Perplexity has launched hybrid compute for its Mac app, a feature designed to protect user privacy by automatically detecting sensitive information and processing it locally while offloading non-sensitive tasks to the cloud. The system uses on-device AI to identify personal data such as names and phone numbers, then routes those elements to local processing to prevent them from leaving the user's Mac. Following its March 2026 announcement about controlling other Mac apps, Perplexity says this update enhances both privacy and performance.

Hybrid Compute allows users to split AI tasks between cloud and local models, with a privacy gate that can mask, block, or request consent for sensitive data before it reaches the cloud. Users can choose to keep private information on device or allow cloud processing. The feature relies on Perplexity's new PII-TRACE benchmark to evaluate its personally identifiable information detection accuracy.

Available now in the Perplexity Mac app, the update reflects the company's effort to balance powerful AI capabilities with user trust and data security.