Klartext — Dictation with AI · iPhone 2.0.5 · Mac 1.0 · Updated: 6 October 2026 · Deutsch
This is a translation of the German original at klartext-app.com/datenschutz.html. In case of doubt the German wording applies.
This section covers the Mac app. The other feature sections on this page describe the iPhone app; the controller and contact details apply to both.
The defaults are Apple's on-device recognition and local polishing with Apple
Intelligence. Audio and text are processed on your Mac. macOS downloads missing speech
models from Apple. If you choose local Whisper, Klartext downloads your chosen model from
Hugging Face (repository argmaxinc/whisperkit-coreml). The provider receives
connection data such as your IP address and the time of the download, but no dictations.
Whisper recognition then runs locally; your separate polishing choice still applies.
The local history holds up to 500 entries with original text, result, date, mode and
recognition method. For voice editing, this includes the original selection from the other
app and the edited result. The file is stored at
~/Library/Application Support/Klartext/verlauf.json. You can delete individual
entries or the history in Klartext.
Recordings are stored temporarily during processing and deleted after normal completion.
If recognition returns no text or remains incomplete, a recovery copy may remain as
letzte-aufnahme.m4a in the same folder. The next such recovery copy replaces it;
there is no fixed deletion period for this file. Deliberately discarded recordings are
stored separately in verworfen/, limited to 12 files or 60 MB. The running
app removes files older than 24 hours during cleanup.
The microphone provides the recording. With Accessibility permission, Klartext reads the active app, window and field focus, selection and, where needed, up to 64 characters before the cursor to insert text in the correct place. Browser window titles help distinguish insertion targets; optional browser automation also evaluates them to choose a mode. Voice editing reads the selected text, including through a triggered copy action. The selection and instruction are sent to your chosen polishing method, including its provider if you chose a cloud method.
To insert text, Klartext places the result on the clipboard and triggers Paste. It temporarily saves the previous clipboard contents where available. It restores them only if a saved copy exists, “Keep the text in the clipboard after pasting” is off and the clipboard contents have not changed in the meantime. Contents marked confidential are not saved. Text remains on the clipboard when the keep-text setting is on, after an explicit copy, in clipboard-only mode, or when insertion fails. Other programs with clipboard access can read it. You can revoke permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
https://klartext-app.com/labs.json. It contains model names
and feature switches. Dictations, selected text and keys are not sent. The host, Vercel,
receives your IP address and usual connection data. You can disable this under
Settings → About → “Fetch configuration”.https://klartext-app.com/mac/appcast.xml regularly, daily by default.
Manual checks and update downloads also connect to the Klartext website hosted by
Vercel. This involves your IP address, the time, requested file and an identifier with
the Klartext and Sparkle versions. No dictations are sent; Klartext does not enable
Sparkle's system profile. Installation requires your agreement.Only when cloud recognition is selected is the recording sent to OpenAI or ElevenLabs. OpenAI also receives your dictionary to assist recognition. With cloud polishing selected, text, vocabulary and any style instructions go to OpenAI or Google Gemini using your own API key; alternatively, the ChatGPT connection, labelled beta, uses OpenAI. For voice editing this includes the selected text from the other app. The providers' respective terms apply. Klartext stores keys and ChatGPT tokens locally in Keychain. You can disconnect ChatGPT in Klartext.
The additional Mitschrift transcript files are disabled for new release installations. If enabled, Klartext writes dictations in Note, AI Prompt and Transcript Only modes to daily files in the chosen folder; the default location is iCloud Drive/Klartext. A separate switch can add the source app and window title. If the folder is hosted by a cloud service, that service syncs the files according to your settings. Edited selections from other apps are not written to Mitschrift.
Vocabulary sync is also disabled for new installations. If enabled in Vocabulary, Klartext stores your dictionary, replacements, modification timestamps and device name in your Apple account's private CloudKit database. This sync does not include dictations, history, audio or credentials. Previously saved on or off settings are preserved during updates. Klartext initializes its iCloud access even when sync is disabled; the dictionary and replacements are not synced in that case. Switching sync off leaves local lists and the existing iCloud copy in place.
diagnose.log and diagnose-alt.log are stored in the Klartext
folder under Application Support. They record states, duration, mode, target app and
errors, rotating at approximately 256 KB. Some cloud provider errors can include portions
of the provider's response, which may contain text. Nothing is sent automatically.
