Privacy Policy
Last updated: March 27, 2026
PenSistant is designed with privacy at its core. We do not collect, store, or transmit any of your personal data. Everything stays on your device.
Overview
PenSistant is a voice-to-text dictation application for macOS and iOS. This policy explains how the app handles your data, audio recordings, and API communications.
Data We Collect
None. PenSistant does not collect any personal information, usage analytics, telemetry, or crash reports. There are no accounts, no sign-ups, and no tracking of any kind.
Audio Recordings
When you use PenSistant to dictate, audio is recorded temporarily on your device. Here is how recordings are handled:
- Audio files are saved locally to ~/Documents/PenSistant Recordings/ on macOS
- Recordings are sent directly from your device to the OpenAI API for transcription
- Audio data is transmitted over an encrypted HTTPS connection
- PenSistant never stores or forwards your audio to any other server or third party
OpenAI API Usage
PenSistant uses the OpenAI API (Whisper for transcription, GPT for text formatting) to process your audio. Important details:
- You provide your own OpenAI API key — PenSistant does not have a backend server
- Your API key is stored securely in the macOS Keychain, never in plain text
- Audio and text are sent directly from your device to OpenAI's servers
- OpenAI's data handling is governed by their own privacy policy and terms of use
- As of this writing, OpenAI states that data submitted via the API is not used to train their models
Local Storage
The only data PenSistant stores on your device:
- API key — securely in the macOS Keychain
- Audio recordings — in your Documents folder, managed by you
PenSistant does not use cookies, local databases, or cloud storage of any kind.
Accessibility Permissions
PenSistant requests macOS Accessibility permissions for two specific purposes:
- Capturing the focused text field — to know where to insert your transcription
- Simulating keyboard input — to paste the transcribed text via CMD+V
These permissions are used solely for text insertion and are never used to monitor, log, or transmit your keystrokes or screen content.
Microphone Access
Microphone access is required to record your voice for transcription. The microphone is only active while you are actively recording (indicated by the visual recording indicator). PenSistant does not access the microphone in the background.
Third-Party Services
The only third-party service PenSistant communicates with is the OpenAI API, and only when you initiate a recording. There are no analytics services, ad networks, or other third-party integrations.
Children's Privacy
PenSistant does not knowingly collect any information from children under the age of 13. Since the app collects no personal data, there is no age-specific data handling.
Changes to This Policy
If this privacy policy is updated, the changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date. Since PenSistant has no user accounts, there is no way to send notifications of policy changes — please check back periodically.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy or how PenSistant handles your data, please reach out via the project's GitHub repository.