Dictation that works in every Mac app. Free for 2,000 words a month, no card required. Below is exactly what you are installing and which permissions it asks for — please read it before you download.
This installer is code-signed with our Apple Developer ID and has been submitted to Apple's notarisation service, which scans it for malicious code. The approval ticket is stapled to the file, so macOS Gatekeeper verifies it offline before it will open. Dictately contains no bundled software, no adware, no toolbars, and no third-party offers — only the app itself.
macOS will prompt you for these on first launch. You grant each one yourself in System Settings, and you can revoke any of them at any time without uninstalling.
Recording starts when you press your shortcut and stops the moment you release it. Dictately does not listen in the background and has no always-on wake word.
This is the permission that sounds alarming, so here is exactly what it does: Dictately checks whether one specific key (by default, Fn) is currently up or down. It is a push-to-talk trigger. Nothing you type is recorded, stored, or transmitted.
Once your speech is transcribed, Dictately inserts the text at your cursor, exactly as if you had typed it. This is what lets it work in any application rather than forcing you into a separate editor.
Because Dictately needs Input Monitoring, it is fair to ask whether it records what you type. It does not, and it cannot: the only thing it reads from the keyboard is whether your chosen shortcut key is currently held down.
No keystroke data is written to disk or sent over the network. The only content that ever leaves your Mac is the audio you deliberately dictate, which is transcribed and then immediately discarded — never stored. Full detail is in our Privacy Policy.
By downloading you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Need setup help? Read the installation guide.