# Is iPhone dictation private?

> Keyspoken. Markdown copy of https://keyspoken.com/is-iphone-dictation-private. Publisher: Kymata Labs LLC. Last updated: 2026-11-12.

What Apple says about where iPhone dictation is processed, when text can leave the phone, and the setting that shares audio with Apple. Plus how Keyspoken differs.

Source: https://keyspoken.com/is-iphone-dictation-private

### What Apple says

- Dictation is processed on your iPhone in many languages, and no internet connection is required.
- When you dictate in a search field, the dictated text may be sent to the search engine to process the search.
- Dictation may not be available in all languages or regions.

### The setting to know about

Apple's privacy notice describes an opt-in called Improve Siri and Dictation. If you turn it on, Apple collects, stores and reviews additional data, including audio and text of what you say to Siri and Dictation. It is a choice: if you have not opted in, that sharing does not apply.

### What "on-device" means

On-device means the audio is turned into text by software running on the phone itself, so the recording does not have to travel to a server. It is the difference between a calculator and a web search.

### How Keyspoken differs

- Every language it supports is processed on the iPhone. There is no cloud path at all.
- There is no account, no analytics and no setting that shares audio.
- The speech models are open: NVIDIA Parakeet, published under CC BY 4.0.
- The only network request the app makes is the one-time model download.

### Sources

Source: Apple, iPhone User Guide, Dictate text on iPhone (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/dictate-text-iph2c0651d2/ios), read 13 November 2026.

Source: Apple, Siri, Dictation and Privacy (https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/ask-siri-dictation/), read 13 November 2026.

### Questions

**Does iPhone dictation send my voice to Apple?**
Apple says dictation is processed on the iPhone in many languages with no internet connection. Dictating into a search field may send the text to the search engine. If you opt in to Improve Siri and Dictation, Apple collects audio and text to improve the feature.

**What does on-device dictation mean?**
It means speech is turned into text by software running on the phone, so the audio does not need to be sent to a server.

**Is Keyspoken more private than built-in dictation?**
It works differently: Keyspoken has no cloud path, no account and no data-sharing setting for any language it supports. Apple's dictation is also on-device in many languages. Which you prefer is your call.