Perplexity is shipping Hybrid Compute for Perplexity Computer: a workflow that can split a job between a frontier cloud model (examples cited include Opus-class and GPT-5.6 Sol) and a local LLM so confidential material never has to leave the machine. Engadget reports a new privacy classifier that flags files and prompts you should keep local, with local model options including Gemma E4B and Qwen 3.6 35B variants — more local choices promised later.
Hybrid Compute is Mac-first for now (Apple Silicon, macOS 15, 32GB unified memory recommended). Product lead Jon Staff’s framing is user agency: the system suggests a split, but people still decide what crosses into the cloud. For teams that want agentic research tools without a blanket “upload everything” policy, this is the practical middle path.