Privacy First
How Vocalinux handles your voice
Vocalinux is built for privacy. Local engines process speech on your machine. Remote API is optional and only talks to a server you set.
Local engines
Local engines do not need the internet after the model is downloaded. Processing stays on your device unless you turn on Remote API.
No Cloud Processing
Local engines do not send your voice to our servers. Remote API sends audio only to the URL you configure.
Open Source
Fully open source under AGPL-3.0. Inspect the code yourself on GitHub. The installed app does not send usage telemetry.
Data Collection
The installed Vocalinux app does not send usage telemetry. It does not phone home. The installed app does not do the following for us:
- Does not send voice recordings or audio data to us
- Does not send transcribed text to us
- Does not send usage analytics or telemetry
- Does not send device fingerprints to us
- Does not collect IP addresses or location data for us
Local engines keep audio on your device. Remote API sends audio only to the server you configure.
Those limits apply to the installed app. They do not describe this website.
This website (vocalinux.com)
vocalinux.com loads Google Analytics via the googletagmanager gtag script for measurement ID G-7NBBNJNNQ7 and runs gtag config with no IP anonymization and no cookie flags. That sends page views and a Google Analytics client identifier (a cookie) to Google. Google processes IP addresses and device and browser data. The installed Vocalinux app does not send usage telemetry.
How We Process Your Voice
When you dictate, here's exactly what happens:
- 1. Audio Capture - Your microphone records audio temporarily in RAM
- 2. Local Processing - Audio is processed by whisper.cpp, Whisper, or VOSK on your CPU/GPU
- 3. Text Output - Transcribed text is injected into your active application
- 4. Immediate Deletion - Audio data is discarded immediately after processing
Note: Local engines do not write audio to disk or send it over the network. Remote API sends audio to the server you configure.
Configuration Data
Vocalinux stores configuration locally at ~/.config/vocalinux/config.json:
- Settings like preferred engine, model size, and language
- Custom keyboard shortcuts
- Window and tray preferences
This data is stored in JSON. You can view, edit, or delete it at any time.
Vocalinux vs Cloud Dictation Services
| Feature | Vocalinux | Cloud Services |
|---|---|---|
| Data leaves device | Only with Remote API | Always |
| Internet required | Only for Remote API or a model download | Yes |
| Source code available | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | No |
| Voice recordings stored | Not by us; Remote API only if you enable it | Varies by service |
| Cost | Free and open source | Subscription |
Questions About Privacy?
If you have any questions about our privacy practices or want to verify our claims, please reach out:
Open an issue on GitHub