“Save Error Report” adds version and device details and the header of the latest crash
report, then saves a text file where you choose. Read it before sharing it voluntarily.
The public Mac 1.0 release has no active Glocke or Klartext Funk. In developer builds, Glocke can create a reminder in the “Klartext” list through Apple's EventKit after permission is granted, including text and an optional due date. It uses Reminders access and the technical calendar entitlement; it does not read calendar events. Your configured reminders account may sync these entries.
Removing Klartext.app does not also delete the data folder, Mitschrift files or iCloud copies. Uninstall instructions (German).
Privacy for Mac 1.0 · The general feature descriptions below concern the iPhone app.
In normal operation your dictations stay entirely on your device. Speech recognition runs locally only (Apple SpeechAnalyzer, iOS 26). Neither audio recordings nor transcripts leave your iPhone. There are no accounts, no tracking, no analytics services and no advertising; Klartext collects no personal data for its own purposes. The free AI polish (removing fillers, punctuation) also runs entirely on your iPhone (Apple Intelligence, Apple Foundation Models), and read-aloud uses your iPhone’s system voice by default — both without any data transfer.
Three qualifications belong with that:
labs.json). No content is transmitted — but the usual connection data
accrues at the host, including your IP address. Details in “Configuration fetch”.The app never transmits your dictations to a Klartext server; the only connection to the Klartext website is the configuration fetch described above.
Klartext needs microphone access in order to record your voice. In normal operation the recording is converted to text locally on the device and is not transmitted. Only with cloud recognition enabled (using your own API key) is the recording of that dictation transmitted to the provider you chose for transcription (details in the sections below). For how the recording is kept locally, see the next section.
So that no dictation is lost, Klartext keeps the recording of every dictation after delivery for up to 24 hours, on your device only (in the app’s protected area, excluded from iCloud and device backups). The recording belongs to the corresponding history entry: you can play it back there, re-transcribe it or delete it individually. After 24 hours at the latest Klartext deletes it automatically. The recording never leaves the device by itself — only if you explicitly choose “Re-transcribe (cloud)” in the history is it transmitted once to the recognition provider you configured (your own API key). You can switch the safety net off in Settings at any time; all retained recordings are then deleted immediately. Deleting the history or individual entries removes the associated recordings as well.
With history enabled, Klartext stores up to 500 dictations as a file in the app’s documents folder — the finished text and, since version 1.5, the raw transcript before polishing (the basis for “Polish again”). This file does not leave the device. Unlike the audio recordings it is not excluded from iCloud/device backups: if you use iCloud Backup it is included there. You can switch the history off in Settings and delete it there, in whole or entry by entry.
Since version 2.0.4 the app also keeps the five most recent finished texts from the history as a small file in the shared, protected storage area of app and keyboard (App Group). The file holds at most 20,000 characters per text plus the time, but no raw transcript and no recording. This lets the Klartext keyboard offer your recent dictations under “Recently dictated” for inserting again. The keyboard can read this file only with “Full Access” and inserts a text only when you tap it. The file does not leave the device and is excluded from iCloud/device backups. If you switch the history off or delete all of it, the file is deleted immediately; if you delete individual entries, it is updated immediately.
Klartext stores local handoff copies independently of history. Dictations without confirmed insertion remain available as offers in the keyboard under “Recently dictated” for up to 24 hours, even with history off. Confirmed handoff copies expire after 2 minutes and appear under “Recently dictated” only with history on. Insertion receipts contain no text and expire after 24 hours. Expired handoff copies and receipts are deleted when you next open the app or “Recently dictated”; they are also cleaned up regularly while you dictate. Deleting a history entry also deletes its handoff copy; deleting the entire history removes all handoff copies. The most recent dictation remains stored for handoff in the shared storage of app and keyboard until your next dictation.
Klartext can read copied text aloud. By default the speech output is your iPhone’s system voice (AVSpeechSynthesizer) and runs entirely on the device: no account, no API key, no transmission. The text being read does not leave your iPhone.
Two optional functions work differently, and both require your own OpenAI key and an explicit choice:
In both cases Klartext stores nothing on third-party servers and operates no server of its own in between; OpenAI’s API privacy rules apply (by default OpenAI does not use API input for training). Both functions are labelled in the app at the point of choice.
