Privacy Policy

Dictately ("we", "us", "our") is operated by GIETO GROUP. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use the Dictately voice dictation application and related services (the "Service").

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Audio Data

Where your speech is transcribed depends on your Mac and your language setting. There are two paths, and we want to be exact about which applies to you:

• On your MacIf you are on an Apple Silicon Mac, have explicitly selected English as your dictation language, and the on-device model has finished downloading, transcription runs locally. Your voice recording never leaves your device and is never uploaded to us or anyone else.
• In the cloudIn every other case — including the default "auto-detect" language setting, any non-English language, Intel Macs, and any time the on-device model is unavailable — your audio is sent to a third-party speech-to-text provider.

When audio is sent to a provider, it is processed in real time and immediately discarded. We do not store, retain, or have access to your audio recordings at any point, on either path.

Your transcribed text is processed in the cloud even when the audio was not. After transcription, the resulting text is sent to a third-party language-model provider to clean it up — adding punctuation, fixing grammar and removing filler words — or to rewrite or translate it if you used those modes. This text is processed and discarded, never stored. So on the on-device path your voice recording stays on your Mac, but the words you dictated are still processed by a provider listed in section 2.

1.2 Transcription Data

Your transcription history is stored locally on your device only. We do not upload, sync, or back up transcription content to our servers.

1.3 Personal Dictionary

If you create a personal dictionary (custom words, phrases, or corrections), this data is synced to Google Firestore to enable cross-device access. It does not contain transcription content.

1.4 Account Information

We use Firebase Authentication to manage user accounts. When you sign up, we collect your email address and basic profile information (name, if provided). This data is stored in Firebase.

1.5 Usage Data

We track anonymised usage metrics (e.g. word count, feature usage, active sessions) in Google Firestore to enforce plan limits and improve the Service. This data is linked to your account but does not include transcription content.

1.6 Payment Data

Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store your credit card number or full payment details. Stripe may collect billing information in accordance with their own Privacy Policy.

1.7 System Permissions and Keyboard Access

To work as a dictation tool, Dictately asks macOS for three permissions. You grant each one explicitly in System Settings, and you can revoke any of them at any time. We want to be completely direct about what each is used for, because two of them sound more invasive than they are:

• MicrophoneCaptures your speech while you hold the dictation key, and only while you hold it.
• Input MonitoringDetects that your chosen shortcut key (by default, Fn) is being held down. Dictately reads only whether that specific key is up or down. It does not record, log, store, or transmit what you type.
• AccessibilityTypes the finished transcription into whichever application you are using, exactly as if you had typed it yourself.

Dictately is not a keylogger and contains no keylogging functionality. The Input Monitoring permission is used solely as a push-to-talk trigger. No keystroke data of any kind is written to disk or sent over the network, and we have no technical means of recovering anything you type. The only text that ever leaves your device is the audio you deliberately dictate, sent for transcription as described in 1.1.

2. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Dictately:

• Groq — Primary speech-to-text provider
• OpenAI — Speech-to-text fallback provider
• Deepgram — Speech-to-text fallback provider
• Firebase (Google) — Authentication and data storage
• Stripe — Payment processing

Each third-party service has its own privacy policy governing how they handle data. Audio sent to STT providers is used solely for the purpose of transcription and is not retained by those providers.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain the voice dictation Service
• To authenticate your identity and manage your account
• To process payments and manage subscriptions
• To enforce usage limits (e.g. free-tier word caps)
• To sync your personal dictionary across devices
• To improve the Service and fix bugs
• To communicate with you about your account or changes to our terms

4. Data Retention

Audio: Not retained. Audio is streamed to the STT provider and discarded immediately after transcription.

Transcriptions: Stored locally on your device. We have no access to this data.

Account data: Retained for the duration of your account. Deleted upon request or account termination.

Usage data: Retained for analytics and plan enforcement. Deleted upon account termination.

5. Cookies

Dictately uses cookies that are strictly necessary for authentication and session management. We also use the following analytics and product-improvement services on this website. These run on the marketing website only — not inside the desktop app.

• Google Analytics 4Aggregate website traffic and conversion measurement
• HotjarAnonymised heatmaps and session replay of this website (keystrokes in form fields are suppressed)
• Microsoft ClarityAnonymised heatmaps and session replay (used as a fallback to Hotjar)
• Vercel AnalyticsPrivacy-friendly page performance and traffic counts

We do not use advertising or re-targeting cookies, and we do not sell your data. These services observe how the website is used; they never receive your audio, transcriptions, or anything typed inside other applications.

None of the services above load until you accept them. When you first visit, we ask, and refusing is a single click in the same place as accepting. If you decline, no analytics or session replay script is requested at all. You can change your mind at any time using the Cookie settings link in the footer, which clears your stored choice and asks again. Cookies needed for signing in and keeping you signed in are always active, as the Service cannot function without them.

6. Your Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right of access: Request a copy of your personal data
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to data portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your data
• Right to object: Object to processing of your data for specific purposes

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at hello@dictately.io. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (TLS) for all data in transit. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for users under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on our website. Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: