Online models and plans
Online models are optional. A paid plan adds frontier models from multiple providers and web search with cited sources - the local app never depends on any of it, and canceling changes nothing local.
How it works
Online models need your Flowsta identity, which lives in the Flowsta Vault on your device: free, about two minutes to set up, 24 recovery words to keep on paper, and no password for the Vault itself - nobody can lock you out. Settings and the Online Models page tell the same story before you click; Get Flowsta Vault opens a handoff page that brings you back to Your Own AI the moment the Vault is ready.
Then choose a plan, and the Online Models page lists the catalog: filter by chat, web search, or coding; every card shows its context window and prices per million tokens up front, plus any per-request or per-search fees. Pause any model to keep routing away from it.
Which model takes which job
An Online and Offline AI sends each question to the online model for its job - Everyday questions (GPT-5.6 Luna by default), Hard questions, Needs current information, and for projects Agent work and Planning. Each has a recommended model you can change in Routing settings. The recommendations follow the online catalog: a model the catalog marks as the default for a job takes that slot, so new models and providers arrive without an app update.
Privacy, plainly
Your message is forwarded through Flowsta's relay to the provider with your identity stripped - the provider receives the content but not who you are. The relay passes messages through without storing or logging them; only usage amounts (model, tokens, cost) are recorded for billing. Attachments stay on your device unless you turn on one setting - see Attachments and images - and health questions go online only as an asked-every-time choice (Health questions).
Allowance and metering
Each plan includes a monthly usage allowance that resets on the 1st. Usage beyond it is metered at the rates shown in the app, with an overage opt-in you control from your Flowsta identity page. Monthly plans bill on the 1st, first month prorated.
When the allowance runs out mid-conversation, the app shows a plain notice with your options - enable overage, upgrade, or wait for the reset. Everything local keeps working regardless.
How overage is billed
Past your allowance you pay the same rates. Your card is charged whenever accrued overage reaches $100, and again at month end. If a charge fails, online models pause past your allowance until the invoice is paid - the Flowsta identity section in Settings says so, names the month and the amount, and offers Pay the invoice. Use within your allowance, and everything local, keeps working.