How does VibeFree make AI free?

VibeFree is funded entirely by advertising, not subscriptions. Labelled sponsored units appear while the assistant works, beside its replies, as a suggested next step and on the new-chat screen - never inside an answer. That ad revenue pays for the AI usage behind every conversation, so chatting and coding stay free with no bill to you, ever.

This page is the mechanism: how an ad is chosen, what VibeFree reads to choose it, when no ad is shown, and the three choices you have over it. For whether VibeFree costs anything at all, see is VibeFree really free?; for how ad funding compares with subscriptions, credits and metered APIs, see a no-subscription LLM.

One auction for every ad

  • Every ad slot is filled by one auction. VibeFree's own advertisers' campaigns bid in it, and - only if you have consented - so do the external ad networks. Whichever ad is expected to earn VibeFree most is shown, ours or theirs. Without your consent only our own campaigns bid.
  • Two funding paths exist depending on which model you use: the default DeepSeek model is funded by that auction; the gpt-oss-20b model runs on VibeFree's own house ads and a free daily token allowance. On this website a gpt-oss-20b turn still asks the external networks on DeepSeek's behalf if you have consented; in the VS Code extension, the desktop app and the mobile app it does not. The desktop app never asks an external network at all.
  • When no advertiser can pay for a turn, you move to gpt-oss-20b and your free daily tokens, and you are told on screen that it happened. Nothing is ever charged to you.

What VibeFree reads to choose an ad

To show an ad that fits what you are doing, each new message you send is read by an automated classifier that runs on VibeFree's own Cloudflare infrastructure. It produces a few labels from a fixed list - what you are doing (building, debugging, deploying), the languages and frameworks named, what the project needs (authentication, a database, payments) and its stage. Only the labels are kept, never the message, against your account for 30 minutes, and they are used to choose and rank VibeFree's own advertisers' ads. Advertisers never see your messages or your labels; they see totals per label, and only from 50 views up. This runs on legitimate interests, and you can object to it at any time (below). Ads and your chat sets out exactly what is read and kept, and where these checks can fall short.

When no ad is shown

  • A crisis. If a message reads as a crisis - self-harm, abuse, an emergency - it and the next few messages get only untargeted ads of our own - no ad network is asked, and no sensitive-tier campaign runs. All that is recorded is a counter, kept for up to 24 hours. This check runs even if you have objected to contextual ads.
  • Sensitive topics. Messages about health, mental health, sexuality, religion, politics, money worries, addiction or legal trouble are never used to target ads. When the classifier recognises one, ads beside it are chosen without labels, some sensitive business categories are never shown, and no external network is asked about that message. The check is automatic and can miss things: it finishes while the reply is being written, so the ad shown while the reply loads can be chosen before it does, and it does not run at all if you have switched contextual ads off. That is why the consent banner still says that anything you write can reach a network if you consent - ads and your chat has the detail.
  • Sponsored actions. A sponsored follow-up chip or code template is never offered to an agent running on auto-approve, or to a turn you sent from Remote Control, and it only ever does anything when you pick it.

Your three choices

  • Contextual ads - on unless you object. Turn them off in Data controls on the web and mobile apps, in Settings on the desktop app, or from the account menu in VS Code. From then on none of your messages is labelled for ads, labels already held are deleted at once, and you still see ads, chosen without them. It is an objection under Article 21 of the UK GDPR, set on your account, so every device honours it.
  • Personalised ads - off unless you switch them on. If you do, VibeFree keeps a small profile built from the topic labels of your messages - the languages and frameworks you use and how experienced you seem - and remembers which advertisers' ads you clicked, for 90 days, so advertisers can show you their ads again or reach people like you. Advertisers never see the profile or learn whether you are in an audience, sensitive topics never feed it, and it fades after 180 days without use. Switching it off deletes the profile and the remembered clicks at once. Same places as above.
  • External ad networks - only with consent. You are asked once - in the web app, the mobile app and VS Code - whether external networks may bid; the desktop app never asks a network. This is the only one of the three that sends your conversation outside VibeFree, and it is set out in full below.

Every first-party ad also has a menu with "Why this ad?", which shows exactly which targeting matched, plus hide and report. What you hide is stored on your account and applies on every device; you can clear it in Data controls.

