Is Voibe GDPR-compliant?

Yes. Voibe processes only the minimum personal data needed to run your account (email, usage analytics, crash reports) and is registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO ZB977990). With the on-device engine and AI text formatting off on an Apple Silicon Mac, dictated audio and transcripts stay on your device. Optional AI text formatting sends finished text to a zero-retention cloud model with either engine. In zero-retention cloud mode, audio is transcribed by open-source models on zero-retention providers and deleted the moment transcription completes; the text is never stored and never used to train AI.

Does Voibe transfer data outside the EU/UK?

Some of our subprocessors (such as AWS) are based outside the UK. Where personal data is transferred to a country without a UK adequacy decision, we rely on standard contractual clauses or the provider's certification under an applicable data transfer framework. The full list is on our Security page.

How do I exercise my GDPR rights?

Email hi@getvoibe.com to request access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, or data portability. We respond within one month. Note: no dictation content is ever retained. With the on-device engine and AI text formatting off, it stays on your Apple Silicon Mac; in zero-retention cloud mode audio is deleted the moment transcription completes and text is never stored. Either way there is nothing for us to access or erase regarding your dictation — that data lives only on your device.

GDPR Compliance

Voibe is built and operated by Essence AI Ltd, a UK company registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. We process the minimum personal data needed to run your account. In on-device mode with AI text formatting off, dictated content is processed entirely on your Apple Silicon Mac. In zero-retention cloud mode (available on Mac and Windows), audio is transcribed by open-source models on zero-retention providers and deleted the moment transcription completes; nothing is stored and nothing is used to train AI.

This page is a plain-English summary for EU and UK users. The legal version is the Privacy Policy; technical detail on our subprocessors and security posture is on the Security page.

The 30-second version

✓ With on-device transcription and AI text formatting off, dictated content stays on your Apple Silicon Mac. Audio and text do not go to a cloud provider in this setup. In zero-retention cloud mode, audio is deleted the moment it becomes text and is never stored.
✓ UK GDPR registered. Essence AI Ltd, ICO registration ZB977990.
✓ Data minimisation. We collect only email, usage analytics, and crash reports.
✓ You have full GDPR rights over the limited account data we hold.

The architectural advantage

GDPR is concerned with the processing of personal data. With the on-device engine and AI text formatting off, Voibe is designed so that the most sensitive data a dictation tool could touch — the actual audio and the resulting transcripts — never enters our processing chain at all.

✓ Audio is captured and transcribed on your Mac via Apple Silicon's Neural Engine. Voibe (the company) never receives it.
✓ Transcripts are produced locally and inserted into the app you're typing into. We never receive them either.
✓ Workspace context (Developer Mode file/folder names) is scanned locally. Never transmitted.

In this fully local setup, Voibe processes your dictation on your Mac and keeps no cloud copy of the content. Local transcript history remains on your own device. The technical detail is on How On-Device Dictation Works.

In zero-retention cloud mode, dictated audio is processed transiently: it travels over an encrypted connection to our zero-retention speech providers, is transcribed by open-source models, and is deleted the moment transcription completes. The text is returned to your device and is not retained by the provider or used to train AI. Optional AI text formatting also sends finished text to a zero-retention cloud model, even with on-device transcription. How this works end to end is documented on our Cloud AI privacy page.

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What we process and why

The personal data we do process is limited to what's needed to operate the Service.

Data	Purpose	Legal basis
Email address	Account login, licence management, transactional email.	Performance of a contract.
Usage analytics	Understanding how Voibe is used, prioritising improvements.	Legitimate interest.
Crash and error reports	Identifying and fixing application bugs.	Legitimate interest.
Dictated audio (cloud transcription) and text (optional AI formatting)	Transcription and optional text formatting by zero-retention providers; audio is deleted after transcription and formatted text is not retained.	Performance of a contract.
Marketing emails	Product news and updates (only if you opt in).	Consent.

The full description, including who processes what on our behalf, is in the Privacy Policy.

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Legal bases

Under Article 6 of the UK and EU GDPR, every act of processing personal data needs a lawful basis. We rely on three:

• Performance of a contract — for processing your email so we can give you a working account, deliver receipts, and manage your licence.
• Legitimate interest — for usage analytics and crash reporting needed to understand and improve the Service. Balanced against your reasonable expectations as a paying user of a dictation app.
• Consent — for any marketing communications, which you can withdraw at any time.

We do not process special category data, and Voibe is not intended for under-18 users.

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Your rights

Under UK and EU GDPR, you have the right to:

→ Access the personal data we hold about you.
→ Rectify data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
→ Erase your data, subject to any legal retention obligations (e.g. tax records).
→ Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
→ Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
→ Data portability for the data you've provided to us.
→ Withdraw consent at any time, where consent is the basis for processing.

To exercise any of these rights, email hi@getvoibe.com. We respond within one calendar month.

One thing to note about access and erasure: dictation content (audio, transcripts, Memory entries) is not retained by us. On-device transcription keeps audio local; cloud transcription processes it transiently and deletes it after transcription. Optional AI text formatting processes text in the cloud with either engine without retaining it. Your local transcript history and Memory entries remain on your computer. To remove it, delete it from Voibe on your computer.

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International transfers

Some of our subprocessors are based outside the United Kingdom and the EU, primarily in the United States. The list of subprocessors is on the Security page.

Where personal data is transferred to a country without a UK or EU adequacy decision, we rely on appropriate safeguards — typically standard contractual clauses, or the provider's certification under an applicable data transfer framework.

The personal data covered by these transfers is the limited account data described above (email, usage analytics, crash reports), plus transient audio for cloud transcription and finished text when optional AI text formatting is enabled. To keep dictated content on your Apple Silicon Mac, select the on-device engine and turn AI text formatting off.

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Data Controller and contact

Data Controller: Essence AI Ltd (trading as Voibe)

Registered in England and Wales, Company No. 16349308
ICO registration no. ZB977990

Contact for GDPR requests: security@getvoibe.com

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. UK users can contact the Information Commissioner's Office. EU users can contact their national DPA.