Private dictation

A private, offline dictation app for Mac

Loquen turns speech into text on your Mac’s own chip, and the AI cleanup runs there too. In Private mode, the default, nothing you say leaves the computer: no audio, no text.

After the initial approximately 2.2 GB model download, dictation works offline, on a plane, with the same key. The download carries no dictation. This page sets out exactly what runs on the computer and the requests Loquen can make to the internet, so you can judge it for yourself. The full policy is on the privacy page.

What runs on your Mac

Hold one key (Globe/fn by default, or right Option or right Command in Settings), talk, and let go. Clean, punctuated text is pasted at the cursor in any app with a text field. Every step between the key going down and the text appearing happens on the computer:

• Speech to text. The recognition model runs on the Mac’s own chip. Processing time varies with dictation length, recognition engine and Mac.
• AI cleanup. The pass that punctuates and tidies the words also runs locally. It is told not to “correct” terms from your vocabulary packs.
• Your history, phrases, dictionary and settings. All local files. History can retain the original transcript and recording until you delete them, including after a redacted paste.
• Privacy Mode. Holding a second key replaces common identifiers with plain words before a paste, on the computer. An optional higher-accuracy model, about 200 MB, downloads only if you ask for it.

What never leaves it

In Private mode, nothing you say leaves the computer. Not the audio, not the transcript, not the cleaned-up text, not a count of how often you dictate. Your voice is never sent anywhere in any mode.

Loquen never takes screenshots of your screen. There is no account, no sign-in, and no telemetry, analytics or crash reporting. There is nothing collected, so there is nothing to sell or share.

When Loquen uses the network

The initial approximately 2.2 GB model download uses the network and carries no dictation. After setup, Loquen can make the two requests below; neither carries anything you said.

If the licence check cannot reach the internet, Loquen keeps working for 14 days on the last good answer. Dictation itself never waits on the network.

Enhanced mode, only if you turn it on

Some people want a larger cloud model to polish their text. Enhanced mode is for them, and it is off until you switch it on. When it is on, it sends the text of a dictation, never the audio, to the cloud model you choose, using your own API key. Settings shows which provider is in use and whether your account with them has a business associate agreement and zero retention.

You can keep any app in Private mode even with Enhanced on. A physician can keep the EHR Private and let Enhanced handle email, for example. The rule is set per app, so it holds every time.

Recent audio is kept locally for Retry

Loquen normally keeps the 50 most recent recordings on your Mac so Retry works. Choosing Keep all audio retains more. Nothing in the archive is uploaded anywhere; delete History items when you no longer need them.

Privacy Mode’s replacement mapping is temporary, but the original recording or transcript can still remain in local History until you delete it.

Who this is for

Anyone who would rather their spoken words stay on their own machine: clinicians dictating notes, lawyers drafting, writers, people with a private journal. It was built by a physician who dictates notes every day, and that is why the default is Private. For how this fits with HIPAA, see HIPAA and dictation on a Mac.

It runs on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 or later) with macOS 15 or later. It dictates in twenty-eight languages, all on the computer.

Questions

Does Loquen work without the internet?

After the initial approximately 2.2 GB model download, speech to text and AI cleanup run on your Mac, so dictation works offline. If the once-a-day licence check cannot connect, Loquen keeps working for 14 days on the last good answer.

Is my audio sent anywhere?

No, in any mode. Loquen normally keeps the 50 most recent recordings locally so Retry works. Keep all audio retains more; delete History items when you no longer need them.

What does Enhanced mode send?

The text of a dictation, never the audio, to the cloud model you choose, using your own API key. It is off by default, and you can keep any app, such as your EHR, in Private mode while it is on.

Do I need an account?

No. There is no account and no sign-in. After the 7-day free trial, a licence key is all Loquen needs.

Which Macs does it run on?

Apple Silicon Macs, M1 or later, on macOS 15 or later. Intel Macs are not supported. Windows is being built.