The external networks, if you consent

  • There are three external networks: Thrads Corp, added on 8 September 2026; Koah Labs, added on 24 September 2026; and Adgentek, LLC, added on 4 September 2026 in place of the network used before. They are separate companies under separate agreements. If you have consented, all three are asked about every message you send - and again, at most every 30 seconds, while the ads beside a long answer refresh - even when VibeFree's own campaigns are available, and they bid in the same auction as those campaigns. Adgentek and, since 7 October 2026, Koah Labs handle what they are sent on VibeFree's instructions and only to choose an ad; Thrads Corp has no contract with VibeFree that says so.
  • If you consent, the conversation - your messages and the assistant's replies - is sent to Adgentek and Thrads Corp so the ad that comes back is relevant, along with a random session id; Koah Labs is sent the message you just wrote together with the first message of that chat. Adgentek uses OpenAI, Anthropic or Google to do the matching, so your conversation reaches one of them too. Your name, email, payment details and files are not sent.
  • Thrads Corp is contacted by VibeFree's own servers, not your browser, so it runs no code on your device and sets no cookies. It does receive your IP address and your browser and device type, which it requires from any publisher calling it from a server.
  • Adgentek runs its own code in your browser. Since 17 September 2026 this website loads Adgentek's script into the page from adgentek.ai once you have consented, and your browser sends it the recent messages of your chat directly - which is how it learns your IP address and browser. Its server can set a cookie named uid on adgentek.ai, lasting about 90 days: the one advertising cookie on this site. While its ad is on screen your browser also loads the advertiser's tracking pixels. VibeFree draws the ad itself and hands the script a random session id that lives only as long as the page is open, so the script stores none of its own.
  • Koah Labs also runs its own code in your browser. Since 24 September 2026 this website loads Koah's script from koah.ai once you have consented; your browser sends it the message you just wrote and the first message of that chat, which is how it learns your IP address and browser, and the script draws the ad into the page itself. It can store data on your device.
  • There is no data processing agreement with Thrads Corp, and if you consent it is sent your conversation anyway. Its agreement promises only to enter one "if required", so unlike Adgentek and Koah Labs (whose agreement, with standard contractual clauses and the UK addendum, dates from 7 October 2026) there are no contractual data protection terms, standard contractual clauses or UK transfer agreement behind it. One has been asked of Thrads Corp.
  • Declining means you only see ads VibeFree sells directly, and costs you no model or feature. Consent covers the external networks only: contextual labelling and personalised ads are the separate choices above. The Cookie Policy sets out every detail of what is sent and how to withdraw consent.

Advertisers buy their place in the same auction through a self-serve console - see how advertising on VibeFree works.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I decline the ad-consent banner?

Your account, your data, and every other feature are unaffected - declining costs you no model and no feature. It means we ask no external ad network for anything, neither Adgentek's nor Koah Labs' script is ever loaded into the page, and you only see ads VibeFree sells directly. The practical effect is that when VibeFree's own campaigns run out, you move to the gpt-oss-20b model and your free daily tokens sooner than you otherwise would. The external networks are Adgentek, LLC, Thrads Corp and Koah Labs, and consenting means the conversation itself is sent to them - so declining is the option to take if you would rather an advertising company did not read your chats.

Which external ad networks does VibeFree use?

Three, under separate agreements: Adgentek, LLC, added on 4 September 2026 in place of the network used before; Thrads Corp, added beside it on 8 September 2026; and Koah Labs, added on 24 September 2026. The web app asks all three for every message you send, once you have consented.

Do the ad networks set cookies or run code in my browser?

Adgentek does both on this website. Since 17 September 2026 its own script is loaded into the page from adgentek.ai once you consent, your browser sends it the messages of your chat directly, and its server can set a cookie named uid on adgentek.ai lasting about 90 days - the one advertising cookie on this site. Koah Labs also runs its own script in the page, loaded from koah.ai: your browser sends it the message you just wrote and the first message of that chat, the script draws the ad itself, and it can store data on your device. Thrads Corp does neither: it is asked by VibeFree's own servers, which receive the ad as data, so it runs no code on your device and sets no cookies.

Is there a data processing agreement with every network?

With Adgentek, LLC, yes, with contractual data protection terms behind it. With Thrads Corp, no - their agreement promises only to enter one "if required", so there are no standard contractual clauses and no UK transfer agreement behind them, and if you consent the conversation is sent to them anyway. One has been asked for. With Koah Labs, yes since 7 October 2026, with standard contractual clauses and the UK addendum. If the Thrads Corp position is a reason to refuse, refusing costs you nothing.

Does VibeFree read my messages to choose ads?

An automated classifier on VibeFree's own infrastructure reads each new message and turns it into a few topic labels - what you are doing, the stack, what the project needs. Only the labels are kept, for 30 minutes, and only VibeFree uses them; advertisers never see your messages or your labels. Messages on sensitive personal topics, and any message that reads as a crisis, are never used to target, and no ad network is asked about them.

How do I turn off contextual or personalised ads?

Contextual ads are on unless you object: turn them off in Data controls on the web and mobile apps, in Settings on the desktop app, or from the account menu in VS Code, and the labels already held are deleted at once. Personalised ads are off unless you switch them on, in the same places, and switching them off deletes your ad profile. Neither choice changes whether you are asked about external networks, which is a separate consent.

Can I advertise on VibeFree?

Yes - advertisers buy their place in the same auction through a self-serve console. See the Advertisers page, or start a campaign directly.

Related pages