Privacy Policy
This page explains, in plain language, where your dictation is transcribed, what leaves your Mac, and how to make sure nothing does.
The short version. By default, braindumpi streams your microphone audio to a specialist speech-to-text provider while you hold the key, because that provider transcribes Hebrew more accurately than any model we can run on your Mac. Neither we nor the provider store it. You can turn this off in one click — Hub → Speech → Cloud transcription — and everything then runs on the model on your own machine, with no network at all. Cleanup, your dictionary, snippets, and history are always local. We never sell your data, and we never see the text you dictate.
Who we are
braindumpi ("braindumpi", "we", "us") is a native macOS voice-dictation app distributed at braindumpi.com. This policy covers the braindumpi Mac app and this website.
Where your speech is transcribed
There are two engines, and you choose which one runs.
- Cloud transcription (on by default). While you hold the dictation key, your microphone audio is streamed over an encrypted connection to Soniox, our speech-to-text provider, and the text comes back as you speak. The stream goes directly from your Mac to them; it never passes through our servers, we never receive it, and we never store it. Their own handling of that audio is governed by their terms, which we link to below. It is on by default because on Hebrew it is measurably more accurate than the model running on your Mac, and because it is why the download is small instead of half a gigabyte.
- On-device transcription. A speech model downloads quietly to your Mac in the background after you install. Turn cloud transcription off in the Hub and every word is transcribed by that model, on your machine, with no network involved. braindumpi also falls back to it automatically whenever you have no connection, so dictation keeps working on a plane whichever setting you chose.
What always happens on your Mac
- Cleanup. Turning raw speech into clean, punctuated text runs locally. The text you dictate is not sent to us.
- Your dictionary, snippets, and history. Stored locally on your Mac, under your control.
What we do send to our servers
A minimal amount of account data is sent so that billing and quotas can work:
- Account email. Used to identify your account, deliver license and account emails, and let you sign in across devices.
- Aggregate word counts. A running total of how many words you've dictated, so the free tier's weekly quota (2,000 words/week) and Pro's unlimited usage can be enforced. This is a number — not the words themselves, and not their content.
- Subscription status. Whether your plan is Free, Monthly, Annual, or Lifetime, so the app unlocks the right features.
That's the complete list. We do not collect the content of your dictation, screenshots, keystrokes, or the apps you use braindumpi in.
Speech provider
When cloud transcription is on, speech-to-text is performed by Soniox. Your Mac opens an encrypted connection directly to them for the moment you are holding the dictation key, sends the audio, and receives the text; the stream does not pass through braindumpi's servers. All we send them is a short-lived credential tied to your account, and all we learn from it is that a session happened. How Soniox handles the audio it receives is covered by their own terms. If you would rather no audio left your Mac under any circumstances, turn cloud transcription off in Hub → Speech; dictation then runs entirely on the model on your machine.
Payments
Purchases and subscriptions are handled by Polar, our payment processor. When you buy Monthly, Annual, or Lifetime, your payment details (card number and similar) go directly to Polar and are processed under their systems — we never see or store your full card details. Polar shares back only what we need to activate your plan, such as your email and subscription status. See Polar's own privacy terms for how they handle payment data.
We send transactional email — license confirmations, receipts, account and billing notices — to the address on your account. These are operational messages tied to your use of braindumpi.
What we never do
- We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to anyone.
- We never receive your audio or your transcribed text. With cloud transcription on, audio goes from your Mac straight to the speech provider and the text comes straight back; none of it passes through us. With it off, none of it leaves your Mac at all.
- We do not take screenshots or record your screen.
- We do not build advertising profiles.
Data retention and your rights
We keep your account email, subscription status, and aggregate usage counts for as long as your account is active. You can ask us to delete your account and the data associated with it at any time. Because your transcripts and audio never reach us, there is nothing on our side to export or delete for those — they live only on your Mac, and deleting the app removes them.
Children
braindumpi is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them.
Changes to this policy
If we update this policy we'll change the "last updated" date above and, for material changes, notify account holders by email.
Contact
Questions about privacy? Email privacy@braindumpi.com and we'll get back to you.