Last updated: May 14, 2026
Echo is a native macOS dictation and transcription app developed by Ruslan Konovalov.
Overview
Privacy is a core principle of Echo. Echo runs on your Mac. Depending on the speech-to-text provider you choose, transcription may happen locally on your device or may require Echo to send data directly from your Mac to a third-party provider using your own API key.
Data We Collect and Process
- Microphone audio that you explicitly record for dictation or transcription.
- The resulting transcript text.
- Transcription instructions you optionally configure in Echo for supported providers.
- Local app settings and preferences stored on your device, such as provider selection, hotkeys, onboarding state, audio feedback preferences, model selection, and consent state.
- API keys you add for supported cloud providers. These are stored locally in the macOS Keychain.
Echo processes this data so the app can record audio, transcribe speech to text, copy the result to the clipboard, and operate according to your settings.
Echo does not operate its own backend for storing your recordings or transcripts.
Local Processing
If you use a local transcription provider, your audio and transcript stay on your Mac except for standard platform-level networking or diagnostics outside Echo's control.
Third-Party Cloud Processing
If you use a cloud transcription provider, Echo may send data directly from your Mac to that provider over a secure connection. Echo does not proxy that traffic through the developer's servers.
OpenAI
If you choose OpenAI, Echo may send the following data to OpenAI:
- Your recorded audio.
- Any personal data you speak or that is otherwise contained in the audio.
- Your transcription instructions, if you set them in Echo.
- Technical request information that OpenAI may receive when Echo connects to its API, such as your IP address and standard network metadata.
This data is sent to OpenAI so OpenAI can transcribe your speech into text.
xAI / Grok
If you choose xAI's Grok transcription service, Echo may send the following data to xAI:
- Your recorded audio.
- Any personal data you speak or that is otherwise contained in the audio.
- Technical request information that xAI may receive when Echo connects to its API, such as your IP address and standard network metadata.
This data is sent to xAI so Grok can transcribe your speech into text.
Third-Party Provider Terms
Processing by third-party providers is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. Echo requires explicit in-app consent before sending your data to a third-party cloud transcription provider.
API Keys
Your cloud provider API keys are stored locally in the macOS Keychain. They are used to authenticate requests to the provider you selected and are not intentionally transmitted to the developer's servers.
Local App Data
Echo may store local preferences and technical settings on your device, such as hotkey configuration, onboarding state, selected provider, model selection, consent state, audio feedback settings, and similar app settings needed to operate the product.
Clipboard Use
Echo copies completed transcriptions to the macOS clipboard so you can paste them yourself into another app. Echo does not automatically inject text into other apps.
Analytics and Diagnostics
Echo may rely on standard Apple crash reporting or similar platform diagnostics to help identify stability issues. These reports are limited to technical diagnostics and are not used to intentionally collect the content of your recordings or transcripts.
Data Retention
Because Echo is designed to work locally and to connect directly to third-party providers when you choose them, the developer does not maintain a central database of your recordings or transcripts.
Third-party cloud providers may retain or process data according to their own policies. You should review the privacy policy of the provider you choose.
Consent and Revocation
Echo requests explicit in-app consent before sending your data to a third-party cloud transcription provider.
You can revoke consent for future cloud transcription use by stopping use of the cloud provider, removing the provider API key from Echo, switching to a local provider, or deleting Echo's local app data from your device. If you want data deleted by a third-party provider, you must follow that provider's deletion or account controls.
Contact
If you have questions about privacy or want to request deletion of any support-related information you shared directly with the developer, email hello@konovalov.ai or use the support page.