Privacy Policy
Last updated: March 11, 2026
Overview
Steno is a voice-to-text app for macOS. By default, Steno uses cloud-based transcription — your audio is sent directly from your Mac to a third-party speech recognition provider for processing. We are transparent about this because we believe you should know exactly where your data goes.
Need advanced privacy? Steno includes an Offline Mode (Settings → Offline Mode) that runs transcription entirely on your Mac using an on-device model. When enabled, no audio or text leaves your computer — everything is processed locally. Offline Mode requires Apple Silicon and a one-time internet connection for initial model setup. After that, no network access is needed.
How Transcription Works
Cloud mode (default):
- When you dictate, your audio recording is sent directly from your Mac to our third-party transcription provider over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection.
- The provider processes the audio using a speech recognition model and returns the transcribed text.
- Your audio is not routed through our servers — it goes directly from your Mac to the transcription provider.
- The provider's data retention and privacy policies apply to this processing.
- If Smart Rewrite, Translation, or Transliteration is enabled, the transcribed text (not audio) is also sent to a language model for processing.
Offline mode:
- All transcription happens on your Mac using an on-device model. No audio or text is sent anywhere.
- Smart Rewrite, Translation, and Transliteration are not available in Offline Mode.
What We Collect
Our backend server (stenofast.com) is used for the following limited purposes:
- Device registration: A randomly generated device ID, your machine name, macOS version, and app version. This helps us understand how many people use Steno and debug issues.
- Periodic heartbeat: A lightweight ping every few hours to confirm the app is active. No usage content is included.
- Configuration fetch: The app retrieves an API key for the transcription service from our server. The key is cached locally.
What We Do NOT Collect
Our servers (stenofast.com) never receive or store:
- Your audio recordings (these go directly to the transcription provider in cloud mode, or stay on your Mac in offline mode)
- Your transcribed text
- What apps you use Steno in
- Your keystrokes or screen content
- Any personal information beyond the device registration listed above
Third-Party Services
In cloud mode, Steno relies on a third-party service for speech-to-text transcription and text processing. Audio is sent directly from your Mac to the provider's servers over an encrypted connection.
We do not sell or share your data with any other third parties. We do not use analytics, tracking pixels, or advertising SDKs.
Data Storage
All your settings, dictation history, and snippets are stored locally on your Mac in ~/.steno/. We do not have access to this data.
Network Requirements
In cloud mode, Steno requires an internet connection to function. If your firewall blocks outbound connections to our transcription provider or stenofast.com, transcription will not work. In offline mode, no network access is needed after the initial model setup.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email us at help@stenofast.com.