Zero vs Instinct: Who Owns Your Data

Instinct is the assistant everyone is talking about. It raised $350M at a $2.5B valuation, invite codes trade hands on X, and its pitch is the boldest of the bunch: hand it your phone, your computer, and your logins, and it works between your messages the way a capable person would. It is the most powerful assistant out right now, and by its own account the most exposed.

Zero makes a different bet. It also uses a real web browser, remembers everything across your apps, and finishes jobs that take several steps. But it draws two hard lines Instinct does not: it never trains AI on your data, and it never holds your card. Those aren't just marketing promises. They're built into how Zero works, and they change what each one can and can't do for you.

Every claim about Instinct below comes from its own terms and privacy policy, both last revised August 26, 2026.

Quick comparison

Your data, and who trains on it

This is the sharpest difference between the two, so it's worth being exact.

Zero never trains AI models on your data. There's no opt-out to hunt for in a settings menu, because the training never happens in the first place. It's how Zero is built, not a policy you have to trust and keep an eye on.

Instinct works the other way. Its privacy policy says it uses information collected through your use of the product "to evaluate, fine-tune, and train the AI models that power our products." In plain words, it uses your data to train its AI, and that's on by default. You can opt out at app.instinct.co/settings, and the policy is honest about the fine print: even after you opt out, Instinct may still train on data flagged for safety review, and may keep using models it already trained on your data before you opted out. Two things are left out and never used for training, by its own terms: your Google Workspace data, and anything you put in Instinct's Vault, a locked vault only you can open.

To be fair: Instinct does not serve personalized ads, and its policy says plainly it does not sell your data or hand it to data brokers. The difference isn't that Instinct is careless with your data. It's that Instinct's default is to train its AI on you unless you act, and Zero's default is to never do it at all.

Payments, and who takes the risk

Zero cannot pay for anything on its own. When a task needs money, it gets you all the way to the payment page and sends you a link. You pay the store directly. Zero never saves your card. That's a smaller feature and a deliberate one: if a charge is wrong, that's in your hands, not in the hands of software reading a web page.

Instinct takes your card. Its terms make it your agent to enter into binding deals on your behalf, and it has acted on that: it has paid tolls, lowered a Comcast bill, and bought tickets, some of it without being asked. That's the power people pay for, and it's real. It also carries a risk Instinct names in its own notice, warning that outsiders can bury "misleading instructions" in the content it reads and cause "unintended payments or communications to outside parties." In its first week, someone slipped hidden instructions into a message and tricked it, and it sent an email without approval. Its terms cap what it owes you if something goes wrong at the greater of $100 or six months of fees.

So the payment question is a question about where you want the risk to sit. If you want an assistant to hold your card and buy things while you sleep, Instinct does that and Zero does not. If you'd rather approve the final click yourself, Zero is built around that choice.

Where each one lives

Instinct is a single continuous text thread. It runs on iMessage and WhatsApp, plus phone calls, with no app screen to speak of. That simplicity is part of the appeal. It's also US only, invite only, and limited to users 18 or older.

Zero lives in the chat apps you already use, WhatsApp, Telegram, and across all other social platforms, through an approved business account. It works worldwide, in the apps you already keep open. You can also connect your own accounts on these platforms, so Zero reads and sends on them for you. If a comparison ever comes down to reach, this is where Zero is broader: worldwide and across more of the apps you use, while Instinct is US only.

Memory

Both remember you across conversations, and both treat it as central. Instinct keeps its own memory for each person that shapes how it works for you over time.

Zero's memory is built by Zero itself, and it's the heart of the product. Every conversation you have with Zero, on any app, feeds one memory that gets sharper over time. It keeps three things at once: a timeline of what happened and when it changed, a map that connects the people and projects across your conversations, and a running profile of what you like and how you work. It shows you where it learned something, and when it doesn't know, it says so instead of making something up. On the two standard public tests for this kind of long-term memory, it scores the best of any system, 95.60% on LongMemEval and 93.60% on LoCoMo, which we walk through in our memory research. A memory that actually remembers you is the whole point.

What each one does beyond the basics

Instinct's edge is that it uses your phone and computer like a person would. It runs an always-on computer in the cloud, uses a web browser with your saved logins, and keeps working between your messages. To do that, its policy says it collects a lot: what's on your screen, your documents, your cursor movements, your keystrokes and clicks, your messages, your emails, audio when you turn it on, your location when you share it, health information when a task calls for it, payment info, and the usernames and passwords for the accounts it signs into for you. All that is what makes it capable, and it's the same thing that makes it exposed.

