Calvin Wankhede / Android Authority
If you’re in a hurry and need to write an important email or essay, you’ve probably considered using ChatGPT to take off the load. But if you don’t have access to a computer, you might be wondering: does ChatGPT have an app? If you try searching the Android Play Store or iOS App Store, you’ll likely notice a dozens of different apps claiming to connect you with the chatbot. However, you should tread carefully before downloading the wrong one. Here’s why you should proceed with caution.
QUICK ANSWER
Yes, ChatGPT now has an official app for iPhone and Android phones. However, the app may not work in certain countries or with some devices. In that case, you can still access the chatbot on mobile via a web browser. Keep reading to learn more.
Does ChatGPT have an Android or iPhone app?
ChatGPT now has an official iOS app for the iPhone on the App Store. You can also find the Android ChatGPT app on the Google Play Store.
Besides the official apps, you might have also noticed dozens of ChatGPT-named apps on the Play Store and App Store. However, those are unofficial apps that you should try and stay away from. The official app is developed and published by OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
There are several drawbacks to using unofficial ChatGPT apps, including:
- Risk of hacks: A malicious third-party app could capture and store your login information. While this isn’t a major problem on its own since ChatGPT is free to use, it can become problematic if you use the same password for other websites.
- GPT-3 instead of ChatGPT: Many unofficial apps use the less capable and slightly older GPT-3 language model instead of ChatGPT under the hood. This is because OpenAI hasn’t opened up third-party developer access to ChatGPT yet. In practice, you may see lower quality responses.
- Conversation limits: Developers have to pay OpenAI for each response, so you’ll see more aggressive message and character limits with unofficial apps compared to using ChatGPT directly.
That said, some third party apps may offer valuable features like voice dictation and text-to-speech. Still, in our opinion, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits of downloading an untrusted app on your device. Don’t worry, though, we still have a few ways to access ChatGPT on a smartphone without resorting to apps.
How to use ChatGPT on iPhone and Android
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
If you can’t see or download the official app for some reason, the good news is that you can still use ChatGPT via a web browser. Simply navigate to chat.openai.com in an app like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
Alternatively, if you have a Google search bar on your home screen, you can type in ChatGPT there. The first result should take you to the OpenAI login page, as pictured above. You can then sign into your account as you would on a desktop.
Instead of downloading an app, you can add a ChatGPT shortcut on your phone's home screen.
ChatGPT works like a modern web-based app, which means that it automatically fits screens of different sizes (pictured above). You can also add a ChatGPT shortcut to your home screen for easy access. This ensures you don’t have to open a new web browser window each time. On Android, navigate to the ChatGPT website and then tap the three dots menu towards the top-right corner of your screen. Finally, tap Add to Home screen > Add.
For the most part, ChatGPT works just as well on mobile as it does on a full-fledged computer. But if you still find the experience frustrating for some reason, consider using one of the many ChatGPT alternatives instead. A couple of them offer support for dedicated smartphone apps too.
In terms of alternatives, Microsoft Copilot (rebranded from Bing Chat) takes the top position as it’s also powered by OpenAI’s language model. In fact, it uses the more capable GPT-4 model that you would otherwise have to pay extra to access via ChatGPT. Likewise, Google’s Gemini chatbot integrates tightly with Android and you can even invoke it using the “Hey Google” wake word.
FAQs
Yes, ChatGPT offers official mobile apps for iPhone and Android. You can download it on your device’s app store.
To add a ChatGPT shortcut to your device’s home screen, download the official app on your smartphone. Alternatively, navigate to ChatGPT in a web browser, then expand the three-dots menu, and tap Add to Home screen.
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