tl;dr
Auri Voice transcribes on your Mac by default. The cleanup pass sends the transcribed text (never audio) to the provider you pick — Auri Cloud unless you change it; choose Auri Local in AI settings to keep both steps on the Mac (Apple Silicon). What stays behind matters as much: dictation history is stored on the Mac, Save transcriptions is on by default, Save audio is off, and one trash button deletes it all. This guide covers both halves, with most of the space on storage: history settings, Time Machine, shared accounts, and FileVault.
What leaves the Mac while you dictate
Every dictation runs two steps with different privacy answers. Recognition turns audio into text on the Mac: the default engine is Fast Multilingual Dictation (Parakeet TDT v3) on Apple Silicon and Lightweight, Any Mac (Whisper Base) on Intel, each a one-time download that then runs locally. Audio leaves the Mac only if you select the Auri Cloud engine yourself in Settings > Voice engine. Cleanup then rewrites the transcript, and that step does use the network by default: the text goes to Auri Cloud unless you pick another provider in AI settings, where Auri Local (Apple Silicon) keeps cleanup on the Mac. The local speech recognition guide explains why almost every modern dictation app splits the work this way.
Offline behavior follows from the split. With Wi-Fi off, a default install keeps transcribing with its local engine, but the cloud cleanup does not run, so you get the transcript without the polish. Set cleanup to Auri Local and both steps keep working offline.
Where transcripts live on your Mac
Auri Voice stores dictation history on the Mac, not on a server. The controls live in Settings > Dictation > History. Save transcriptions is on by default and keeps a searchable record of what you dictated. Save audio is off by default; turning it on adds a storage budget, 2 GB unless you change it, with export and delete controls beside it. Audio files sit under ~/Library/Application Support/AuriVoice/, inside your user folder. The trash button in the same pane offers Delete all history.
| What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| History location | Local files stay under your control; synced history does not |
| Retention | Old drafts accumulate client names and numbers |
| Backups | Time Machine and cloud backups copy the history too |
| Shared accounts | Anyone on that macOS login can read your drafts |
| Export and delete | You need a way to clear it, not only to read it |
Leave history on for everyday work, since it is how you recover a paragraph an app lost. Clear it when a client project ends rather than at the end of the year.
Backups, shared accounts, and FileVault
Time Machine copies dictation history along with the rest of your user folder, so a transcript you delete in Auri Voice can survive in last month's snapshot. If you clear history after a sensitive project, the backups made before the clearing still hold it. Delete those snapshots too when the material warrants it.
On a shared Mac, history belongs to the macOS account that dictated it. Anyone who uses your login can open History (⌘3) and search every dictation, the same way they could read your Documents folder. Separate macOS user accounts keep histories separate; a shared family login does not.
Turn on FileVault in System Settings > Privacy & Security so the transcripts on a lost or stolen Mac stay unreadable without your login password.
Verify it, then read the policy
Checking all of this yourself takes about thirty minutes. Turn Wi-Fi off in Control Center and dictate: whatever still works is local. Reconnect and run a network monitor such as Little Snitch while you dictate and while cleanup runs. The on-device guide walks through the offline test and how to read its outcomes, and the chooser guide applies the same checks to five named apps.
Then read the privacy policy for the two things no test can show: retention periods and whether humans review samples. A test tells you what happens today on your machine, and the policy tells you what the vendor allows itself to do in general.
FAQ
Does Apple Dictation on Mac send audio to Apple?
It depends on language and configuration. Some languages process on the Mac once assets install; other paths go through Apple's servers. Check System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation for your language rather than assuming.
If recognition is local, is the app private?
Not automatically. The transcript can still be sent out for cleanup, rewriting, or AI features, and it can sit in history afterward. Ask where the text goes and where it is stored as separate questions.
Where does Auri Voice run its cleanup?
On the provider you pick in AI settings. Auri Cloud is the default and receives the transcribed text, never audio. Auri Local keeps cleanup on the Mac (Apple Silicon), and you can bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google key.
Where is Auri Voice's dictation history stored?
On your Mac, under Settings > Dictation > History. Save transcriptions is on by default; Save audio is off by default, with a 2 GB storage budget when on and files under ~/Library/Application Support/AuriVoice/. The trash button's Delete all history clears everything.
Can I verify these claims myself?
Yes. Turn Wi-Fi off in Control Center and dictate; whatever still works is local. Reconnect and run a network monitor such as Little Snitch to see what the app contacts while you speak.