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Wispr Flow privacy and offline use
Wispr Flow is cloud dictation, and it says so plainly: transcription always happens in the cloud. That makes it fast and clever, and it means your voice leaves your computer. Here is exactly what Wispr says happens to your audio and text, which settings change it, and what to use if you need dictation that stays on your device.
By the SpeechBee team, who make a competing app. Checked against Wispr's data controls page on 12 October 2026
Wispr Flow
SpeechBee
On this page
What Wispr Flow sends and keeps
| What | What Wispr says |
|---|---|
| Your audio | Sent to the cloud for transcription, always |
| Model training | Your audio, transcripts and edits may be used to train models only if you allow it |
| Third-party AI providers | Zero data retention agreements; they can't train on your data |
| Dictation history | Stored on Wispr's servers only if Dictation Cloud Storage is on |
| App name and text box | Always used to format, capitalize and punctuate |
| Active window text | Used only with Context Awareness on |
| Usage statistics | Collected regardless of settings, such as words dictated |
| Feedback | Rating a dictation sends that session's data, which may include audio, for review and training |
| Encryption | TLS in transit, encrypted at rest; SOC 2 Type 2 |
The settings worth checking
Open Settings, then Data and Privacy in Wispr Flow:
- Improve the model for everyone. Turn it off if you don't want your audio, transcripts and edits used to train Wispr's models.
- Dictation Cloud Storage. Controls whether transcripts, audio and history are kept on Wispr's servers for cross-device features.
- Context Awareness. Controls whether text from the active app window is used to improve accuracy.
Also note that Auto-add to Dictionary, under Personalization, watches the text box after pasting to learn your corrections. And clicking thumbs up or down on a dictation shares that session, possibly including audio, with Wispr.
Does Wispr Flow work offline?
No. Wispr says cloud transcription is the best way for it to deliver accurate, low-latency results, and there is no offline mode. On a plane or a bad connection, Flow can't transcribe.
Is Wispr Flow safe for confidential work?
Wispr has done the work a careful company does: SOC 2 Type 2, encryption, zero-retention agreements with AI providers, a training opt-out, and enterprise controls. Our Wispr Flow review covers its HIPAA offering for teams. Whether that's enough depends on your work and your employer's rules. What no setting changes is that your voice is processed on someone else's servers.
On-device alternatives
If your audio must stay on your computer, use dictation that transcribes locally:
- SpeechBee, which we make, transcribes on your Mac, iPhone or iPad. Audio is processed in memory, never uploaded and never recorded, and it works offline. It never reads your screen. $79 a year or $99 once.
- Apple Dictation can run on your Mac, depending on your language and settings. Check under System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation.
- superwhisper, VoiceInk, Spokenly and OpenWhispr run local models too. See Whisper apps for Mac.
The trade-off is real. Wispr's cloud lets it polish and reformat your speech using context. A local app keeps your words as you said them, more or less, and keeps them on your device.
Dictation that never leaves your device. Free for 7 days.
Voice to text and Read Aloud on your Mac, iPhone and iPad. After the week, $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once. Every plan has every feature.
Questions
Does Wispr Flow work offline?
No. Wispr says transcription always occurs in the cloud.
Does Wispr Flow store my audio?
Only if Dictation Cloud Storage is on, or if you share feedback on a dictation. Otherwise audio is sent for transcription and not kept as history.
Does Wispr Flow train AI on my voice?
Only if you allow it under Settings, Data and Privacy. The setting was previously called Privacy Mode. Enterprise accounts have it turned off.
What was Wispr Flow Privacy Mode?
The old name for the setting that keeps your data out of model training. If you had it on, your data is still not shared for training.
Does Wispr Flow read my screen?
It always uses the app name and the text box you are dictating into for formatting. With Context Awareness on, it also uses relevant text from the active window.
What is a private alternative to Wispr Flow?
An app that transcribes on your device. SpeechBee does, on Mac, iPhone and iPad, and works offline. See Wispr Flow vs SpeechBee.
Keep comparing
Sources
All checked on 12 October 2026.
- Wispr Flow data controls, last updated by Wispr on 18 August 2026
- Wispr Flow privacy policy
- Apple: Use Dictation on Mac
- SpeechBee facts from our homepage and privacy policy