# Dictation and transcription privacy ratings

Speech-to-text, dictation and meeting transcription, on the device or in the cloud.

| Name | Grade | Jurisdiction | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Buzz](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/buzz/) | B (87/100) | Unknown | Desktop app that transcribes and translates audio and video files or live microphone input offline using Whisper models. It can optionally use the OpenAI Whisper API instead. |
| [Handy](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/handy/) | B (87/100) | Unknown | Free, open-source desktop app for push-to-talk dictation. Speech is transcribed offline on the device with local Whisper or Parakeet models and typed into the active text field. |
| [Whisper](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/whisper/) | B (87/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Open-source speech recognition model and Python command-line tool from OpenAI that transcribes and translates audio in many languages on the local computer. |
| [whisper.cpp](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/whisper-cpp/) | B (87/100) | Unknown | C/C++ port of OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition model that runs transcription on the CPU or GPU of the local device. Used as a library and command-line tool, and as the engine inside many dictation apps. |
| [Anarlog](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/anarlog/) | D (57/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Open-source, local-first meeting notepad, formerly Hyprnote, that records device audio without a bot and creates transcripts and AI summaries. Transcription can run on the device on supported Macs or through a chosen cloud provider. |
| [MacWhisper](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/macwhisper/) | D (57/100) | Unknown | macOS app that transcribes audio and video files, meeting audio and dictation with local Whisper-based models, including speaker labels and subtitle export. |
| [Meetily](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/meetily/) | D (57/100) | Unknown | Desktop meeting assistant that records meeting audio without a bot, transcribes it on the device with Whisper or Parakeet models, and generates summaries with local or user-chosen AI models. |
| [VoiceInk](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/voiceink/) | D (57/100) | Unknown | Dictation app for macOS and iOS that transcribes speech with local Whisper, Parakeet or Apple models and inserts the text into any app. Cloud transcription and AI text enhancement are optional. |
| [Apple Dictation](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/apple-dictation/) | D (47/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Speech-to-text feature built into macOS, iOS and iPadOS that types dictated text in any app. Supported languages are processed on the device; others are sent to Apple servers. |
| [Superwhisper](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/superwhisper/) | D (43/100) | Unknown | Dictation app that turns speech into text in any app, with optional AI formatting. It offers local Whisper, Parakeet and Cohere models as well as cloud voice and language models. |
| [Fireflies.ai](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/fireflies-ai/) | F (31/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Cloud AI meeting assistant that joins video calls as a bot or records through its apps, then transcribes, summarizes and searches the conversations. It also offers dictation. |
| [tl;dv](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/tl-dv/) | F (29/100) | Germany (Fourteen Eyes) | Cloud meeting recorder that joins Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls as a bot, then records, transcribes and summarizes them and can sync notes to CRMs. |
| [Granola](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/granola/) | F (26/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | AI notepad for meetings that captures computer audio without a bot joining the call, transcribes it through cloud providers, and turns the user's notes and the transcript into meeting summaries. |
| [Wispr Flow](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/wispr-flow/) | F (26/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Voice dictation app that transcribes speech in the cloud and inserts AI-formatted text into any app. It also includes a meeting notetaker. |
| [Aqua Voice](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/aqua-voice/) | F (24/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Voice dictation app that sends speech to the cloud for transcription with its own Avalon model and inserts formatted text into any app, with optional screen context for accuracy. |
| [Otter.ai](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/otter-ai/) | F (24/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Cloud AI meeting assistant that records and transcribes meetings and conversations, joins video calls as a bot or captures audio from its apps, and generates summaries and action items. |
| [Windows Voice Typing](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/windows-voice-typing/) | F (13/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Dictation feature built into Windows 11, opened with Windows key + H, that converts speech to text in any text field using Microsoft's online speech recognition. |
| [Speech Note](https://privacyratings.com/accessibility/speech-note/) (rated under Accessibility) | B (80/100) | Unknown | Open source Linux app for taking, reading and translating notes with offline speech-to-text, text-to-speech and machine translation. Processing runs locally on the computer. |
| [Dragon](https://privacyratings.com/accessibility/dragon/) (rated under Accessibility) | F (0/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Commercial speech recognition software for dictation and voice control of the computer, sold as Dragon Professional for Windows and Dragon Anywhere for mobile. Made by Nuance, a Microsoft company. |

## Criteria

- **Open source** (weight 3): Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
- **No trackers or telemetry** (weight 3): Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
- **No ads or data sales** (weight 2): Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
- **Independent audit** (weight 2): Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
- **Transparency report** (weight 2): Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
- **Tells users about requests** (weight 1): Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
- **TLS configuration** (weight 2, automated): Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
- **Security headers** (weight 1, automated): Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
- **Modern web standards** (weight 1, automated): Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
- **Runs on the device** (weight 3): Is speech converted to text on the device, without sending audio to a server?
- **No training on recordings** (weight 2): Are recordings and transcripts kept out of model training by default?

Source: https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/