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). In on-device mode, your dictated audio and transcripts are processed entirely on your Mac and never reach our infrastructure. 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. In on-device mode it never reaches us at all; 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, dictated content is processed entirely on your Mac — so it never enters our processing chain in the first place. In zero-retention cloud mode (used on Windows and Intel Macs), 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

✓ In on-device mode, dictated content stays on your Mac. No GDPR processing of audio or transcripts by Voibe — there's nothing to process. 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. In on-device mode, 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.

Because Voibe in on-device mode doesn't collect or process the dictation content, there's no GDPR processing record to keep for it, no data subject access request to fulfil for it, and no breach exposure on our side for it. 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 never stored or used to train AI. 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 mode only)	Transcription by zero-retention providers; deleted the moment transcription completes, never stored.	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 never held by us in either mode. In on-device mode it is processed and stored on your Mac; in zero-retention cloud mode audio is deleted the moment transcription completes and text is never stored. There is nothing for us to produce or delete in respect of your dictation content — it lives entirely on your device. 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, in cloud mode only, the transient audio that is deleted the moment transcription completes. In on-device mode your dictation content never leaves your Mac.

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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.