Safeclip

Privacy, in detail

What leaves your computer, and what doesn't.

Session audio and notes stay on your computer. They are not sent to Safeclip. Some things do go over the internet. This page lists each one: what is sent, to whom, when, and whether you can turn it off.

It covers Safeclip on macOS, Windows and Linux. Where a platform differs, the entry says so.

Last reviewed October 22, 2026. Applies to Safeclip 0.1.x on macOS, Windows and Linux.

What stays on your computer

These are created, processed and stored on your computer. The app does not send them to Safeclip or anyone else.

  • 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

Library content leaves only through features you turn on: cloud Ask with your own key, and the local API for other apps. Both are described below.

What leaves your computer

This is everything the app sends over the internet.

No account needed to use Safeclip. You only sign in to buy Founding. Without an account, the app sends no sign-in and no license check. What is left: update checks, and the updates the app then downloads on its own; the search model it downloads if you turn on Search by meaning in Settings, Tools; the other model and tool downloads you start, which the app also resumes after an interruption, and a missing bundled tool it puts back; link imports; and feedback if you send it.

The app’s window is locked to hosts on this list by a content security policy, so it can’t load anything from other sites, including images linked in a note. Links you click open in your browser, not in the app. Inside the embedded YouTube player, YouTube loads from its own servers. Update checks, model downloads, link imports and cloud Ask run outside the window: they follow the list below, but the policy doesn’t govern them.

  1. 01Sign-in and account (only if you sign in)

    What is sent
    Your email and password when you sign in or register (or a one-time code, if you sign in through the browser). After that, an account token with each request to our servers, including a profile refresh when the app opens. Your display name and avatar, if you set them.
    To whom
    Safeclip (api.safeclip.io). An avatar is stored with your account on our servers.
    When
    Only while you are signed in: when you sign in, each time the app opens, and when you change account details.
    Turn it off
    Your choice. No account needed to use Safeclip. You only sign in to buy Founding, or to use it in the app. You can sign out in Settings, Account: your notes stay on this computer and come back when you sign in. The avatar is optional.

  2. 02License check (only if you sign in)

    What is sent
    Your account token, a random install ID created on your computer, the app version, your operating system, and the update channel. It is tied to your account, not anonymous. Without an account, nothing is sent: there is no anonymous check-in.
    To whom
    Safeclip (api.safeclip.io)
    When
    Only while you are signed in: after you sign in, when the app opens, then about every 24 hours while it runs. One exception: for 30 minutes after you open the upgrade prompt, pricing or account page from the app, or open the app from a safeclip:// link (such as Open Safeclip on the website, or signing in through the browser), it also checks when you switch back to Safeclip, at most every 2 minutes, so a purchase shows up without a restart. Founding users skip those extra checks.
    Turn it off
    Only while you are signed in, where Founding needs it. If you are offline, the app keeps working and checks in when you reconnect. Signed out, the app uses Free and sends no license check.

  3. 03Update checks and downloads

    What is sent
    Your app version, operating system and CPU type, as part of the request address, and the update channel (stable or beta). If your account has beta updates on (only accounts Safeclip turns this on for), the check and the download also carry your account token, so Safeclip can tell the account may get beta builds. Every other check sends no token. If there is an update, the app downloads it.
    To whom
    Safeclip (api.safeclip.io) for the check. The update file itself comes from GitHub.
    When
    When the app opens, then every 6 hours.
    Turn it off
    Runs automatically, and updates install automatically. There is no setting to turn this off today. An account with beta updates can turn them off in Settings, Updates, and then sends no token.

