How LocalType handles your voice
The short version: your speech is turned into text on your own phone. This page explains what that means in practice, and is honest about the one thing that does need a connection.
The whole idea in one sentence
Speech recognition is a piece of software. It can run on a server somewhere, or it can run on the device in your hand. LocalType chooses the second option, which removes the need to send your audio anywhere at all.
Where the processing happens
This is a difference in architecture, not a claim about any particular product.
With LocalType
Cloud voice typing
What LocalType does
On-device transcription
The speech model runs locally on your Android device. Your audio is turned into text there.
No account
There is no sign-up, no login and no profile. Nothing ties the app to an identity.
No tracking
No behavioural tracking inside the product.
No ads
There is no advertising in LocalType, so there is no advertising profile to build.
No cloud backup
LocalType app data is deliberately excluded from Android’s cloud backup, so it is not copied off the device that way.
Private model storage
The model the app runs on is kept in its own private storage. The file you download first lands in your Downloads folder, like any other download.
Protected password fields
Voice input is automatically disabled in password fields, so a password cannot be dictated by accident.
Offline after download
Once a model is installed, transcription no longer needs a connection at all.
Why does LocalType ask for internet access?
For downloading the speech model you choose, and nothing about that is hidden. A model is a file of a considerable size, so it is not shipped inside the app; you pick one and LocalType fetches it. After that, transcription runs on your device and works with the connection switched off.
If you would rather verify than take our word for it: install LocalType, download a model, turn on airplane mode, and carry on dictating.
What LocalType is not
Being clear about this avoids the wrong expectations.
- It is not an assistant or a chatbot. It does not answer questions or write text for you.
- It is not a recorder. It produces text in the field you are typing in, and does not keep an audio archive.
- It is not a transcription service you upload files to.
- It does not send anything you type or dictate to us or to anyone else.
A word about keyboards in general
Any Android keyboard sees what you type — that is simply how an input method works, and LocalType is no exception: it reads the words around your cursor to correct typos and suggest the next word. The question is not whether a keyboard can see your text, but what it does with it. LocalType keeps all of it on the device and has nowhere to send it to.
Questions about privacy
Is my voice stored anywhere?
Transcription happens on your device and produces text in the field you are typing in. LocalType does not keep an archive of your recordings.
Does LocalType work if I block its internet access?
Once you have downloaded a speech model, yes. You need a connection to fetch the model in the first place.
What about the text I dictate — is that sent anywhere?
No. The text goes into the field you were typing in, in whichever app that is, exactly as if you had typed it.
Do you use my speech to improve the models?
No. The transcription happens on your device, so there is nothing collected to train on.
What happens to my email address if I join the beta?
It is used to send you the beta invitation and occasional updates about the test, and nothing else. You can ask us to remove it at any time.
LocalType is in testing
Join the beta and help work out which phones, languages and situations still need attention.
Join the beta