| All plans | No audio or transcription leaves the device. Account holders: email (account auth) plus non-identifying usage analytics; crash reports exclude dictated content. | No "The Voibe application processes your voice entirely on your device. No audio is transmitted to our servers at any point." Training25/25 | Audio: not transmitted, not retained. Account email: kept while account is active. Retention25/25 | Yes (only mode) β Whisper models running on Apple Silicon Neural Engine On-device25/25 | New entrant; on-device-only architecture removes the surface for retention or training incidents. Track record23/25 | 98/100Excellent | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Free (Privacy Mode OFF, default) | Audio, transcripts, edits, optional Context Awareness (screen content from active app) | Yes (opt-in) After 2024 community backlash, training is now off by default and requires opt-in. Audio retained indefinitely; 30 days for data passed to third-party LLMs (OpenAI, Meta). Training20/25 | Indefinite for retained dictation data; 30 days for third-party LLM passthrough. Retention3/25 | No β transcription always happens in the cloud, even in Privacy Mode (zero-retention cloud, not local). On-device3/25 | 2024 community backlash forced opt-in training and Privacy Mode; Free tier still indefinite by default. Track record10/25 | 36/100Poor | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| On-device modes (Fast / Nano / Standard / Parakeet β Free + Pro) | None β audio processed locally and never transmitted | No "Your data is not retained on Superwhisper servers" and "not used for training AI models or any other machine learning purposes." Audio recordings are saved to local disk by default β opt out in settings. Training25/25 | N/A on servers. Local recordings persist until the user deletes them. Retention23/25 | Yes On-device25/25 | Stable privacy-first stance; cloud modes added without separate disclosure in the public privacy policy. Track record18/25 | 91/100Excellent | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Cloud modes (Ultra transcription / Super Mode LLMs β Pro) | Audio sent to Superwhisper's proxy infrastructure | No (per vendor) Superwhisper says cloud audio is proxied through their infrastructure, third-party providers don't see user account or content, and there is no training or retention. Cloud-mode handling is not currently distinguished in the public privacy policy from on-device modes β verify the latest with the vendor before sensitive use. Training18/25 | Stated as not retained on servers; not separately documented for cloud modes. Retention13/25 | No On-device3/25 | Stable privacy-first stance; cloud modes added without separate disclosure in the public privacy policy. Track record18/25 | 52/100Weak | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Pro (Gumroad) / Whisper Transcription (App Store) | On-device modes: none transmitted. App Store version discloses "Usage Data" and "Product Interaction" as Data Not Linked to You. Cloud Assistant or BYOK (OpenAI / ElevenLabs) features send audio to those providers under their terms. | No (by MacWhisper) MacWhisper does not train its own models on user audio. Cloud Assistant and BYOK integrations inherit the chosen provider's terms (e.g., OpenAI Whisper API, Anthropic / ElevenLabs). Training23/25 | On-device transcription: not retained. Cloud Assistant / BYOK: per third-party provider's terms. Retention20/25 | Yes (primary mode) β local Whisper models plus Apple Foundation Models for AI features. Cloud Assistant is opt-in for higher-quality transcription. On-device23/25 | Long-running indie tool; on-device by default; no documented incidents. Track record22/25 | 88/100Excellent | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Free / Pro / iOS Pro | Audio inputs, technical data (IP, browser, OS, performance metrics), session metadata. With Privacy Mode disabled, "we may securely store transcript data on our servers." | Yes (opt-out) Privacy Mode toggle stops transcript storage on Aqua Voice servers; with it enabled, "transcript data is not collected" though session metadata may still be. The privacy policy does not explicitly state whether stored transcript data is used for AI training. SOC 2 Type II certified by Advantage Partners. No HIPAA BAA publicly advertised. Training8/25 | With Privacy Mode disabled: not specified in policy. With Privacy Mode enabled: transcripts not stored; session metadata (timestamps, device type, performance metrics) may be retained. Retention0/25 | No β cloud transcription On-device3/25 | SOC 2 Type II via Advantage Partners; privacy policy ambiguous on whether stored transcripts are used for AI training. Track record15/25 | 26/100Poor | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Free / Pro | Audio plus limited contextual information, processed on Typeless's cloud servers. Subprocessors include third-party LLM providers, analytics, and cloud infrastructure. | No (per vendor) Privacy policy: "Your data is never used to train these services and is configured for zero retention by the providers." Note: the November 2025 reverse-engineering analysis documented in our Typeless privacy issues investigation reported collection beyond what the public policy describes β verify against the current policy and subprocessor list before sensitive use. Training15/25 | Per privacy policy, audio + contextual information are "processed in real time on our cloud servers and immediately discarded once the result is returned to your