Local Transcriber
Privacy
Policy
Effective date — July 17, 2026
The short version
Local Transcriber does not collect anything. There is no account, no server, no analytics, and no tracking. Your recordings and transcripts stay on your iPhone unless you deliberately send them somewhere yourself.
That's not a promise about how carefully I handle your data. There is nothing to handle. The app has no way to send your data to me — it contains no networking code that talks to any server I own, because I don't own one.
Who's responsible
I'm Braeden Baltich, an independent developer. I made Local Transcriber, and I'm the only person behind it — there's no company, no team, and no third party involved.
Contact: braedbuilds@gmail.com
What the app collects
Nothing.
No account or sign-in. No name, email, or phone number. No analytics, usage statistics, or crash reporting of my own. No advertising or tracking identifiers. No location. No contacts. No device fingerprint.
What the app stores, and where
Everything the app stores lives on your iPhone:
- Your transcripts — the text, the title you give it, and when it was made.
- App preferences — whether you've seen the intro, and a counter for numbering new transcripts.
That's it. The original audio and video are not stored. Once a file is transcribed, the app discards its working copy and keeps only the text.
None of this is backed up to me or synced to any account of mine. (Your iPhone's own backups are a separate thing — see iPhone backups below.) You can delete all of it at any time: Settings → Delete all data. That removes it permanently.
How transcription works
Transcription runs entirely on your device using Apple's on-device speech framework (SpeechAnalyzer). Your audio is never uploaded — not to me, not to Apple, not to anyone. This framework has no server component; there is no "cloud fallback" that could send your audio away.
A note on the iOS permission screen. When you grant Speech Recognition access, iOS shows a standard system message saying your speech data "will be sent to Apple." That message does not describe this app. It's Apple's generic wording for the permission, shown the same way to every app that requests it. Transcription in Local Transcriber runs entirely on-device — your audio is never uploaded anywhere. See Permissions below.
One exception worth stating plainly: iOS needs a language model on your device to do this. If your iPhone doesn't already have it, iOS downloads it from Apple the first time you transcribe. That is Apple sending a file to you. Nothing about your audio, your transcripts, or you goes anywhere during that download. After it completes, transcription works with no internet connection at all. iOS may remove this model later (for example if your storage runs low), in which case it will be downloaded again when needed.
When data leaves your device — because you sent it
Two features move your transcripts off your iPhone. Both require you to act:
Export. Tapping Export creates a .md or .txt file and hands it to the iOS share sheet. Whatever you pick — Files, iCloud Drive, AirDrop, Messages, Google Drive, email — that service receives your transcript and handles it under their privacy policy, not this one. I don't see it, don't know where you sent it, and am not involved.
Copy. Tapping Copy puts the transcript on your device's clipboard so you can paste it elsewhere. The app deliberately marks it local-only, so it does not sync to your other Apple devices through Universal Clipboard.
Importing from Photos and Files
When you pick a video or audio file, the app reads it from your Photos library or the Files app with your permission. If the file happens to be stored in your iCloud, iOS may download it to your device first — that's your own file coming from your own iCloud account to your own phone. I never see it.
iPhone backups
If you have iCloud Backup or encrypted local backups turned on, your iPhone backs up app data — including your transcripts — as part of your normal device backup. That's iOS doing what you told it to do with your own phone, into your own account. I'm not involved and never see it.
I've deliberately left this alone rather than excluding transcripts from backup. Excluding them would mean losing every transcript permanently if you lose your phone, which is a worse outcome than your own backup holding your own text. If you'd rather they weren't backed up, you can turn it off for this app: iOS Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Backup → tap your device's name → find Local Transcriber and turn it off. You may need to tap "Show All Apps" to see it in the list.
Permissions
Speech Recognition — required. Apple's speech framework can't run without it. iOS's permission prompt says speech data "will be sent to Apple." That is Apple's standard system message and it does not describe this app: transcription here is on-device only.
The app does not request microphone access. It does not record. It only transcribes files you already have.
Crash reports
The app has no crash reporting of its own. Apple runs a system-wide one that you control: if "Share With App Developers" is on in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements, Apple may share anonymized crash information with developers. You can turn it off there at any time. It's Apple's system, your choice, and it contains none of your transcript content.
Children
The app collects nothing from anyone, including children.
Your rights
Privacy laws like the GDPR and CCPA give you rights to access, correct, delete, or port the personal data a company holds about you, and to know if it's sold.
I hold none. There's nothing to access, correct, port, or delete on my end, and nothing to sell — I have no server and no record that you exist. Your data is on your phone, under your control, and you can erase all of it from within the app or by deleting the app.
Changes
If this policy ever changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new effective date. If a future version changes anything material, I'll note it in the App Store release notes too, so you don't have to check this page to find out. If a future version of the app ever collects anything, that will be stated plainly here before it ships.