Safeclip

Security and architecture

Session audio and notes stay on your computer.

They are not sent to Safeclip. Some things do go over the internet: updates and model downloads, plus sign-in and a daily license check if you buy Founding. Here is exactly what, so you don't have to take our word for it.

What “local-first” means here

Safeclip runs Whisper (English models) and a local language model on your computer. Your audio is captured, transcribed, summarized and clipped there. None of that is uploaded to Safeclip. You don't have to turn anything on for this; it is how the app works by default. The one cloud feature, Ask with your own API key, is off unless you turn it on.

What leaves your computer, and what doesn't

What leaves your computer

  • Sign-in and account (only if you sign in). Needed only for Founding. When you sign in, your email and password go to Safeclip; after that, an account token, including when the app opens.
  • License check (only if you sign in). While you are signed in, a random install ID, app version, OS and update channel go to Safeclip with your account token when the app opens and about once a day. Without an account, none of this is sent.
  • Update checks and downloads. The app asks Safeclip for updates at launch and every 6 hours, and downloads them from GitHub.
  • Model and tool downloads. The app downloads its models and tools from Hugging Face and GitHub on first run.
  • Local search model (opt-in). If you turn on Search by meaning, a small model and tokenizer download from Hugging Face while Safeclip prepares your library.
  • Cloud Ask with your own key (opt-in). Only if you turn it on and choose Send to Cloud: your question and the passages Ask found go to the provider you set.
  • Link imports. Only when you paste a link: the app fetches that media and its thumbnail from the site.
  • Local API for other apps (opt-in). Only if you turn it on: a script or MCP client on your computer can use Safeclip, and with library access it can read your transcripts and may send them to its own provider.
  • AI assistants you connect (opt-in). Only if you connect one and let it read your library: Claude, Cursor, Codex or another MCP app can read your notes and may send them to its AI provider.
  • Feedback you send. Only when you press send: your message, app version and OS go to Safeclip.

What stays on your computer

  • Recordings and audio
  • Transcripts
  • The meaning-based search index and its vectors
  • Notes and summaries
  • Ask questions and answers, when Ask runs on the local model (the default)
  • The audio of questions you ask by voice: transcribed on your computer and not kept. Spoken answers are made on your computer too
  • Clips and audiograms you export
  • Client spaces and session history
  • Calendar events, read through macOS Calendar, or from .ics files you choose on this computer (Windows and Linux in beta builds)
  • Your note templates and settings

The app has no analytics, telemetry or crash-reporting SDK. The safeclip.io website counts visits with Google Analytics and our own page-view log; that is the website, not the app. The full list, with how to check it yourself →

How this compares

Most AI note-taking tools capture audio locally but store the transcript in the cloud. Some route your audio through a private inference API instead of storing it. Both are better than tools that run fully in the cloud, but both still involve a server holding your words. Safeclip does not run a server that receives your recordings, transcripts or notes. The exception is one you control: if you turn on cloud Ask, your question and the excerpts it includes go to the provider you chose.

What this means in practice

  • Your recordings and notes are not on Safeclip servers, so a breach of our servers would not expose them. What we do hold is account data: your email, your license, and payment records from Stripe.
  • A change to our policies cannot reach recordings we do not hold.
  • Recording, transcription and notes keep working offline once the models are downloaded. No account is needed. If you sign in for Founding, the license works offline too and re-checks when you reconnect.
  • Cloud features are opt-in and named. Today there is one: Ask with your own API key, for Founding users.

BAAs, your computer and your IT team

Safeclip doesn't offer a Business Associate Agreement. HHS says a software vendor without access to your clients' health information isn't a business associate, and Safeclip doesn't receive session content. That makes your computer the place to secure: disk encryption, a login, encrypted backups.

The trade

Every tool here makes trade-offs. Here are ours, including the rows where another kind of tool is the better pick.

Local apps:
Ocelli, MacWhisper, Superwhisper
Cloud note-takers:
Granola, Otter, Fathom, Fireflies
Clinical scribes:
Upheal, Mentalyc, Freed, Heidi, Abridge

Where transcription runs

Safeclip
On your computer.
Local apps
On your computer.
Cloud note-takers
In the cloud.
Clinical scribes
In the cloud.

Notes and summaries

Where we’re stronger
Safeclip
A local model by default. Cloud only if you add your own key.
Local apps
Varies. Some run a local model, some send the transcript to a hosted model, and some can use either.
Cloud note-takers
Written in the cloud.
Clinical scribes
Written in the cloud, in clinical note formats.

Desktop platforms

Where we’re stronger
Safeclip
Mac (Apple Silicon), Windows and Linux.
Local apps
Mostly Mac. Superwhisper also runs on Windows. None we checked run on Linux.
Cloud note-takers
Mac and Windows apps, or the web.
Clinical scribes
Mostly web and phone apps. A few have desktop apps.

Clips and audiograms

Where we’re stronger
Safeclip
Yes, rendered on your computer.
Local apps
No. MacWhisper exports subtitle files.

Joins the call

Safeclip
No bot. Records your microphone and the call audio on your computer.
Local apps
No bot.
Cloud note-takers
A bot, or bot-free capture from a desktop app, depending on the tool.

Languages

Where they’re stronger
Safeclip
English only.
Local apps
About 100.
Cloud note-takers
From 6 (Otter) to over 100 (Fireflies).
Clinical scribes
From about 15 to over 100, depending on the tool.

Phone app

Where they’re stronger
Safeclip
No.
Local apps
MacWhisper has an iPhone app. Superwhisper has iPhone and Android apps.
Cloud note-takers
Yes, for most.
Clinical scribes
Yes, for most.

Team sharing

Where they’re stronger
Safeclip
No. One person, on their own computer.
Local apps
No.
Cloud note-takers
Yes: shared folders, comments and workspaces.

EHR integration

Where they’re stronger
Safeclip
No. You copy the note into your records.
Clinical scribes
Yes. Abridge and Heidi connect to Epic; others fill notes into SimplePractice, TherapyNotes and similar EHRs through a browser extension.

Business Associate Agreement

Where they’re stronger
Safeclip
Not offered.
Cloud note-takers
Yes. Otter, Fireflies and Granola on enterprise plans; Fathom in its standard terms.
Clinical scribes
Yes. Upheal, Mentalyc, Freed, Heidi and Abridge offer one.

Pricing

Safeclip
Free, or $99 once for the Founding License, sold until December 31, 2026. After that, Safeclip Pro is $144 a year, or $249 once.
Local apps
One-time purchase or subscription.
Cloud note-takers
Subscription, with a free tier.
Clinical scribes
Subscription. Upheal and Heidi have free plans; Abridge sells to health systems.

Checked against each company's own website in October 2026. A blank cell means we couldn't confirm it. Products change; if something here is out of date, tell us at z@safeclip.io.

Private by design, and you can check it.

Safeclip for therapists →