Every dictation tool makes a fundamental architectural choice: process your speech on-device (nothing leaves your machine) or in the cloud (sub-300ms via dedicated hardware). In 2026, both approaches are viable. The right choice depends on your threat model, connectivity, and how much you value speed vs. privacy.
How they work
On-device transcription
The speech model runs locally on your CPU or Neural Engine. Your audio never leaves your device. Apple Dictation on Apple Silicon, Superwhisper's local model, and Windows Speech Recognition (Voice Access) all work this way. Speed depends on your hardware — Apple M-series chips are fast (near-instant), but running Whisper locally on an Intel laptop is slow (2–8 seconds per clip).
Cloud transcription
Your audio is sent to a server that runs a larger, more accurate model on dedicated hardware and returns the transcript in milliseconds. Groq's LPU hardware (which AiType uses) achieves ~250ms end-to-end including the AI cleanup pass. The tradeoff: your audio travels over the internet to a third-party server.
The privacy question
The real question isn't "does audio leave my device?" — it's "what happens to it if it does?"
AiType's position: audio is processed in memory and discarded immediately after transcription. It is not stored, logged, or used to train AI models. The only thing retained is the text transcript, which is stored locally on your device in voice history. See the full privacy policy and data controls.
This is meaningfully different from tools like Google Voice Typing (Gboard), which explicitly uses your voice to improve Google's models unless you opt out.
Side-by-side
| Dimension | On-Device (Apple Dictation, Superwhisper local) | Cloud (AiType, Groq Whisper) |
|---|---|---|
| Audio leaves device | ✓ Never (maximum privacy) | Yes — processed in memory, not stored |
| Works offline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Latency (modern hardware) | Instant–2s (varies by model size) | ~250ms (Groq) — consistent |
| AI cleanup pass | ✗ (Apple Dictation, local Superwhisper) | ✓ (AiType) |
| Accuracy on accented speech | Good | Excellent (large Whisper model) |
| Custom vocabulary | ✗ (Apple) / partial (Dragon) | Context-aware (AiType) |
| Cost | Free (Apple) / $8–12.50/mo (Superwhisper local) | From $9.99/mo (AiType) |
Who needs on-device processing
- Medical professionals dictating patient information (check HIPAA requirements with your compliance officer)
- Lawyers dictating privileged client communications in jurisdictions with strict data residency rules
- Government and defence workers with classified or sensitive mandates
- Air-gapped environments or locations with no reliable internet
- Journalists working with confidential sources
Who doesn't need on-device processing
For most everyday use — emails, Slack, documents, AI prompts — cloud processing with a clear data policy is fine. You're already sending email content through email servers, Slack through Salesforce's infrastructure, and documents through cloud sync. Adding voice input through a no-storage cloud API is not a meaningful increase in your threat surface.
The key question: does the dictation tool store your audio? AiType doesn't. Many others (Google, Microsoft) do by default.
The practical answer
If you need zero data egress, use Apple Dictation (Mac/iOS) or Superwhisper with a local model. If you want the best combination of speed, accuracy, and AI cleanup — and your content doesn't have strict legal or compliance requirements — AiType's cloud approach is the better daily tool. The audio isn't stored; only you see the transcript.
Also read: AiType Privacy Policy · Data Controls · Whisper vs Groq speed comparison
Try AiType free for 14 days
No credit card. Audio processed in memory, never stored.