  4. 04Model and tool downloads

    What is sent
    Ordinary file downloads. Nothing about you or your library is sent. Hugging Face: the Whisper speech model (base.en, about 142 MB) and the local AI model (Llama 3.2 3B, about 2 GB), plus, if you choose them, the larger Whisper small.en and Qwen 2.5 7B models and the multilingual Whisper small model for other languages (about 488 MB). GitHub: the local AI server, the speaker-detection models, and the link-import tool; on Windows, also the Whisper transcription engine; and, if you add it in Settings, Voice, the natural voice that reads Ask’s answers aloud (about 90 MB: the sherpa-onnx speech program and Piper’s LJ Speech voice). If the ffmpeg copy that ships with the app is missing, the app downloads it: from ffmpeg.martin-riedl.de on a Mac (0.1.0 used evermeet.cx, which has stopped serving it), from GitHub on Windows, from johnvansickle.com on Linux. The Windows installer may also download Microsoft’s WebView2 runtime if your PC doesn’t have it.
    To whom
    Hugging Face and GitHub. In the rare ffmpeg case, the host listed above. Microsoft, for WebView2 on Windows.
    When
    On first run, if a file goes missing, when you pick a larger model, add other languages or add the natural voice, or when you check for tool updates.
    Turn it off
    Needed once for setup. After the models are on your computer, recording, transcription and notes work offline.

  5. 05Local search model (opt-in)

    What is sent
    Requests for pinned public GTE-small ONNX model and tokenizer files, about 35 MB together. The host sees your IP address and normal connection details. These file requests contain model file names. Search questions, transcript text and index vectors are processed on your computer.
    To whom
    Hugging Face and its file-delivery hosts.
    When
    After you turn on Search by meaning in Settings, Tools and your library needs the search model, with interrupted downloads resumed. The model and tokenizer are checked against pinned SHA-256 checksums before use.
    Turn it off
    Off by default. Turn on Search by meaning in Settings, Tools to allow the model download. Turn it off in Settings, Tools to pause its download and use word matching. After download, search works offline. The current model is for English transcripts; other transcript languages use word matching.

  6. 06Cloud Ask with your own key (opt-in)

    What is sent
    Your question. The passages Ask found for it in your library: short transcript excerpts and text read from attached images, each labeled with the recording title, timestamp, speaker and, if filed, the client name. Up to the last four messages of that conversation. Today’s date and time, and Ask’s instructions to the model. Not your name or email. No audio, full transcripts or image files.
    To whom
    The OpenAI-compatible endpoint you set (OpenAI, or another provider or proxy), with your own API key. It goes straight from your computer, not through Safeclip.
    When
    Only when you choose Send to Cloud for a message.
    Turn it off
    Off by default, Founding License only. Every other question runs on your computer. Turn on the pure-local lock in Settings to remove the cloud option entirely.

  7. 07Link imports

    What is sent
    Normal requests for the media at the link you paste, and for its thumbnail, which is saved on your computer with the media. Media imported from YouTube plays in an embedded player from youtube-nocookie.com (YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode), which loads the player and video from YouTube’s servers. The player loads only when you press play. Until then the item shows its saved thumbnail.
    To whom
    The site that hosts it (for example YouTube and its image and video servers).
    When
    When you import a link, and when you press play on an item imported from YouTube.
    Turn it off
    Your choice. Files you record or drop in are not fetched from anywhere.

  8. 08Local API for other apps (opt-in)

    What is sent
    Nothing leaves by itself. While the local API is on, a CLI, MCP client or script on this computer that has its token can connect over 127.0.0.1 to transcribe a file and get answers from the on-device AI. If you also allow library access, it can search and read your recordings: titles, one-line summaries, dates and full transcripts with speaker names, including the text of written and imported notes. Library access works only while you are signed in, and covers only the recordings of that account. Generated notes, audio and images are not exposed. What that client does next is up to it. An AI app may send what it reads to its own cloud model.
    To whom
    The client you connect, then wherever that client sends data. Safeclip does not control that.
    When
    Only while the local API is on and a connected client asks.
    Turn it off
    Off by default, and library access is a second switch, also off by default. Both are in Safeclip’s settings. Only connect clients you trust with your transcripts.

