, the cost and the time, but there’s no deposit address, so there’s nothing you could send money to. When you ask Hermit “how much NEAR would 10 USDC on Base get me?”, that’s a dry quote. A live quote, with an address made for you, only comes when you tap Review. See NEAR Intents.

Why won’t the assistant prepare more than $100?

That’s the assistant’s cap per move. It’s there so a confused model, or a web page trying to trick it, can’t put a big move in front of you. You can still make bigger moves yourself on the Swap and Send screens, up to your daily limit. Ask for “swap 500 USDC on Base to NEAR” and it says no and tells you why.

How do I change my limits?

The assistant’s cap is in Wallets, the Security tab, under Assistant cap: $25, $100 or $250. Your daily limit is in Settings, Safety, from $100 to $10,000 a day. It’s $500 to start, and it counts the last 24 hours, not the calendar day. See spending policy.

What if I lose my phone?

Your recovery phrase is the only way back. On a new iPhone or Mac, install Hermit, open Wallets, pick Import a recovery phrase and type your words. You get the same addresses, NEAR account included. Nobody can open your wallet on the lost phone without your Face ID or passcode, but if you think someone has both, move your funds to a new wallet.

Is there an Android or Windows version?

No. Hermit is iPhone and Mac only. It leans on the Secure Enclave, Face ID and Touch ID, and Apple’s MLX to run the model, so it isn’t a quick port.

Something’s broken

Try troubleshooting, which uses the app’s exact words as headings. Paste what the app said into search. If it’s still stuck, email [email protected].