Private Dictation Privacy Policy

Effective 14 August 2026. This policy describes how the macOS app Private Dictation handles information.

In short

Speech is converted to text on your Mac. We do not operate a speech server, we do not create an account for you, and we do not receive your recordings or transcripts. The Mac App Store privacy label for this app is Data Not Collected.

Who this applies to

This policy covers the Private Dictation application you install from the Mac App Store and this marketing website. Apple, not the developer, processes the store purchase.

What stays on your Mac

Microphone audio captured while you hold a dictation session. It is saved to a temporary file, transcribed locally, and deleted. Never uploaded to us.
The resulting text is copied to the clipboard (and optionally pasted) on your Mac. If you keep History, those entries are stored only in the app’s local data.
Settings such as hotkey, spoken language, and model choice, stored in local preferences (UserDefaults).
The on-device speech model files you download, kept in the app’s Application Support folder inside its sandbox container.

What we do not collect

Audio or transcripts
Analytics, crash reports sent to us, advertising identifiers, or tracking
An account, email, or profile
Precise location or contacts

We do not sell personal information. We do not use your speech for advertising or to train a model we operate.

Permissions the app may request

Microphone — required to record a dictation. Audio is processed on-device.
Accessibility — optional. Used only to paste your transcript into the app you were using (synthetic paste). The app works without it: text is still copied and you can press ⌘V. We do not use Accessibility to read other apps’ documents.

Network use

After you choose a speech model, the app may download that model from the model host. That host may see typical connection data such as IP address and the file requested.

Once the model is on disk, the app does not need the internet. You can use the app offline. We do not send audio or transcripts anywhere.

Purchases

The one-time purchase is processed by Apple. We do not see your payment card, Apple Account password, or billing address. Apple’s privacy policy applies to that checkout.

Changes

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date below. Continued use of the app after a posted change means the new policy applies to that use.

Contact

Questions about privacy for Private Dictation can be sent to the developer through the Mac App Store product page.

Last updated 26 August 2026.