  9. 09AI assistants you connect (opt-in)

    What is sent
    Nothing leaves by itself, and Safeclip itself sends nothing to the assistant’s provider. Safeclip’s command-line tool, safeclip-cli, runs on your computer as an MCP server that an assistant app starts. Once connected, it can transcribe any audio or video file on your computer that the assistant asks for (not files in Safeclip’s own folder), and answer with the on-device AI. If you turn on “Let AI assistants read my library”, it can also search and read what you see in Safeclip: titles, one-line summaries, dates, full transcripts with speaker names, notes and written notes, and matching passages with timestamps or text read from attached images. Only for the account that turned it on, and nothing while you are signed out on a computer an account has signed in on. Not audio, images, file paths or folder and client names. If you also turn on “Let AI assistants add notes”, it can add new notes while Safeclip is open. What the assistant does next is up to it: a cloud assistant sends what it reads to its own AI provider.
    To whom
    The assistant app you connect, then its AI provider (for example Anthropic, OpenAI or Cursor). Safeclip does not control that.
    When
    Only while an assistant you connected is running and asks.
    Turn it off
    Off by default, per account. Connect to, in Safeclip’s settings, shows the exact entry it adds to the assistant’s config file, saves a copy first, and can disconnect. Turning library access off takes effect on the assistant’s next request. Only connect assistants you trust with your notes.

  10. 10Feedback you send

    What is sent
    Your message, the feedback type, the app version and your OS, with your account token if you are signed in, so we know who it came from. Without an account it arrives without your name or email.
    To whom
    Safeclip (api.safeclip.io)
    When
    Only when you send feedback from the app.
    Turn it off
    Your choice. Nothing is sent unless you press send.

Not in the app

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 website (safeclip.io)

The website is separate from the app. When you visit it, it records:

  • Google Analytics 4: page views, download clicks and sign-ups. IP anonymization is turned on and ad-personalization signals are off.
  • Our own page-view log: the page (with tokens and IDs removed), the referring site without its query string, your browser’s user agent, any utm_source, utm_medium or utm_campaign tags, and a visitor ID. The visitor ID is a keyed hash of your IP address and user agent that changes every day, so we can count visitors without storing your IP. Rows are kept for up to a year.
  • Payments on the pricing page go to Stripe.

How to check this yourself

You don't have to take our word for it. Three ways to see what the app connects to:

  1. Use a network monitor. On a Mac, install LuLu (free) or Little Snitch. On Windows, open Resource Monitor and watch the Network tab. Then use Safeclip as you normally would. You should see these hosts, and only these:
    • api.safeclip.ioUpdate checks, feedback; sign-in and license check only if you sign in
    • huggingface.co and its download hostsModel downloads
    • github.com and its download hostsUpdates, the local AI server, speaker-detection models, link-import tool, the natural voice if you add it
    • ffmpeg.martin-riedl.de (Mac), johnvansickle.com (Linux)Only if the bundled ffmpeg is missing
    • MicrosoftWindows installer only, for the WebView2 runtime if the PC doesn’t have it
    • The site you paste a link fromOnly for items you imported from a link
    • Your cloud AI providerOnly when you choose Send to Cloud

    On a Mac, requests from the app's window can show up under macOS's web engine (com.apple.WebKit.Networking) rather than under Safeclip itself. On Windows they can show up under msedgewebview2.exe.

  2. Use a terminal. On a Mac, run nettop -P for a live view of network use per process, or lsof -i -n -P | grep -i safeclip to list open connections. On Linux, ss -tnp does the same. On Windows, netstat -b in an administrator prompt. While you record and transcribe, you should see no traffic from Safeclip beyond the update check (every 6 hours) and, if you are signed in, the license check (at launch and daily). Connections to 127.0.0.1 (localhost) are Safeclip talking to its own local AI and transcription servers on your computer (and, on Linux, its window loading your recordings to play them); they don't leave the machine.
  3. Turn off Wi-Fi. Once the models are downloaded, record a voice note with no connection. It transcribes and the note is written all the same, because none of that needs a server.

The fine print, in plain words

Safeclip is in beta. It runs on Apple Silicon Macs, Windows and Linux, and it works in about 99 languages: English is built in, and the free multilingual model (beta) adds the rest. We do not offer a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement and make no certification claims. Your notes are as safe as your computer: turn on disk encryption (FileVault on a Mac, BitLocker on Windows) and use a strong login password.

When the app changes what it sends, we update this page and the review date above. If you see a connection that isn't listed here, tell us at z@safeclip.io.

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