# Stenographer — Privacy-First AI Transcription

> Privacy-first on-device AI audio transcription and analysis. (iPhone/iPad app by Caleb Phillips.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stenographer/id6596780585 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Caleb Phillips](https://appshunter.io/developer/1622370829)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: $4.99
- Rating: 4.30/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 7 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.5 · 1.2 GB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2024-12-21
- Data updated: 2026-08-24
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stenographer/id6596780585/reviews.md

## What is Stenographer?

Stenographer is your discreet audio companion that captures, processes, and analyzes speech entirely on-device. Never miss a moment while keeping your data completely private.

Key Features:

100% Local Processing – All transcription and AI processing happens directly on your device. Your data never leaves your phone.
No Subscriptions – One purchase, unlimited usage. Record and transcribe as much as you want with no hidden costs or time limits.
Discreet Recording – Capture audio passively from your iPhone or Apple Watch in the background, completely discreetly.
State-of-the-Art AI – Powered by Whisper for transcription and Qwen3 LLM for summarization, offering superior accuracy and performance.
Intelligent Search – Find key moments in your recordings instantly with advanced search and tagging capabilities.
Multilingual Support – Transcribe multiple languages and translate foreign languages to English, all processed locally.
Cross-Device Functionality – Record from your Apple Watch, then transcribe and analyze on your iPhone or iPad with seamless synchronization.

Perfect for meetings, lectures, interviews, personal notes, or just capturing life's important moments. With Stenographer's on-device AI, you maintain 100% privacy while enjoying professional-grade transcription without subscriptions or cloud services.

## Key features

- 100% on-device processing
- No subscriptions, one-time purchase
- Discreet background recording
- AI-powered transcription and summarization
- Intelligent search and tagging
- Multilingual transcription and translation
- Cross-device synchronization

## Chart rankings

- #190 in Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (7 of 7)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stenographer/id6596780585/reviews.md

### 3/5 — It’s ok

*2026-07-07*

The app overall is decent, transcription isn’t always the best with technical jargon, which I usually try to keep entry logs of some of my experiments. But besides it’s good.

I saw others requested this, but, I second the ability to plug in other transcription models, whether that is Claude or even other local models like Gemma and Parakeet. Which would make this perfect. Had to stop using it because of the poor transcription and started using Superwhisper have had no issues. Would love to come back but would have to see parakeet brought over.

### 5/5 — Actually pretty great

*2025-11-07*

Offline and transcribe meetings without needing a subscription

**feature request**
Voice print recognition, capturing a conversation an knowing who said what would be super useful, it could feed as context like if a certain voice is your boss. Also live transcription would be a huge time saver

### 5/5 — Good transciption

*2025-11-04*

Transcribe, summarise in multiple languages. Speaker recognition would be nice, but it’s currently not a feature.

### 5/5 — The Perfect App

*2025-03-07*

This is an amazing app, however if you run it for too long your phone gets really hot from the compute.

**Feature Request**
A “Bring your own key” option to connect to a 3rd party service like OpenAI, Groq or AssemblyAI for transcription to offload the processing. Groq is free and fast. Assembly AI is fast and secure. All provide transcription and summarization tools. This would also fix the summarization issue.

### 5/5 — The Perfect App

*2025-01-29*

I have tried Bee AI, Plaud Note, and compass wearable. The thing that all of these companies lack is privacy. How can they expect you to just record your entire life and hand it over to them to sell to their business partners. The fact that this app exists and focuses on local processing means that those other companies have no moat. This app is the future of notetaking! Keep up the progress! be sure to add a method to donate in the app so that way people like me can send you gifts for your work!
PS. If you could add “bring your own key” support for various APIs, that would also be cool to have that option.

### 5/5 — Sehr hilfreiche App

*2025-01-28*

Gutes Konzept, sehr gut umgesetzt. Nützliche App

### 5/5 — The Perfect App

*2025-01-25*

I have tried Bee AI, Plaud Note, and compass wearable. The thing that all of these companies lack is privacy. How can they expect you to just record your entire life and hand it over to them to sell to their business partners. The fact that this app exists and focuses on local processing means that those other companies have no moat. This app is the future of notetaking! Keep up the progress! be sure to add a method to donate in the app so that way people like me can send you gifts for your work!

## Frequently asked questions about Stenographer

### How much does Stenographer cost?

Stenographer is a paid app with a one-time purchase price of $4.99. This purchase grants unlimited usage with no hidden costs or subscription fees.

### Does Stenographer have ads?

No, Stenographer is ad-free. The app is designed for a seamless and uninterrupted user experience, with no advertisements present.

### What devices does Stenographer support?

Stenographer is available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. This allows for recording on your watch and seamless synchronization for transcription and analysis on your iPhone or iPad.

### How often is Stenographer updated?

The latest version of Stenographer is 1.19, last updated on January 3, 2026. While specific update frequency isn't detailed, this indicates active development.

### What AI models power Stenographer?

Stenographer utilizes Whisper for state-of-the-art transcription and Qwen3 LLM for intelligent summarization, ensuring superior accuracy and performance for your audio.

### Can Stenographer transcribe multiple languages?

Yes, Stenographer supports multilingual transcription. It can transcribe recordings in various languages and also translate foreign languages into English, all processed locally.

### What is the age rating for Stenographer?

Stenographer has an age rating of 4+. This indicates it is suitable for a wide range of users, including younger individuals, due to its content and functionality.

### How does Stenographer ensure user privacy?

Stenographer prioritizes privacy by processing all transcription and AI analysis entirely on-device. Your audio data never leaves your iPhone or Apple Watch, ensuring complete data security.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.22 — 2026-07-06

Adds audio file import, improves Watch recording reliability and complication start/stop behavior, updates the app icon, and bundles on-device model assets for a smoother offline experience.

### 1.21 — 2026-05-04

Bug and stability fixes.

### 1.19 — 2026-01-03

Set optional max recording time limit on iOS or watchOS.

### 1.18 — 2025-06-30

Better help section.

### 1.17 — 2025-06-24

Watch complication to start and stop recording from the face.

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## Related topics

[stenographer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/stenographer)

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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 2026-08-24.*