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Offline and travel

For people who trust no network.

Dictation that runs on your own computer. It works on a plane with the Wi-Fi off, on a salt flat with no signal, and on a yacht where the internet costs more than the champagne. On the default setup, nothing you say goes anywhere.

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25 free dictations · one-time purchase · macOS and Windows

Down the aisle of a private jet at golden hour, a steward presents a laptop to a silver-haired man on the sofa at the far end
Said at 41,000 feet, with the Wi-Fi off.
One week, no network

A week with the Dictator.

An Englishman in Monaco with a jet, an island and a yacht. His staff call him the Dictator, because he has not typed a word since 1994. This week he wants the island next to his, which belongs to Harrington, his neighbour and rival for 30 years, and not a word of it can leak. He trusts no network, and the app needs none.

41,000 ftMonday · Wi-Fi off, by choice

Nothing leaves the plane

A white private jet above a sea of sunset clouds
No Wi-Fi, by choice

The jet has Wi-Fi. He keeps it switched off, this week of all weeks, and nobody asks why. It makes no difference to dictating: the speech is turned into text on the laptop, so a line said at 41,000 feet is typed at 41,000 feet, and nothing is sent to the ground.

Salar de UyuniTuesday · no signal out here

12 million for a car he does not want

Side by side at a small table on a white salt flat, over a silver tea service, he points his cigar at the seller as he dictates
Offer12million.Harringtonwouldgivehisislandforthiscar.

He has no use for a racing car, but Harrington has wanted this one since 1987. The seller has come a long way to hear a number, so he hears it: he clicks the microphone on the floating icon and says his offer into a note, out loud, across the tea. There is no signal on the salt, and none is needed: the speech is turned into text on the laptop itself.

No signal needed
Once the speech model is on the computer, dictating needs no connection at all.
Click or key
The microphone on the floating icon, or Fn.
A note, kept
Scratchpad keeps quick notes on the computer, titled by their first words.
Offline Lock
On here, as always: the app makes no connection, even where there is one.
Over a bodyguard's shoulder, far across the salt flat: the table, a silver racing car, black cars and a white helicopter
Over his man's shoulderNo signal out here. The laptop has not noticed.
His islandThursday · his own Wi-Fi, switched off anyway

The will, version 14

From the villa balcony: he lies on a lounger on the beach, dictating, while a bodyguard in a black suit holds a parasol over him
AlsotoSerena,theislandnextdoor.Harringtondoesnotknowyet.

Version 14 of his will, and he is enjoying it. He switches off the island’s Wi-Fi, double-taps Fn, lies back, and leaves his daughter an island he does not own yet. The words land in the document exactly as they would at home, because nothing about dictating needs the network.

Double-tap Fn to start and press it once to stop, and talk for as long as it takes. Fn is one of the keys you can choose in Settings; on Windows you pick yours there. Wi-Fi on or off makes no difference to dictating.

Close on his sunglasses: the island across the bay reflected in the lens
In his sunglassesThe island next door. Not for long.
Mid-AtlanticFriday · satellite internet, at satellite prices

Said out loud, never kept

From the water at sunset, the stern of a superyacht: he sits on the swim platform with his feet in the sea, laughing, while one bodyguard holds his drink and the other his shoes
Anisland,foracarwithnoroof.Harrington,youmagnificentfool.

Harrington said yes an hour ago, at the party upstairs: his island, for the car. He holds Fn and says what he really thinks of the deal. With nothing to type into, the app shows him the line and keeps it in History. He reads it twice, laughs, and deletes it, because Harrington is still on board: the text and the recording are erased on the laptop, and none of it was ever sent anywhere.

Nowhere to type?
The app shows you what you said, with Copy and Create Note, instead of typing it somewhere blind.
Kept in History
Every dictation is saved on the computer, searchable.
Deleted means erased
The text and the recording go, and the space they used is overwritten.
The count stays
The entry stays, marked as deleted, so your totals do not change.
Straight down from above: the superyacht at sunset with its lit pool, the party and a long white wake
From aboveSomewhere down there, Harrington is toasting his new car.
The AlpsSaturday · the summit's Wi-Fi, shared with everyone

Everyone's Wi-Fi but his

From the snow outside a mountain hotel, through the window: he dictates in an armchair in a clear space in the crowd, his two bodyguards keeping it clear
ThankHarringtonforhisisland.Pause.Watchhisface.

