Private transcription: what on-device really means
"Private" can mean many things on an app's listing. The useful question is where your audio goes.
Cloud and on-device, in plain terms
A cloud service uploads your audio and transcribes it on its own computers. It can be fast and work on any device, but your conversation now exists somewhere else, under someone else's policy.
On-device transcription runs the speech model on your phone or computer. The audio doesn't need to travel to be turned into text. The trade-offs are a large first download, more work for your device, and accuracy that depends on what your device can run.
Five questions to ask any app
- Is my audio uploaded to be transcribed?
- Is it stored afterwards, where and for how long?
- Can it be used to train models?
- Do I need an account?
- What does the app connect to, and what does it send?
How Parlo Notes answers them
- Transcription, speaker identification, summaries and search run on your device.
- We run no servers that receive your recordings, so there is nothing of yours for us to read or use for training.
- There are no accounts, analytics, advertising or tracking.
- The app connects to Hugging Face to download models, which can see your IP address like any download, and to the App Store to check for updates. Neither includes your recordings or transcripts.
- iCloud sync is optional. If you turn it on, your library is kept in your private iCloud under Apple's privacy policy.
Where on-device privacy stops
On-device processing reduces who handles your audio, but it isn't a guarantee on its own. Your recordings are as safe as your device and its passcode. Whatever you share or export is handled by the app or person who receives it.
If you work under rules for health, legal or financial information, on-device processing doesn't replace a review by whoever is responsible for compliance.
How to check for yourself
Turn on Airplane Mode after the models are downloaded, then record and transcribe something. If an app still produces a transcript, the work is happening on your device.
Common questions
Can the Parlo Notes team read my transcripts?
No. They are created and stored on your device, and iCloud sync uses your private iCloud, which we can't access.
Do summaries go to a server?
No. Summaries and questions use Apple Intelligence or the Parlo model, on your device.