FAQ
Questions, answered
Short, direct answers about SayWrite. Can't find yours? Check the guides or the install guide.
Basics
What is SayWrite?
SayWrite is a private dictation app for Mac. You hold the Fn (Globe) key, talk, and clean text is typed wherever your cursor is. Speech recognition runs on your Mac, so what you say is never uploaded.
Does SayWrite work offline?
Yes. After a one-time download of the speech model (about 465 MB), dictation works with no internet connection. AI Polish also runs locally, using Apple Intelligence's on-device model or your own Ollama or LM Studio server on your Mac.
How much does SayWrite cost?
SayWrite is free during early access. There is no account to create and no credit card to enter.
Which Macs does SayWrite run on?
SayWrite needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 15 Sequoia or later, plus about 470 MB of free space for the speech model. Intel Macs are not supported.
What languages does SayWrite support?
SayWrite transcribes English. It uses NVIDIA's Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2 model, which is an English speech recognition model.
Was SayWrite called something else before?
Yes. SayWrite was called Speakeasy during its first builds, and the current download (version 0.2.0) still uses that name. Version 0.3.0 renames the app to SayWrite. Your settings and history carry over.
Privacy
Is SayWrite private? Does my voice leave my Mac?
Your voice never leaves your Mac. Audio is transcribed on the Apple Neural Engine, kept only in a temporary file while it is processed, and deleted right after. SayWrite has no accounts, no analytics and no telemetry, and it never sends your words to a cloud service.
Does SayWrite connect to the internet at all?
Only for three things: the speech model download you start yourself (from Hugging Face), a daily check for updates on GitHub (you can turn it off), and, only if you enable it, your own Ollama or LM Studio server at 127.0.0.1 on the same Mac. Nothing you say or write is included in any of these.
Does SayWrite keep a history of what I dictate?
Yes, History is saved on your Mac only, so you can search and paste past dictations. You choose how long it is kept (7, 30, 90 or 365 days, or forever) and can clear it at any time. Text typed into password managers is never saved to History. Audio is never stored.
Setup
How do I start dictating?
Click into any text field, hold the Fn (Globe) key, speak, and let go. SayWrite types the text where your cursor is and never presses Return for you. You can also tap Fn once to start and again to stop, or use Control-Option-D.
Why does SayWrite need Accessibility permission?
macOS only lets an app type into other apps and notice the Fn key while another app is in front if you grant it Accessibility access. SayWrite uses it to insert your text at the cursor. Without it, SayWrite copies the text to the clipboard instead. It also needs Microphone access to hear you.
Why does macOS say it can't verify SayWrite when I first open it?
SayWrite is not notarized by Apple yet during early access, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch. Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway next to the SayWrite message. You only need to do this once; updates install without it.
Pressing Fn opens the emoji picker. How do I stop that?
Open System Settings, choose Keyboard, and set "Press 🌐 key to" to "Do Nothing". Then the Fn key only starts SayWrite. SayWrite warns you if this setting is wrong but never changes it for you.
Features
What is AI Polish?
AI Polish rewrites what you just said into what you would have written with time: the point first, rambling cut, your facts and voice kept. Hold Fn and tap Space while you talk to turn it on for that dictation. It runs on your Mac using Apple Intelligence's on-device model or your own Ollama or LM Studio.
Does AI Polish need Apple Intelligence?
AI Polish needs one local AI engine: Apple Intelligence's on-device model (macOS 26 or later with Apple Intelligence turned on) or your own Ollama or LM Studio server. Plain dictation does not need either one. AI features are off until you turn them on.
Can SayWrite remove filler words like um and uh?
Yes. Turn on filler-word removal and SayWrite drops um, uh, er, ah and hmm from your text. It also counts filler words, including "like" and "you know", on your Stats page so you can see your habits.
Can I transcribe audio or video files?
Yes. Drop an audio or video file (such as MP3, M4A, WAV, MP4 or MOV) into the Files section and SayWrite transcribes it on your Mac with timestamps. You can copy the text or export it as .txt, .md or .srt subtitles.
How is SayWrite different from Apple Dictation?
Both can run on your Mac. SayWrite adds cleanup and editing on top of dictation: filler-word removal, AI Polish and "do what I say" rewriting, spoken commands, snippets, a personal dictionary, per-app style, local History and speaking-speed Stats. Apple Dictation supports many more languages; SayWrite is English only.
Say it messy. We'll write it neat.
Hold Fn, talk, and let SayWrite type it. Everything stays on your Mac.
Free during early access · macOS 15+ · Apple silicon