Live Transcriber is local-first. Recordings and transcripts stay in the app's private storage on your device by default. We do not operate a backend that receives your recordings.

Data stored on your device

Recordings, transcripts, titles, summaries, tags, settings, and related metadata are stored in the app's private container on your device by default. This content remains there until you delete it or remove the app.

Microphone and speech recognition

Microphone access is used to record audio. Speech Recognition access is used to convert speech into text. The default live transcription workflow uses Apple's system Speech frameworks. Live Transcriber does not send live microphone audio to a developer-operated server.

Optional Apple system translation

When you explicitly choose Translate from a transcript line's menu, that selected line is passed to Apple's system translation interface. Apple may process the line online according to your Translate settings. If the required languages are downloaded, the system can translate on your device when offline; enabling On-Device Mode in Settings makes Apple Translate remain offline. Live Transcriber does not send surrounding transcript lines or audio for this action.

Optional iCloud sync

If you enable iCloud sync, recordings and their index may be stored in the app-private iCloud container and CloudKit private database associated with your Apple Account. Apple provides and governs these services. You can disable iCloud sync in the app's Settings.

Optional local model downloads

You may choose to download supported transcription or summarization model files from third-party model hosting services. Downloaded models are stored on your device and can be deleted in Settings. When you select local processing, transcription and summarization run on your device.

Optional processing on your paired Mac

If you enable My Mac, pair your devices, and confirm transcription of a saved recording, the selected audio is sent through an authenticated encrypted connection to your own Mac on the same local network or through your Tailscale network. The Mac processes the job and sends the transcript back. Job files may remain on that Mac for recovery and cleanup; the original recording remains on your phone. You can stop using the feature or remove the pairing. This audio does not pass through a Live Transcriber developer server.

Optional cloud processing

If you explicitly choose a cloud provider and authorize an action, the selected recording's audio or the bounded transcript context needed for that action is sent to the chosen provider. Credentials are stored in the system Keychain. A custom endpoint receives the requests you direct to it, and OpenRouter forwards requests to its selected upstream provider. The experimental OpenAI account sign-in route sends selected text context, not audio, to OpenAI; it is not an officially supported third-party integration. Each provider's privacy, retention, and training policies apply. Some providers retain uploaded files, which may need to be removed in that provider's account.

Regional feature availability

Live Transcriber checks the current App Store storefront through StoreKit to determine whether region-restricted features may be offered. In the China Mainland storefront, third-party cloud AI and certain third-party model options are unavailable. If the storefront cannot be determined, those features remain unavailable. The storefront value is used only for feature availability and is not used for advertising, tracking, or profiling.

Purchases and Pro access

Apple processes Pro payments. We use RevenueCat to manage purchases and Pro access, which involves sharing purchase information, an app-generated customer identifier, and basic device information, including the model. This information supports purchases and purchase analytics, not advertising or cross-app tracking. RevenueCat does not receive your recordings, transcripts, or API keys, and handles this information under its own privacy policy.

Optional Gemini Cloud outside China Mainland

Gemini Cloud is unavailable in the China Mainland storefront and off by default elsewhere. If you enable it, provide your own API key, and confirm an action, the recording or text needed for that action is sent directly from your device to Google. Automatic mode remains local-only. Your key is stored in the system Keychain, and Google handles requests under its own privacy policy.

Location, Reminders, and Calendar

If automatic recording location is enabled, or you choose Add Location before saving, the app attaches your location to the recording. Automatic location is on by default and can be turned off in Settings or for a single recording. The app accesses Apple Reminders only when you export an action item. If you connect Apple Calendar, the app reads your calendar events on your device to link a recording to the event it captured and, if you turn them on, to schedule meeting alerts. A link saves only the event’s name and scheduled time with the recording; attendees and notes stay in Calendar. Linked event names and times sync with your recordings through your iCloud account when iCloud sync is on, and are never included in shared audio files. When you export or copy a transcript, you can include the linked event’s name, time, organizer, and participant names, and, if you select it, the invitation text; the app reads them from Calendar on your device at that moment and does not store them. We do not send this information to our servers.

TestFlight optimization data

Eligible TestFlight builds automatically send performance and failure reports to our servers to improve reliability and transcription. Reports may include app, system, device, and diagnostic information, plus reviewed model families, usage counts, operation outcomes, bounded processing times, audio duration for real-time factor, and thermal state. They do not include user content (such as recordings, transcripts, prompts, or model output), account or purchase identifiers, API keys, raw model paths, or stable device identifiers. This reporting has no in-app off switch and stops when you leave TestFlight or use the App Store version. Raw reports are kept for up to 30 days, and aggregated trends for up to 13 months.

Analytics, advertising, and tracking

This usage analytics integration begins with TestFlight 1.2.5 (2020). Earlier App Store versions do not include it. Early TestFlight 1.2.5 builds turned it on by default; current versions keep it off until you turn it on. Updating from one of those builds turns it off and removes the local analytics identifier, unless you had already turned it back on yourself in Settings.

In the iPhone/iPad app, usage analytics is off by default in both App Store and TestFlight versions. You can turn on Share Usage Analytics in Settings → Privacy to help us improve the app's AI models and optimize them for different iPhone and iPad models. Only while it is on, we send PostHog US Cloud a limited set of app launches, foreground/background transitions, selected tabs, onboarding completion, and recording attempt/start/end outcomes, with event timestamps, app version/build, distribution channel, device model (a hardware model name such as “iPhone17,1”, not a device identifier), and a random app-specific analytics identifier. This identifier is separate from purchase and account identifiers; we do not identify you to PostHog or link it to website visits. No audio, transcript, summary, prompt, recording title, filename, or recording identifier is sent. There is no screen recording, automatic interaction capture, advertising, or cross-app tracking. IP-based geolocation is disabled; like any network service, PostHog receives the connection's IP address. PostHog processes data under its privacy policy and the project's retention settings.

Turning off analytics cancels active requests, discards pending events, and removes the local analytics identifier. It remains off after relaunch. Turning it on creates a new identifier and does not send events from the disabled period. Events already received cannot be recalled by the switch. Pending events are held only in a bounded memory queue and are lost when the app exits. This switch does not change the separate TestFlight optimization diagnostics or RevenueCat purchase services described above. The native macOS app does not use this PostHog integration.

Retention and deletion

You can delete individual recordings and downloaded models in the app. Removing the app deletes its local private data. Content synchronized through iCloud is managed through your Apple Account and Apple's services. Data sent to an optional third-party service is subject to that service's retention policy. TestFlight optimization reports follow the retention periods stated above.

Children's privacy

Live Transcriber is a general-purpose productivity tool and is not directed specifically to children. We do not knowingly collect children's personal information through a developer-operated service.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the app's features or data practices change. The effective date above identifies the latest version.

Contact

For privacy questions or support, open an issue in the Live Transcriber GitHub repository or contact @livetranscriber on Telegram.