There are four routes, and all four require an action by you:
Klartext does not monitor the clipboard in the background, does not store its contents and does not transmit them anywhere — they are used for speech output only. Technically Klartext can only read the clipboard in the foreground: iOS does not hand it to an app in the background at all. In the three cases where Klartext accesses it visibly (card, history, fallback), iOS shows its paste banner or, the first time, a prompt; you can allow or refuse this permanently under iOS Settings → Klartext → “Paste from Other Apps”. While reading aloud, iOS shows the first words of the text as the title on the Lock Screen so that playback can be controlled there. The Klartext keyboard does not read the clipboard; read-aloud runs in the app only.
The Klartext keyboard needs the iOS permission “Full Access” solely for local communication with the Klartext app on the same device (the iOS App Group mechanism), for example to show your recent dictations. The keyboard sends no data over the internet and logs no keystrokes. It reads the text immediately around the insertion point in order to set spacing, capitalisation and punctuation correctly — it neither stores nor transmits it.
The AI polish that is on by default (removing fillers, resolving self-corrections, punctuation) uses Apple’s on-device model (Apple Intelligence / Foundation Models) and processes your transcripts locally on your iPhone only. No data is collected or transmitted. As long as you have neither stored an API key of your own nor connected your ChatGPT account, this is the only polish route — and every text then stays on the device. One exception concerns only users with a key or a ChatGPT connection and is described in the following section.
Your dictionary holds your own technical terms and proper names. Since version 1.5 it also fills itself: if you correct a word in the history or create a replacement rule, its target spelling is added to the dictionary automatically (up to 100 terms) so that recognition gets it right next time. It is therefore worth knowing where these terms go:
So only enter terms there that you are willing to transmit when cloud use is active. One further point concerns users with their own key or a ChatGPT connection only: if the dictionary contains terms that are not the target of a replacement rule (that is, hand-typed entries), the polish for Message and Note no longer runs on device but through the big model — only there can a spelling be enforced. The text then leaves the device. Without a key and without a ChatGPT connection this does not happen.
You may voluntarily connect your ChatGPT account (OpenAI) to Klartext (“Connect to ChatGPT”). Klartext receives an access token through OpenAI’s sign-in dialog (Klartext never sees your password); the token is stored locally in your device’s keychain only. While the connection is active, the transcript in question is transmitted to OpenAI for linguistic smoothing — together with your Klartext dictionary and, in the “Own style” mode, your style instructions — and billed to your ChatGPT plan; the privacy terms of OpenAI apply. You can disconnect at any time in Settings; the token is deleted when you do.
You may voluntarily store an API key of your own (Google Gemini or OpenAI) to have transcripts smoothed linguistically. Only if you enable this function is the transcript in question transmitted to the provider you chose — together with your Klartext dictionary (see above) and, in the “Own style” mode, your style instructions, so that spellings and tone are right. That provider’s privacy terms then apply (Google, OpenAI). Your API key is stored locally on your device only. Without the big AI polish enabled, no dictation text goes to these providers; the only connection that then remains is the app’s configuration fetch (see below), which transmits no content.
If you select “Cloud (own API key)” as the recognition engine, the audio recording of that dictation is transmitted for transcription to the provider you chose (ElevenLabs or OpenAI) and processed there under that provider’s privacy terms (ElevenLabs, OpenAI). With OpenAI your Klartext dictionary (up to 100 terms) is additionally sent as a recognition aid. The live preview continues to run on the device. After processing, the dictation safety net applies to the local recording (see above: up to 24 hours on the device, then automatic deletion — or immediate deletion if the safety net is switched off); it is never stored on Klartext servers.
Two functions in the history work on already stored dictations and only trigger a transmission when you tap them:
Without your own key and without a ChatGPT connection, nothing leaves the device in either function.
If your recognition engine is set to “Whisper (local)”, the conversion of speech into text runs entirely on the iPhone — the recording does not leave the device. For the recognised text the same applies as for any other dictation: if a big AI polish is also set up (your own key or a connected ChatGPT account), the text is transmitted to that provider as described in the sections above. Without a key and without a ChatGPT connection the on-device model polishes — and the text stays on the device too.
