Last updated: 10 October 2026
The short version
- We don't collect your data. We don't run any server that receives your voice, your words or anything about you.
- Your audio and text stay on your devices: your computer, your iPhone, and your own network between them.
- No account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. The apps send us nothing. This website sets no cookies.
- The apps go online only to download the speech model (once), and for options you choose to set up.
Who we are
ShoutAbout is made by Spencer Seay, an independent developer (“we”, “us”). This policy covers the ShoutAbout apps for Windows, Mac and iPhone, and this website, shoutabout.fyi. Questions: see Contact.
Your voice and your words
On your computer (Windows and Mac)
ShoutAbout listens only between your two presses of the dictation key (or while you hold it, if you chose that). The recording is turned into text by a speech model running on your computer, then pasted where you're typing. Recordings aren't saved after they're turned into text, unless you switch on the advanced “keep audio” option in the settings file yourself.
On Windows, if you've installed Ollama yourself and turned on “Clean up wording with AI”, the text is tidied by a small AI model that also runs on your PC.
On your iPhone
The app records only after you tap the mouth, press the Action Button, or use one of its controls or shortcuts, and stops when you tell it to. Your iPhone turns the recording into text with Apple's on-device speech recognition, which works on the iPhone itself (the app requires on-device recognition and never asks Apple's servers to do it). Or, if you chose your computer, the recording goes to your computer.
Between your iPhone and your computer
When you send to your computer, your iPhone connects straight to it over your own network and sends the recording (or, on slower computers, the finished text). Nothing passes through us or any cloud service. Your computer sends back the text it wrote.
On your home network this connection is not encrypted, the same way many home devices work. Your computer only accepts it from devices on your local network, and only from iPhones you connected yourself (by clicking Allow, or with the pairing QR code). Use it on networks you trust.
What's kept on your devices
These stay on your devices. We can't see them, and you can delete them any time.
| Device | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Computer | Settings, your custom words, the list of connected iPhones (their names and a fingerprint of each one's key, never the key itself), logs (no dictated text) | So ShoutAbout works the way you set it up |
| Computer | Your dictation history, but only if you turn it on in Settings (or in the History window). It's off by default. Once on, it keeps the text of each dictation, when, and how long it took. | So you can look back, and to suggest words ShoutAbout keeps getting wrong. Recordings that fail to go through are kept so you can try them again, but only while history is on. You can turn it off again any time, and Clear history deletes what's kept. |
| Computer | The speech model | To turn speech into text without the internet |
| iPhone | Settings, the connected computer's name and address, and a copy of your custom words. Your last 200 results (History) only if you turn on Keep history in Settings; it's off by default. | So the app finds your computer and spells your words right, and, if you want, so you can copy past results. History is left out of iCloud and computer backups. |
| iPhone | The key that lets it dictate to your computer, in the iPhone's keychain, on this device only | So your computer knows it's your iPhone |
Word suggestions. To help it spell names right, ShoutAbout on your computer can suggest words for its vocabulary from the names of your project folders and, only while history is on, from your dictation history. This happens on your computer only, and nothing is added without your OK.
Removing it. On Windows, uninstalling asks whether to delete your settings, words and history too. On a Mac, drag the app to the Trash, and delete the folder ~/Library/Application Support/ShoutAbout if you want your settings, words and history gone too. On iPhone, deleting the app deletes its data.
When the apps go online
- The speech model (computer). On first start (or when you pick a different quality), ShoutAbout downloads the speech model from Hugging Face. Like any download, Hugging Face sees your IP address and the request. No audio or text is sent.
- Apple's speech model (iPhone). iOS may download its on-device speech model from Apple the first time it's needed. Apple's privacy policy covers that.
- Finding your computer. Your computer announces its name (for example “DESKTOP-ABC”) on your local network so your iPhone can find it. Other devices on the same network can see that name. It contains no keys or personal data beyond the name you gave your computer.
- Nothing else, by default. The apps send no analytics, no crash reports and no usage data to us, and they don't check for updates in the background.
Advanced options you set up yourself
- Your own tunnel. If you connect your computer to the internet through your own Cloudflare Tunnel, dictations sent from away go through Cloudflare under your Cloudflare account and its terms.
- iPhone Shortcuts from the command line. The developer tool that builds iPhone Shortcuts can send the shortcut's layout (its steps, your computer's addresses and your home Wi-Fi name, never keys, audio or text) to a signing service. It runs only when you run it, and it can be switched off.
What the apps ask permission for
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Microphone (computer, iPhone) | Hearing you, only while you dictate |
| Accessibility (Mac) | Pasting where you're typing, and noticing your dictation key |
| Speech recognition (iPhone) | Turning speech into text on the iPhone |
| Local network (iPhone, Mac) | Finding your computer and talking to it |
| Camera (iPhone, optional) | Only for “Scan a code instead”, if you choose it |
| Live Activities (iPhone) | Showing the little mouth in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen |
| Firewall (Windows, and a Mac with its firewall on) | Letting your iPhone reach your computer; on Windows, on private networks only |
The clipboard. On your computer, ShoutAbout pastes by briefly using the clipboard and then puts back what was there. On your iPhone, results are copied to the clipboard; if you use Apple's Universal Clipboard, iOS may share it with your other Apple devices.
This website
shoutabout.fyi is a set of plain pages. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and loads nothing from other companies: the fonts and images are served from this site. The site is hosted by Cloudflare, which, like any web host, processes your IP address and request details to deliver the pages and protect them from attacks. We don't use that to track you.
The Windows and Mac downloads are served by GitHub; GitHub's privacy statement applies to the download.
App stores and beta testing
When you get the iPhone app from the App Store or TestFlight, Apple handles the download and your Apple account. If you've chosen in iOS settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may share crash reports and usage statistics with us; they don't contain your recordings or your text. If you join a TestFlight beta, Apple shares the name and email address you were invited with, and any feedback you send through TestFlight.
If you email us
We see your email address and your message, and use them only to answer you. We delete them when they're no longer needed. Please don't send recordings or anything private.
Children
ShoutAbout isn't aimed at children under 13. Because we don't collect personal data, we don't collect any from children either.
Your choices and rights
Everything ShoutAbout keeps is on your devices, under your control: you can view it, change it or delete it there. We hold no data about you to hand over or erase, except messages you've sent us (by email or as TestFlight feedback), which we'll delete if you ask. Depending on where you live (for example in the EU, the UK or California), you have rights over personal data that companies hold about you; you can always contact us about them.
Changes
If ShoutAbout ever starts handling your data differently, for example if the apps learn to check this website for updates, we'll change this page first and update the date at the top.