hushtype · how it works
From your voice to the text, on your Mac.
Nothing in this path leaves the Mac. The app goes online only for the licence server (your key, the licence check, a download link) and, if you choose it, a one-time download of the accurate engine; none of it carries audio or text. See the privacy page for exactly what it sends.
The journey of a word
Step 1
Hold the key
Hold Right Option. A small pill at the bottom of the screen shows that it is listening. Tap twice to keep listening hands-free.
Step 2
Listen
Your Mac's own recogniser turns the sound into words, on the Mac. The audio is thrown away, never saved.
Step 3
Clean
Fixed rules drop the fillers and take-backs, write numbers and units, and finish the text for the app you are in.
Step 4
Type
Let go and the text is typed at your cursor. It is saved as a draft first, so a failed typing never loses it.
The path in nine steps
Step 1
Press
A key monitor (it needs Accessibility) sees Right Option. Hold to talk, tap twice to lock it on, Escape to cancel. You can change the key.
Step 2
Listen
The microphone is on only while you hold the key, or while a meeting is being recorded. A small pill at the bottom of the screen shows a live level. Audio stays in memory.
Step 3
Recognise
Your Mac's own on-device recogniser turns the sound into words, with network recognition switched off. If the Mac has no model for your language, the app says so and does not use a server.
Step 4
Commands
If a whole sentence is a voice command, such as new line, press enter or delete last word, it acts instead of typing. A command inside a longer sentence stays words.
Step 5
Clean
Fixed rules remove fillers, repeats and take-backs, write spoken punctuation, numbers and units, apply your dictionary and snippets, write emails, web addresses, phone numbers and dates as data, and finish the text for the app's style.
Step 6
Polish (optional)
In Polished mode a grammar pass runs. It uses your Mac's on-device language model on the Macs that have one, and plain rules where there is none.
Step 7
Save a draft
The cleaned text is saved before it is typed. If typing fails or the app stops, it waits under Unsent text in the menu.
Step 8
Type
The text is pasted, with your clipboard put back afterwards, or typed through Accessibility. Password fields and apps on your do-not-dictate list are skipped.
Step 9
Forget
The audio is discarded. If you keep history, the text is stored on this Mac. Only counts go to your stats, and your own timings to the speed figures.
How much it changes your words
Exact
Your words as recognised. Only punctuation, capitals, spoken commands, your dictionary and snippets.
Clean
The default. Fillers, repeats and take-backs removed, numbers and units tidied.
Polished
Clean, then a grammar pass by your Mac's on-device language model where it has one, rules where it does not.
Set a mode, a style, a filler level and a language for any app in Settings › Rules, or switch it off there. Try the rules on text you type in the cleanup demo.
What it asks macOS for, and why
| Permission | What it is for | When |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Hear you while you hold the key and while a meeting records. | First dictation |
| Speech Recognition | Let the Mac's recogniser write what you said, on the Mac. | First dictation |
| Accessibility | Notice your dictation key, type into the app you are using, send key presses for voice commands. | First run |
| Input Monitoring | Possibly listed for a modifier-key monitor. We have not confirmed whether your macOS asks; if it is listed and dictation does not start, turn it on. | If macOS lists it |
| Screen Recording | macOS files system-sound capture under it. Meeting mode hears sound only and never captures the picture. | Meeting mode only |
| Reminders and Calendar | Turn action items into reminders and timed sentences into events, only when you press the button. | Follow-up buttons only |
What it keeps on your Mac
- Audio. Never. It is not written to disk.
- Unsent text. Only if typing failed: at most a day, at most 20 items, and not on disk for apps set to keep no history.
- History. Your choice: keep it, turn it off, or auto-delete after 1, 7, 30 or 90 days. Off per app.
- Meetings and transcripts. Saved in the app's folder until you delete them. Export or erase in one click.
- Stats. Counts only: words, dictations, time, apps and hour of day. No text.
- Speed timings. Timings only, the last 200 dictations.
$11.99, once. 2 Macs.
Launch price: $11.99 until 18 Nov, then $21.99. One-time, 2 Macs, no subscription.
Buy, then download. No account, no subscription, no word limits.