Private dictation: what happens to your voice

Why does it matter where your voice goes?

Dictation sees everything you would type: emails to clients, messages to family, notes on a medical appointment, half-formed ideas. Your voice is also personal in itself. Before you pick a dictation tool, it is worth knowing exactly where the audio goes, who can use it and for what, and how to get rid of it.

What happens, step by step, when I dictate with F5Type?

1. 1You press your shortcut. The microphone is used only while you dictate.
2. 2Your audio is written to disk on your own device before anything is uploaded — so a crash or dropped connection does not lose it.
3. 3The recording is sent over HTTPS to be transcribed and cleaned up according to your style, dictionary and snippets.
4. 4The finished text comes back and is inserted at your cursor (or copied for ⌘V on the Mac App Store version).
5. 5On a computer, the local recording is deleted once the text is ready. The text is saved to your history.

Is my voice used to train AI?

No. F5Type does not use your recordings or transcripts to train AI models. They are used only to create your text. This is stated in the Privacy Policy, which has the full details.

Can I dictate offline?

• Mac: offline dictation uses the on-device speech recognition built into macOS.
• Windows: turn on Settings → Local Mode → Offline processing; a speech model of about 141 MB is downloaded once and runs on your PC.
• iPhone and Android: the app writes a first draft on the phone and finishes it in the cloud when you reconnect.

The AI cleanup step — removing filler, fixing punctuation, applying styles — runs once you are back online. See Working offline.

How do I see, export or delete my data?

• History: every dictation is listed in the app and, when signed in, synced across your devices.
• Export: on a computer, export your history as a file from Settings.
• Delete your account: Mac and Windows — Settings → Account → Delete account; iPhone and Android — Settings → Delete account.
• Clear only the phone’s notes: Privacy → Delete all my data in the mobile app.

Do I need an account at all?

On a computer you can start dictating without an account and sign in later. The phone apps ask you to sign in. Sign-in is with Apple, Google or a one-time email link — F5Type has no passwords to leak.

Does it work on a corporate network or VPN?

Yes. F5Type talks over HTTPS only, with no unusual ports, so it works behind most VPNs and company firewalls.

What should I ask any dictation app about privacy?

• Is my audio or text used to train models? Is that opt-in, opt-out or never?
• Where is the audio stored, and for how long?
• Is there an offline or on-device mode?
• Can I export and delete my data myself?
• What happens to my recording if the upload fails?

Read each provider’s own privacy policy for their answers. Our comparisons note what is publicly known: Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, Apple Dictation, Windows Voice Typing.