He gives the closing remarks tonight, and Harrington is in the room. The laptop is on the summit’s Wi-Fi, like everyone else’s. The difference is Offline Lock: with it on, the app makes no connection at all, so the speech stays on the laptop until he gives it. He double-taps Fn and adds one line to his notes.

One switch
Offline Lock stops every connection the app makes: downloads, update checks, sign-in, cloud providers.
Always in view
In Settings, in the menu bar, and on the privacy card on every screen.
Plain words
Anything it refuses, it says so, instead of failing quietly.
It asks first
The one call a license renewal needs, it asks before making.
Close on his face in profile, mid-word, an unlit cigar tucked behind his ear, the pink peaks blurred behind
Close, for onceEveryone else is on the summit's Wi-Fi. Harrington is in the third row.
What offline means, exactly

The internet once. Then only if you say so.

Once

The speech model downloads the first time, about 150 MB for the default. After that, dictating needs no connection at all.

Every few weeks

The license renews itself whenever the computer is online, and each renewal lasts 30 days, so a computer that is online now and then always has three weeks or more in hand. Before a long trip, Check now on the Account page gives you the full 30.

Never, if you say so

Offline Lock stops every connection the app makes: model downloads, update checks, signing in and cloud providers. It asks before the one call a license renewal needs.

Measured, not promised

Our own numbers, from a 2018 laptop.

1.2 to 1.7 secondsFrom letting go of the key to text, for a dictation of up to about 70 words, roughly half a minute of speech.
186 wordsA passage a minute and a half long came back in 5.8 seconds.
About 30 secondsTo turn almost six minutes of recorded audio into text, without touching the internet.

Measured on a 2018 Intel MacBook Pro, everything on the computer, with AI cleanup switched off. If yours is an M-series Mac or a recent PC, it is doing less work than ours was.

Questions people ask first
Does it work on a plane?
Yes, with the Wi-Fi off. Once the speech model is on your computer, dictating needs no connection at all: the speech is turned into text on the computer itself.
How long can it go without the internet?
Dictating never needs it. The license does, now and then: it renews itself whenever your computer is online, and each renewal lasts 30 days, so a computer that is online now and then always has three weeks or more in hand. Before a long trip, Check now on the Account page renews it to the full 30. If it runs out while you are away, the app tells you, and it renews itself the next time you are online.
What is Offline Lock?
One switch that stops the app making any connection at all. Model downloads, update checks, signing in and any cloud provider are refused, and the app says so in plain words. It is in Settings, in the menu bar, and on the privacy card on every screen. With it on, the app asks before the one call a license renewal needs.
What does it connect to, when it does?
Our website, to sign in, renew the license and check for updates; the speech model download, the first time; the prompt library, if you ask for it; and a cloud provider, only if you add your own key. That is the whole list. There is no telemetry and no analytics, and Dictate Safe never sees what you dictate.
Can I delete what I said?
Yes, any dictation, from History. The text and the recording are erased on the computer, and the space they used is overwritten. The entry stays, marked as deleted, so your counts do not change.
Does AI cleanup work offline?
Yes. It runs on the computer, needs 16 GB of memory, and is off by default. The optional cloud cleanup needs a connection and your own key.
Which languages does it understand?
English only. The speech models are English-only, which makes them more accurate at English than multilingual models of the same size.
What does it cost?
One payment for a lifetime license that covers 2 computers, with updates and fixes to the features sold included, while we offer the app. Try 25 dictations first, with no card and no account.
His terrace above the harbour of Monaco at night: the laptop closed on the table beside an unlit cigar, as he looks out at the lights
MonacoSunday · two islands, and the laptop shut

Try the part that matters first.

Twenty five dictations, no card and no account. It is the same app you would buy, running the same way it will on day thirty.

DownloadSee pricing

One time · 2 devices · 30 day refund

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