Privacy Policy

Effective September 7, 2026

Stenobar is a native macOS menu-bar recorder, transcriber, and dictation tool published by narrowstacks (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what happens to your data when you use the app. The short version: your recordings stay on your Mac, and nothing leaves the device unless you explicitly ask it to.

What we collect

Nothing. Stenobar has no accounts, no sign-in, no analytics, and no telemetry. We do not operate a server that receives your data, and we do not track how you use the app.

This website

The app and this website are separate. stenobar.app uses Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and download-button clicks, so we know which pages people read and how many downloads a release gets. It is cookieless: it sets no cookies, stores nothing on your device, and builds no cross-site or cross-visit profile of you. It records the page URL, referrer, and coarse details like country, browser, and device type, plus the version and channel (stable or beta) of a download you click. None of this is tied to your identity, and none of it touches anything inside the app.

Your recordings and transcripts

Audio you record, along with any transcripts, summaries, and notes Stenobar generates, are stored locally on your Mac. They are never uploaded to us. On-device transcription, speaker labels, and Apple Intelligence run entirely on your machine and do not touch the network.

The menu bar’s Sound and Microphone cards each have a Test levels button that shows a live input level so you can check a source is picking up audio before you record. It only runs when you press it, macOS shows its recording indicator while it does, and nothing is written to disk or transmitted: the level is measured and discarded buffer by buffer.

Stenobar can offer to record when a meeting app takes the microphone. To do that it only checks which apps are currently using the mic or camera; it never listens to audio and never reads video, and you can turn the feature off in Settings.

Your API keys

If you configure keys for third-party cloud providers, those keys are stored in the macOS Keychain and nowhere else. They are used solely to authenticate the requests you initiate.

Opt-in cloud providers

Cloud transcription and summarization are strictly opt-in and per-recording. When you choose to process a specific recording with a cloud provider, only that recording (its audio or text) is sent directly from your Mac to the provider you configured. That data is handled under the provider’s own privacy policy and terms; we are not an intermediary and never see it. If you never opt in, no recording ever leaves your device.

The same applies to cloud dictation engines and cloud models used for Thoughts and summaries: audio or text goes directly from your Mac to the provider you picked, under that provider’s terms. The app shows each provider’s data-handling summary before you save a key, including where a free tier lets the provider use your text.

Software updates

Stenobar checks for updates using the Sparkle framework, downloading release files from the public narrowstacks/stenobar-releases repository on GitHub. These requests go directly to GitHub and may be logged by GitHub under GitHub’s Privacy Statement. Stenobar does not attach any personal information to update checks. You can disable automatic update checks in the app’s settings.

Children’s privacy

Stenobar is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any personal information from them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Open an issue on GitHub.