Privacy Policy
OpenVerba is built privacy-first. The short version: your voice is processed on your own computer and we never receive it, the OpenVerba app needs no account, and we don't sell or monetize your data. This page explains exactly what the OpenVerba app and the openverba.com website do and don't collect.
Who we are
"OpenVerba," "we," "us," and "our" refer to the makers of OpenVerba, a free, open-source (MIT-licensed) voice-dictation application for Windows, and the operators of the openverba.com website. OpenVerba is designed so that your speech and text stay on your own device. This policy covers two separate things: the OpenVerba app you install on your PC, and the openverba.com website you're reading now.
The core promise: your voice stays on your machine
When you dictate with the OpenVerba app, your microphone audio is transcribed locally on your own CPU or NVIDIA GPU and then discarded. Your audio is not written to disk, not uploaded, and not sent to us or to any third party. Because the transcription happens entirely on your device, we never receive your voice, your transcripts, or anything you dictate or edit. We have no servers that process, store, or even see your speech.
What the OpenVerba app does and doesn't do
- Local transcription. Audio is captured, transcribed on your device using a local speech model (an optimized build of OpenAI's Whisper, via faster-whisper), and then discarded. The resulting text is pasted into your active window and never leaves your PC by way of OpenVerba.
- One-time model download. On first run, the app downloads your chosen speech model once so it can run offline afterward. This download is a standard network request to fetch model files; it transmits only what any download requires (such as your IP address and basic request details) to the host serving the model.
- Update check to openverba.com. Unless you turn it off, the app periodically checks openverba.com for a newer version by requesting a small update file (latest.json). This request reveals your IP address and basic request details to the website host (Vercel), as any web request does. It does not send your audio, transcripts, settings, or any personal content. You can disable the automatic update check in Settings.
- Optional on-device AI editing. If you enable voice editing, a local AI model runs entirely on your own machine to rewrite selected text. There is no cloud, no API key, and no account — your text is not sent anywhere for this feature.
- Your clipboard. The app temporarily saves your existing clipboard contents on your device so it can paste a transcript and then restore your clipboard exactly as it was. This all happens locally; clipboard contents are never transmitted to us.
- No telemetry, no accounts, no tracking. The app has no analytics, no usage tracking, and no sign-up. It does not phone home beyond the one-time model download and the optional update check described above.
What the openverba.com website does and doesn't collect
The website is a static download and information site. We want to be precise about what it involves, including the third parties it relies on:
- No cookies, no analytics, no tracking pixels. The website sets no cookies and runs no analytics, advertising, or behavioral-tracking scripts. The only JavaScript on the site handles the menu, scrolling, and similar interface details — it collects nothing about you.
- Server access logs. The site is hosted on Vercel. Like virtually all web hosts, Vercel automatically records standard access logs for each request — typically your IP address, user-agent (browser/OS), the page or file requested, timestamps, and similar technical details. These logs are used for security, abuse prevention, and operating the site, and are handled under Vercel's own privacy practices.
- Downloading the app. Downloading the OpenVerba installer is an ordinary HTTP request to the site, which appears in those standard server logs (e.g., your IP and the file requested). We do not require any information from you to download the app.
- Third-party web fonts (IP exposure). To be fully transparent: the website loads fonts from third-party content-delivery networks — Google Fonts (
fonts.googleapis.comandfonts.gstatic.com) and Fontshare (api.fontshare.comandcdn.fontshare.com). When your browser fetches these fonts, those CDNs receive your IP address and user-agent and apply their own privacy policies to that request. We do not control and do not receive that data. If you prefer to avoid this, you can use a browser or extension that blocks third-party font requests, or contact us; we are evaluating self-hosting these fonts to remove the exposure.
We do not run contact forms, newsletters, or logins on the website, so we don't ask you for a name, email address, or any other personal details to use it.
No accounts, and we don't sell your data
OpenVerba has no user accounts or profiles. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We have no interest in your data — the entire product is built so that your content never reaches us in the first place.
Data retention
Because the app processes your voice and text on your own device and discards the audio after transcription, we hold none of it. The transcripts and text you create live on your machine, under your control. The only data associated with us is the standard server access logs generated by the website host (Vercel) when you visit the site or download the app or an update; those are retained by the host for a limited period per its standard practices and used only for operating and securing the site.
Children's privacy
OpenVerba is a general-purpose productivity tool and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Since we don't collect personal information through the app or the website beyond the technical logs described above, there is nothing for a child to submit to us.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict the use of personal data a company holds about you, or to object to its processing. Because we do not maintain accounts or collect personal information beyond the website host's technical access logs, in most cases we simply have nothing on file about you to access or delete. If you believe we hold information about you, or you'd like to exercise a privacy right, contact us using the details below and we'll do our best to help, including coordinating with our hosting provider where applicable.
International visitors
OpenVerba is available worldwide, and the website is served through global infrastructure. If you access the site from outside the country where our hosting and service providers operate, the limited technical data described above (such as server access logs and the font-CDN requests your browser makes) may be processed in other countries, including the United States, which may have different data-protection laws than your own. By using the website you understand that this technical processing may occur. Your voice and dictated text, by design, never leave your device and are never transferred internationally by OpenVerba.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, if we self-host the fonts, change hosting providers, or add a new feature. When we do, we'll revise the "Effective date" at the top of this page, and significant changes will be reflected here. Your continued use of the app or website after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your privacy? Email us at privacy@openverba.com.