# Dictate: Private Voice Notes — On-device AI transcription

> On-device AI transcription (iPhone/iPad app by Donado Labs.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dictate-private-voice-notes/id6816413633 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Donado Labs](https://appshunter.io/developer/1883010815)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.2 · 648 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-10-03
- Data updated: 2026-10-06

## What is Dictate?

Private voice notes that never leave your iPhone. Press once and talk. Dictate turns what you said into text on the device and cleans it up for reading.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
- No cloud processing
- No account required
- No data collected
- No subscription fees

ON YOUR IPHONE, NOTHING TO SET UP
Parakeet, a leading open speech model, ships inside the app. It transcribes 25 languages and detects which one you speak. Apple Speech covers the other languages your iPhone has models for. Neither sends audio anywhere, and neither needs a key or an account. A fresh install records and transcribes before you open Settings.

A TRANSCRIPT YOU CAN READ
Apple Intelligence makes a reading version on your iPhone: filler words and false starts go, spoken corrections are resolved, and counted points, lists, dates, amounts and numbers are formatted. Switch to the original at any time. It is split into timed blocks you can play from or copy one by one, and the words highlight as the audio plays.

MEETINGS, WITH WHO SAID WHAT
Recordings longer than five minutes are meetings, and Dictate labels the speakers on the device. The reading version keeps who said what.

ONE PRESS, FROM ANYWHERE
Start from your Apple Watch, the Action button, a shortcut, Control Center, the Home Screen widget or the Lock Screen. Control Center, Siri and Shortcuts start recording without opening the app. The Watch records on its own, hands the recording to your iPhone, and shows you the text when it is ready.

AUDIO FROM OTHER APPS
Share a recording from Voice Memos, Files or another app to Dictate, and it is transcribed on your iPhone like any other.

YOUR DICTIONARY
Add names and terms once, and the reading version spells them your way.

EXTENSIBLE WITH WEBHOOKS
For people who want to take the text further: every transcript can POST to an HTTPS endpoint you control, signed with your own secret and retried when your endpoint is down. Connect your own assistant, an automation or your backend. It is optional and off until you set it up.

NOTHING GETS LOST
Every recording is saved before anything else happens, and each step has its own queue, so a recording made with the phone in your pocket is there when you look. A deleted recording stays in Recently Deleted for 30 days.

## Is Dictate safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Dictate.

## Is Dictate legit?

Dictate: Private Voice Notes has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Dictate is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.1.0 — 2026-10-04

- Recently Deleted keeps deleted recordings for 30 days, so you can get them back.
- Long recordings become meetings on their own, with who said what. Switch any recording with Transcribe Again.
- A progress bar for recordings longer than five minutes.
- Read your transcripts on Apple Watch.
- The reading version sets apart a voice in the background, like someone across the room.
- Cleaner sentences when you pause to think.
- A bigger recording clock on Apple Watch, lower battery use, and smaller fixes.

### 1.0.0 — 2026-10-03

No release notes.

## Apps similar to Dictate

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| [NextNote: Notes & AI Writing](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nextnote-notes-and-ai-writing/id6503905670) | — | $5.99 | Productivity |

## More apps by Donado Labs

- [Zen - Private Habit Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zen-private-habit-tracker/id6760182618)

All apps by Donado Labs: https://appshunter.io/developer/1883010815

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-06.*