For this route Klartext downloads the model (~630 MB) once from the servers of the provider Hugging Face; the usual connection data of a download accrues there (IP address, time), but no content from the app. The model is then stored permanently in the app’s documents folder; it contains no personal data and, since version 1.5, is excluded from iCloud/device backups so that it does not consume your iCloud storage.
Under Settings → “Dictionary” there is a switch called “Sync via iCloud”. It is off by default. If you switch it on, Klartext stores the following data from then on in the private CloudKit database of your own iCloud account, so that your devices share one state:
Not transmitted are: dictations, raw transcripts, the history, audio recordings, API keys and access tokens. The data resides in your iCloud account at Apple and is not visible to us — we operate no server of our own for this and receive no copy. Apple’s privacy policy applies. If you switch syncing off again, transmission stops immediately; the lists remain locally on your devices. What is already in your iCloud you can delete there yourself (iOS Settings → your name → iCloud).
Because the terms in the dictionary can be sensitive depending on your profession (names of clients, patients, projects), this switch is deliberately opt-in rather than the default.
Since version 1.5 Klartext writes a small technical log into the app’s documents folder
(diagnose.log, at most 256 KB, after which one version is set aside and a new one is
started). It records states and error messages of the dictation path — no dictation
content, no texts, no keys. Its only purpose is troubleshooting on the device where the
error happened. The file is not transmitted and, since version 2.0, is also
excluded from iCloud/device backups. Deleting the app deletes it too.
At launch and every time the app comes to the foreground it fetches the file
https://klartext-app.com/labs.json — a configuration a few lines long. Its purpose:
if a provider shuts down or renames a model, or if the “Connect to ChatGPT” route stops working,
Klartext can correct or disable it without waiting for an app update. If the file cannot be
reached, the last known state remains; without an internet connection the fetch simply does not
happen.
No content is transmitted: no dictation, no text, no clipboard, no device or user identifier, no cookies. As with any file fetched over the internet, technically necessary connection data accrues in the host’s server logs (Vercel Inc.): IP address, time, the file requested and the system’s standard identifier (which contains app name, app version and iOS version). The legal basis is our legitimate interest in a working, correctable service (Art. 6(1) (f) GDPR). These logs are not analysed and not combined with other data. The fetch happens from the app only, not from the keyboard.
It can be switched off: since version 2.0 you can disable the fetch under Settings → “About & privacy” → “Fetch configuration”. It then no longer takes place — although the kill switch for “Connect to ChatGPT” can no longer reach you either.
This website is hosted by Vercel Inc. When you visit it, Vercel processes technically necessary connection data (such as the IP address) in server logs in order to deliver the page and keep the service secure (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Vercel’s privacy notice applies. This website sets no cookies and uses no analytics services.
Heinz IT Systeme, owner Simon Heinz, Hinter d. Lieth 32A, 22529 Hamburg, Germany · Contact: simonheinz615@gmail.com · Imprint
Since version 2.0, 2,500 delivered words per week are free — permanently and without an account. If you dictate more, you can take out the “Klartext Unbegrenzt” subscription in the app (€14.99 per year); it lifts the weekly limit and nothing else. In privacy terms this means:
Grandfathering: anyone who downloaded Klartext before version 2.0 dictates without limits permanently, with no subscription. The app establishes this too from Apple’s StoreKit information about the original download; nothing is transmitted to us. Earlier one-time purchases (up to version 1.2.1) were likewise handled exclusively by Apple — we never received payment or contact details.
We have no user accounts and no database of your data — your dictations, your history and your dictionary live on your device and, if you switch iCloud syncing on, additionally in your own iCloud; they are not with us. What accrues in the host’s server logs (website visit, configuration fetch) cannot be attributed to a person without further information; accordingly we can neither provide information about it nor delete anything specifically. You can give effect to an objection against the configuration fetch yourself and immediately: the switch is in the app under Settings → “About & privacy”.
For the “Klartext Unbegrenzt” subscription, too, we hold no personal data: purchase and billing run entirely through Apple, and the word allowance is counted locally by your device (see the “In-app subscription” section above). For access or erasure requests concerning the purchase itself, Apple is the right party to contact.
You have the rights granted by the GDPR (access, rectification, erasure, restriction, data portability, objection, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority). For any privacy questions you can reach me at the address given above at any time.