device." Retention23/25 | No β cloud-processed in real time On-device3/25 | Nov 2025 reverse-engineering analysis documented collection (URLs, window-title metadata, broad permissions) beyond what the public policy describes. Track record5/25 | 46/100Weak | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| macOS / iOS (Apple Silicon, supported languages) | Audio inputs, plus contextual data (contacts, app names, etc.) when sent to servers | Opt-in only "Improve Siri & Dictation" must be enabled. Default at setup is to be asked. Training20/25 | If opted in: audio + transcripts kept under a rotating random ID for up to 6 months, dissociated and kept up to 2 years for improvement; reviewed subset retained beyond 2 years. If opted out: not retained for improvement. Retention13/25 | Yes (partially) β most languages on Apple Silicon process locally for general text fields (Notes, Mail, Messages). Server fallback applies to unsupported languages, search-box dictation, and some third-party Speech Recognition API uses. On-device18/25 | 2019 Siri grading scandal led to opt-in for human review; otherwise privacy-forward. Track record18/25 | 69/100Adequate | Apr 27, 2026 | |
| Free Trial / Individual ($12/mo annual = $144/yr, Private Mode default) | Private Mode (default): basic technical and account-related data only β verbatim: "In private mode, Willow only collects basic technical and account-related data needed to run the app and nothing else. No voice, no dictated text." Opt-In Mode: anonymized text and usage data to improve text-correction models. | No (Private Mode default) Private Mode is the default. Training only occurs if the user explicitly opts into Opt-In Mode β "You can allow Willow to collect minimal usage data to help improve our text correction models." This is the inverse of Wispr Flow Free, which had Privacy Mode off by default until the 2024 community backlash. Privacy policy last updated April 30 2025. Training20/25 | Private Mode: no audio or transcript collected on Willow servers. Opt-In Mode: "We keep anonymized text and usage data only as long as needed to train and improve the app." No specific retention window disclosed for the Opt-In path. Retention13/25 | No β cloud-first transcription. The privacy policy's "this is only stored locally on your device for you to view" refers to local UI storage of past transcripts, not local transcription. No offline transcription mode advertised on the current pricing page. On-device5/25 | Newer entrant (YC X25 cohort). Marketing pricing page advertises HIPAA + SOC 2 + zero data retention at the Enterprise tier, but the privacy policy text itself only references "GDPR and SOC 2" β HIPAA / BAA scope is not documented in the policy. Minor discrepancy between marketing claims and policy substantiation. Track record13/25 | 51/100Weak | May 12, 2026 | |
| Free (1,000 words) / Pro ($144/yr) / Every Bundle ($30/mo) | Per the monologue.to data-privacy page: "No audio files or transcripts are saved on our servers," "Deep context screenshots are deleted immediately," "Zero LLM data retention," and "Custom modes and dictionaries stay on your device." The page does not enumerate categories of data collected beyond these statements. | Unknown β policy silent The published monologue.to data-privacy page and the Notion-hosted privacy policy neither explicitly state that user data is used for training nor that it is excluded. This silence is load-bearing: peer cloud dictation products (Wispr Flow, Typeless, Superwhisper, Willow Voice) all explicitly address training one way or the other. Treat as ambiguous until clarified. Training13/25 | Verbatim: "No audio files or transcripts are saved on our servers." "Zero LLM data retention." Deep context screenshots deleted immediately. Custom modes and dictionaries stay on the device. Retention22/25 | Partial β "Offline transcription support" is listed as a feature on both Free and Pro tiers per the monologue.to marketing site, and "Custom modes and dictionaries stay on your device," but the marketing site does not document the architecture (cloud-default with offline fallback vs. on-device-default). On-device13/25 | Indie product (1-person team). Privacy policy hosted on Notion at modern-ton-234.notion.site and is sparse β no list of data categories collected, no subprocessor list, no retention windows beyond the broad "not saved" claims, no SOC 2 / HIPAA / BAA. Training-silence is the load-bearing gap. Track record8/25 | 56/100Adequate | May 12, 2026 | |
| Free build (GPL v3) / Pro $39.99 one-time | None on VoiceInk servers β there is no VoiceInk-operated cloud service in the inference path. Audio is transcribed on-device using whisper.cpp. | No VoiceInk README verbatim: "100% offline processing ensures your data never leaves your device." Marketing site: "privacy-focused dictation app for macOS with local transcription." No telemetry, BYOK cloud feature, or AI-command post-processing service documented at this verification pass. Source code is auditable on GitHub under GPL v3.0. Training25/25 | Nothing leaves the device. No vendor server, no retention surface. Retention25/25 | Yes (only mode) β local Whisper models via whisper.cpp. Apple Silicon native. On-device25/25 | Open-source GPL v3.0; auditable on GitHub at Beingpax/VoiceInk; 4,900+ stars and 675+ forks; 119 releases; latest v1.76 (May 7 2026). No documented incidents. Mild deduction for being a single-maintainer project (continuity risk distinct from privacy risk). Track record22/25 | 97/100Excellent | May 12, 2026 | |