Privacy and security model
Abe’s privacy comes from its architecture, not from a promise: there is no Abe server. No accounts, no telemetry, no relay in the middle.
Data flows
Section titled “Data flows”| Data | Local mode | Cloud mode |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone audio | Processed in memory on your computer, then discarded | Sent over HTTPS directly to your chosen provider |
| Transcribed text | Inserted at your cursor and saved to your local history | Returned by the provider, inserted at your cursor and saved to your local history |
| Voice Transform | Selected text and your spoken instruction go to your transform provider (cloud, or a local server such as Ollama) | Same, to your chosen transform provider |
| API keys | Not needed | Stored in the OS keychain, sent only to that provider |
| Settings, dictionary, history | Stored locally on your computer | Stored locally on your computer |
| Usage data or telemetry | None | None |
The only requests Abe makes on its own are the update check (a small file from GitHub) and, in Local mode, the one-time model download.
Your provider’s policies
Section titled “Your provider’s policies”In Cloud mode your audio is handled by the provider under the terms you accepted when you created your key:
- OpenAI: API data controls. OpenAI says API data isn’t used to train models by default and may be retained for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring.
- Groq: Your data in GroqCloud and the Groq privacy policy.
- Custom endpoints: whoever operates them. Self-hosting keeps everything on hardware you control.
API key handling
Section titled “API key handling”- Keys are stored in the OS credential store: Windows Credential Manager or the macOS Keychain.
- Provider requests are made by Abe’s native (Rust) backend. The key isn’t handed to the app’s web interface, and there’s no command that reads it back out.
- Keys are never written to logs.
What Abe can access, and why
Section titled “What Abe can access, and why”Abe needs a few powerful permissions to work as a system-wide tool:
- Microphone: used only while you’re recording (holding the hotkey, or between toggles).
- Accessibility / input simulation: to paste or type text into the app you’re using.
- Automation (macOS): to paste text into other applications.
- Global hotkeys / Input Monitoring: to notice your shortcut while another app has focus. Abe reacts to its configured shortcuts only and doesn’t record your keystrokes.
- Clipboard: paste mode puts your text on the clipboard to insert it.
Verify it yourself
Section titled “Verify it yourself”Abe is open source. You can audit every network request, build it yourself, or watch its traffic with a tool like Wireshark or Little Snitch.
See also the full privacy policy.