Two modes, one honest rule: you always know where your audio went
Offline mode (Windows): the Whisper speech model runs on your own computer. Your audio is processed locally and is not sent to VoltType’s servers. The app shows a data indicator so you can see it.
Cloud mode (Windows, web, Android): your audio is sent to a speech provider for transcription and deleted after. VoltType does not store your audio or your transcripts.
Why “private” needs a definition
Most dictation tools say “secure” and mean “encrypted on the way to our servers”. That is table stakes, not privacy. The questions that matter for a confidential profession are simpler:
- Does the audio leave my device at all?
- If it does, who processes it, and is it kept?
- Is the transcript stored anywhere I don’t control?
- Can I prove the answer, or do I have to trust a marketing page?
VoltType’s answers: offline mode — no, the audio stays on the PC. Cloud mode — yes, to a speech provider, deleted after transcription; the transcript is typed into your app and not kept by us. The privacy policy lists every sub-processor by name, and the Windows app has a per-session counter of bytes sent so you can check rather than trust.
What offline mode is, and isn’t
Offline mode downloads a speech model once (about 500 MB) and then transcribes on your CPU. It works with the network cable unplugged. What it is not: a promise that nothing ever leaves the machine — the app still talks to VoltType to check your licence occasionally and to download updates, and you can switch those off in the data settings too. The AI rewrite commands (“make this formal”) need the cloud and are blocked in offline mode instead of silently sending text.
Offline mode uses a multilingual model that covers English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and other major languages. Cloud mode covers 99 languages.
Who this is built for
Therapists & counsellors
Session notes dictated on the PC after the client leaves, without a recording of the client’s words ever existing on a server.
Lawyers & notaries
Privileged memos, letters and file notes in Word or your case system, offline. See also legal dictation.
Accountants & HR
Client and employee matters that fall under GDPR ‘special category’ rules. Offline mode removes the transfer question entirely.
What we do not do
- No training on your data. Your audio and text are not used to improve any model.
- No advertising, no selling of data, no analytics on the content of what you dictate.
- No transcript storage on our side. History lives in your app, on your device, and you can wipe it.
- No hidden mode switch: the app tells you which mode is on before you start speaking.
Plans
Frequently asked questions
Is offline mode GDPR-compliant?
Offline mode means no audio transfer to a processor, which removes the international-transfer and sub-processor questions for that data. Whether your overall workflow is compliant depends on the rest of your setup; we can provide the technical description your DPO will ask for.
Can I verify that nothing is sent?
Yes. The Windows app shows “Sent this session: 0 bytes” in offline mode, and you can turn off licence refresh and update checks in the data settings to run fully disconnected.
What about the web and Android apps?
They are cloud-only: audio is transcribed and deleted after, and no transcript is stored by us.
Start dictating — free
Free plan: 3,000 cloud words a month in 99 languages, plus your first 3,000 offline words on Windows. No card.
Pro is €9/month for unlimited dictation.
Windows 10 / 11 · Also on the web and Android · Offline mode on Windows