Private dictation checklist: trace audio and text through the whole workflow
A private dictation claim is only as strong as its complete data map. Trace raw audio, temporary files, transcript, history, clipboard, optional formatting, diagnostics, backups, account identifiers, and the destination app. “Local transcription” answers one important question, not every privacy question.
Quick verdict
Verify where raw audio is processed first. Then inventory transcript storage, history, clipboard, formatting providers, telemetry, crash reports, license calls, model downloads, backups, and destination applications. Disable what is unnecessary, test with non-sensitive content, and obtain qualified legal and security review for regulated or high-risk use.
Verdict by role
Individual user
Check the active model and optional features
A local model can reduce audio transfer, but history, clipboard, and target apps still matter.
IT or security reviewer
Require a versioned data-flow inventory
Claims should map data category, recipient, purpose, retention, access, and deletion.
Regulated organization
Treat this as intake, not approval
Contracts, law, configuration, identity, endpoint security, and organizational controls need specialist review.
Decision criteria
Data inventory
List audio, transcript, prompts, history, logs, identifiers, licenses, payment, diagnostics, and support artifacts.
Processing and recipients
Identify local processes, vendors, subprocessors, destinations, and user-enabled providers.
Storage and deletion
Record location, encryption, retention, export, backups, and whether deletion propagates.
Controls and evidence
Check defaults, opt-ins, network behavior, permissions, policy enforcement, documentation, and incident response.
| Data | Question | Evidence | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw audio | Where is inference? | Docs and observed traffic | Local model or approved endpoint |
| Transcript | Where is it stored? | History and file settings | Disable, limit, delete |
| Formatted text | Which provider receives it? | Provider configuration | Off by default or approved |
| Destination | Where does pasted text go? | App policy | Access and retention |
| Diagnostics | What leaves on failure? | Privacy and logs | Redaction and opt-out |
Start at microphone capture
Check OS microphone permission, selected input device, recording duration, temporary files, memory handling, and whether a fallback changes processing when local inference fails.
Do not assume the visible model name proves which path is active. Use product documentation and safe network observation where authorized.
Follow the transcript after recognition
Inspect local history, clipboard managers, autosave, search indexes, backups, crash logs, and support bundles. The transcript may persist in more places than the audio.
When text is pasted into a cloud document, chat, email, AI assistant, or CRM, that destination becomes a separate processor with its own access and retention.
Treat optional AI as a new path
Formatting, summarization, translation, and rewriting may send text to a provider even when raw audio stays local. Identify the provider, model, account, purpose, and whether content is retained or used for training.
Keep optional features disabled until approved. Compare cleaned output with the raw transcript because privacy is not the only risk; meaning can change.
Document limits and retest
Record app version, model, OS, settings, network policy, date, evidence, owner, and unresolved questions. Recheck after updates or configuration changes.
NIST’s Privacy Framework is a voluntary risk-management tool, not a certification. This checklist likewise does not prove compliance.
Limitations and checks
- No independent penetration test, source-code audit, or packet capture was performed.
- This is not legal advice or a compliance certification.
- Destination apps and operating systems can create additional copies.
- Product behavior can change by version, setting, account, and platform.
How we evaluated
- Mapped lifecycle stages from capture through deletion.
- Separated default local inference from optional connected features.
- Used NIST risk-management framing and official platform/product documentation.
- Required evidence and versioning while stating absent audit work.
Sources
- NIST Privacy Framework
- Apple: control microphone access
- Microsoft: Windows microphone privacy
- Voicetypr privacy and data flow
- Voicetypr public desktop repository
Recheck pricing, requirements, and privacy terms with each provider before buying.
Frequently asked questions
Does local transcription mean private dictation?
It removes a raw-audio transfer from inference, but history, clipboard, optional providers, diagnostics, backups, and destination apps still need review.
Can this checklist prove GDPR or HIPAA compliance?
No. Compliance depends on facts, roles, contracts, law, configuration, controls, and specialist review.
Should I test network traffic?
It can add evidence when authorized and performed safely, but traffic observation alone does not reveal local storage, future behavior, or contractual processing.