Zero uses a real web browser too, and gives each person one that's theirs alone, not one shared with strangers. You sign in to a site once, and Zero stays signed in for you, so you don't have to do it again. When a site throws up a "prove you're human" check Zero can't get past, it hands you a link to finish that one step, then takes over and finishes the job. Your passwords live in a vault only you can unlock, so nobody at Zero can read them, and Zero signs in for you without ever seeing the actual password. Both products now offer a vault, so that isn't the dividing line. Beyond the browser, Zero handles flights, bookings, research, and sorting your inbox, runs any task you describe in plain words across more than 100 app connections, records and sums up your meetings with a system Zero built itself, and sends a morning rundown of what your day needs. If you'd rather talk than type, the Zero ring is an optional add-on that feeds the same memory.

Where Zero is different

Strip it down and the contrast is two opposite answers to the same question: how much of yourself do you hand over to get the work done?

Instinct's answer is a lot, on purpose. Give it your card, your logins, your screen, and let it act. In return you get an assistant that will pay a bill and buy a ticket without asking twice. It's the most capable thing out there, and it asks you to trust it with the most.

Zero's answer is that you can have the power without handing over the risky parts. It uses the browser, remembers everything, and runs your day, but it never trains on you, it never holds your card, and every account runs in its own private setup, not a shared one. It checks the pages it reads for hidden instructions meant to trick it. The bet is that the one people keep is the one that treats their data like it's theirs.

Who each one is for

Instinct is for the person who wants the most hands-off help and will trade access to get it. You want an assistant that holds your card and buys things for you, you're fine opting out of training yourself if you want to, and being in the US, 18 or older, with an invite isn't a blocker. When it works, it does more with less input from you than anything else here.

Zero is for the person who wants the same day-to-day power but keeps hold of the sensitive parts. You live in WhatsApp or the other Meta apps and want to use it both ways, anywhere in the world. You want one memory that spans every app and shows you where it learned things. You want a browser that's yours alone, and you'd rather approve the payment than hand over your card. And a clear price, free or $18 a month, beats one nobody will tell you.

The verdict

Instinct and Zero are the two most capable products having this argument in public, and they're arguing about the right thing. Instinct proved people will hand over real access, real logins, and a real card to get an assistant that acts on its own. That power is real, and so is the exposure its own notices describe.

Zero's bet is that you don't have to choose between capable and careful. One shared memory across every app, worldwide reach in the apps you already use, a browser that's yours alone, no training on your data ever, and no card in its hands. Same power, fewer things to trust. For a lot of people, that's the version of this they'll keep.

FAQ

Does Instinct or Zero train AI on my data?

Instinct trains on your data by default, according to its own terms and privacy policy, with an opt-out at app.instinct.co/settings and two exceptions: your Vault and Google Workspace data are never used for training. Zero never trains on your data at all, so there's no opt-out to find.

Can either one pay for things on my behalf?

Instinct can. It takes your card, its terms make it your agent for deals that legally bind you, and it has acted on that, sometimes without being asked. Zero cannot pay on its own. It sends you a payment link and you pay the store directly, and it never saves your card.

Which one works on WhatsApp?

Both do. Zero runs in WhatsApp, Telegram, and across all other social platforms, worldwide, through an approved business account. Instinct runs on iMessage and WhatsApp plus phone calls, as a single text thread, and is invite only and US only.

Do both remember me across conversations?

Yes. Instinct keeps its own memory for each person. Zero keeps one memory across every app you use it on, with a timeline of what changed and a note on where it learned each thing, and it tops the public tests for long-term memory. You can read how in our memory research.

Is one more private than the other?

They take opposite defaults. Instinct collects a lot of information so it can use your phone and computer for you, trains on your data unless you opt out, and holds your card, while stating it does not serve ads or sell data. Zero never trains on your data, never holds your card, runs each account in its own private setup, and checks pages for hidden instructions. Zero keeps more of the sensitive controls in your hands.

What does Zero cost, and what does Instinct cost?

Zero is free to start, or Plus at $18 a month ($180 a year), in closed beta and invite only for now. Instinct has no public price; it's free during its invite-only private beta and says paid fees will come when it launches.