Does audio leave the Mac during transcription?

In the standard local-Whisper transcription path, no. The Whisper model runs on the Mac and the audio file is fed to it directly. Without explicitly using a cloud model option (if the app version you have offers one), the audio leg stays on the device.

Does the transcript leave the Mac?

Only if you use the AI features. Summarisation, chat-over-a-transcript and similar features call out to cloud LLM providers and send transcript text as part of the prompt. Disabling those features, or simply not using them, keeps the transcript leg on the Mac as well.

What is the difference between MacWhisper and a dictation app that is on-device end-to-end?

Parakeety has no AI cleanup features and no cloud model options. The audio leg and the transcript leg both stay on the Mac because the app contains no other data path. MacWhisper can be configured to that posture by disabling the AI features, but the cloud paths are part of the product surface either way.

← Resources

Is MacWhisper on-device?

Short answer: the core transcription is on-device. MacWhisper runs Whisper models locally on the Mac. The complication is the layer of AI features around the transcript (summaries, chat over a transcript) that send transcript text to cloud LLM providers. The audio leg is local by default; the transcript leg can leave the device through the AI features.

The two legs of dictation data

Most "is X on-device" questions only consider the audio leg: where is the speech model running, and where is the audio file being processed. That is the right starting question, but it is not the whole picture. For an app like MacWhisper that adds post-processing on top of the transcript, the transcript leg is also data that can leave or stay on the Mac.

The audio leg in MacWhisper, for the local Whisper transcription path, stays on the Mac. The transcript leg stays on the Mac if you do not use the AI features. The transcript leg leaves the Mac, to a cloud LLM provider, when you do use the AI features. Both legs being on-device is the configuration you want for privacy-sensitive use; only the first being on-device is the default.

Why this distinction matters for sensitive content

For Protected Health Information, privileged matter or any NDA-bound content, the transcript itself is sensitive. A clinician dictating a SOAP note has audio with patient information and a transcript with patient information. A solicitor dictating an attendance note has audio of privileged matter and a transcript of privileged matter. Both legs need to be treated as sensitive data.

MacWhisper used in the AI-features-on configuration sends the transcript to a cloud LLM, which means the practice or firm now has a third party in the data flow even though the audio never left the Mac. That is fine for non-sensitive content; for sensitive content it brings the same Business Associate Agreement and data-processing-agreement conversations that apply to any cloud handling of regulated material.

The architectural framing for why this matters is in HIPAA and dictation: architectural vs contractual privacy.

The end-to-end on-device alternative

Parakeety has no AI features and no cloud model options. The audio leg and the transcript leg both stay on the Mac because the app contains no other data path. A user cannot accidentally route sensitive content to a cloud LLM by leaving a toggle on, because the toggle does not exist.

The trade is the usual one: a smaller feature surface for a smaller compliance surface. The product comparison is in Parakeety vs MacWhisper.

FAQ

Is MacWhisper on-device?: For the core transcription, yes. MacWhisper runs Whisper models locally on the Mac; audio is fed to a model on your machine and the transcript comes back. The AI features layered on top of the transcript (summaries, chat over a transcript) send transcript text to cloud LLM providers, which is a separate leg of data that does leave the device.
Does audio leave the Mac during transcription?: In the standard local-Whisper transcription path, no. The Whisper model runs on the Mac and the audio file is fed to it directly. Without explicitly using a cloud model option (if the app version you have offers one), the audio leg stays on the device.
Does the transcript leave the Mac?: Only if you use the AI features. Summarisation, chat-over-a-transcript and similar features call out to cloud LLM providers and send transcript text as part of the prompt. Disabling those features, or simply not using them, keeps the transcript leg on the Mac as well.
What is the difference between MacWhisper and a dictation app that is on-device end-to-end?: Parakeety has no AI cleanup features and no cloud model options. The audio leg and the transcript leg both stay on the Mac because the app contains no other data path. MacWhisper can be configured to that posture by disabling the AI features, but the cloud paths are part of the product surface either way.

Try Parakeety

Parakeety is a Mac menu-bar app. Hold the section key, talk, release; your words paste at the cursor in whichever app you were typing into. Audio never leaves the machine. There is a free 7-day trial with no card required. After that it is $30 once.

Try Parakeety free →