The Best Private AI for Journalists
Okara is a secure, private, and leak-proof AI chat for journalists and media professionals. Investigations, sensitive sources, scripts, research data, and drafts are kept encrypted and never used for model training.
Powered by the best open-source AI models, self-hosted on Okara
Why Journalists Are Switching to Okara
If you write, investigate, or report on confidential topics, Okara gives you the privacy and control that mainstream AI platforms cannot. With shared intelligence, secure uploads, and real-time research (web, Reddit, X, YouTube), journalists can analyze data faster while protecting sources and sensitive information.
Privacy-First by Design
Most AI tools process or store your data in ways you can't control. Okara takes a fundamentally different approach:
Encrypted-at-rest chat & file storage
Your conversations, uploads, and workspace memory remain encrypted and safe.
Zero training on your data
Your prompts, documents, PDFs, and conversations never train the models.
Client-side key generation
Your private keys never leave your device.
Full data sovereignty
Your ideas remain yours, never repurposed, never harvested.
Okara is Better Than a Single Closed Model
Okara is the best ChatGPT alternative for experts who want flexibility across writing, research, code, design, and analysis.
Latest open-source LLMs
Get access to the latest models from leading open-source LLMs such as Llama, Kimi, GLM, DeepSeek, Mistral, etc.
Real-time Search
Execute web, Reddit, X/Twitter, and YouTube research using AI and prompting.
Multi-model switching
Switch between different AI models inside the same chat interface without losing context.
All types of models
Get access to reasoning models, Coding assistants, Summarization models, Research models, Image generation models, and more.
Collaborative AI for Teams
ChatGPT is designed for personal chats and isolated history. Okara is the first private AI workspace for teams:
Shared AI Chat
Collaborate with your team inside one AI thread.
Shared context
Everyone works with the same information.
Shared memory
The workspace remembers everything allowed inside it.
Shared intelligence
Your team builds a collective AI that compounds knowledge across people, files, and workflows.
Here's How Journalists Are Using Okara
Specialized AI assistance for media professionals
Investigative Reporters
Confidential Research & Source Protection
- Fact-Checking: Verify claims using AI without exposing notes
- Document Analysis: Review leaked or sensitive files securely
- Source Confidentiality: Protect whistleblower information
- Draft Outlines: Create investigative structures without leaks
Newsroom Editors
Faster Editing & Content Management
- Article Summaries: Condense lengthy drafts into quick briefs
- Headline Suggestions: Brainstorm headlines with AI securely
- Style Checks: Ensure writing consistency without exposing drafts
- Editorial Strategy: Develop story angles in private
Broadcast Journalists
On-Air Research & Prep
- Script Drafting: Prepare secure news scripts faster
- Background Research: Summarize policy or event details
- Quote Checks: Verify speech accuracy without public AI tools
- Breaking News: Generate fast context without risking leaks
Freelance Writers
Efficient Writing & Secure Client Work
- Draft Articles: Create structured drafts in private
- Research Support: Summarize reports without plagiarism risks
- Client Reports: Keep client work confidential
- Collaboration: Share drafts selectively with editors
What others are saying about Okara, the best Journalists Alternative
“Okara lets me draft stories and analyze interviews without risking my data. It's the safest AI tool for journalists.”
Daniel R.
Reporter
“We run all our fact-checking and research through Okara. The privacy-first design is essential for our newsroom.”
Megan B
News Editor
“Okara protects all my unpublished work. Finally, an AI that respects the confidentiality journalism requires.”
Olivia C.
Journalist
Simple pricing for everyone
Start free, upgrade when you're ready. No hidden fees, no surprises.
Pro
500 Pro credits (~5000 messages)
Unlimited Lite model usage
Loved by 26,000+ users
Get 20+ latest Open-Source text and image models
Get real-time insights directly in your chats
Founding User
Lifetime Pro access
Only 100 founding member spots available
Become a founding member and get:
Okara Helps You 10X Your Editorial Processes
Transform how you work with AI-powered tools designed specifically for journalists
Research & Analysis
Query AI on reports, datasets, or transcripts with uploaded documents for instant summaries and insights.
Story Drafting
Generate article drafts, headlines, and scripts while keeping all notes and sources private.
Source Confidentiality
Keep all chats private and secure, no training on your data, no third-party access, and data encryption.
Collaborative Edge
Paste transcripts, datasets, or images to create storyboards, timelines, or visual references.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Okara as a Journalists alternative
For professionals and teams needing privacy, compliance, and transparency, Okara is currently the best Journalists alternative. It offers open-source models, encrypted chats, and collaboration features not available in Journalists.
You may need a Journalists alternative if you:
- Work with sensitive data
- Need privacy and encryption
- Prefer open-source AI models
- Want team collaboration features
- Want predictable pricing
- Want more control over your AI workflows
Okara solves all of these pain points.
Yes — Okara is a private, encrypted Journalists alternative. Your chats, files, and documents are encrypted at rest and are never used for model training. Journalists cannot provide this level of privacy.
Okara is built entirely on top of the latest open-source models like Llama, Qwen, Gemma, Mistral, and DeepSeek. This makes it the best open-source-based Journalists alternative for professionals.
Yes. Okara allows multi-member collaboration, shared memory, shared context, document upload, and persistent workspaces — features Journalists does not support in a team-friendly way.
Absolutely. Many professionals use Okara as their default AI tool for:
- Writing
- Research
- Coding
- Data analysis
- Content creation
- Legal / medical analysis
- Brainstorming
- Document workflows
It is designed as a full replacement for Journalists.
Yes — Okara never uses your chats or files for training. Journalists does unless you specifically opt out.
- Full data ownership
- Zero training
- Workspace collaboration
- Role-based access (coming)
- Shared memory
- Integrations roadmap
- Enterprise-ready privacy
Businesses prefer Okara because they get control, transparency, and compliance.
Yes — Okara is a flat $15/month with unlimited usage, making it far more affordable than Journalists's credit-based or usage-based pricing.
Okara is better for privacy-heavy industries because it:
- Encrypts data
- Supports open-source models
- Never trains on your data
- Allows document uploads
- Provides a shared workspace for teams
Professionals working with confidential information overwhelmingly prefer Okara.
Yes. Teams can securely upload a wide range of documents, including:
- PDFs
- DOCX files
- Spreadsheets (CSV, XLSX)
- Presentations
- Images
- Text files
- Research papers
- Case studies
- Product documentation
- Code snippets
These files remain encrypted and private, never used for training any AI models.
Workspace is ideal for:
- Startups & founders needing rapid iteration
- Marketing teams & creative agencies
- Product & UX teams
- Engineering & dev teams
- Research teams & analysts
- Leadership teams for strategy & planning
- Consultants & client-facing teams
- Remote & distributed teams
Any team that collaborates, plans, documents, or solves problems will benefit from Workspace.
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