Fact · Dictation on Mac
In the macOS Catalina 10.15 Dictation guide, keyboard dictation sends your words to Apple servers to be analyzed and converted to text in real time.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“where your words are sent to Apple servers to be analyzed using the latest language data and converted into text in real-time.”
Dictate messages and documents on Mac (Mac User Guide, macOS Catalina 10.15), Apple, n.d., Paragraph on turning Dictation on.
Open the original- What it measures
- This is the keyboard dictation of Catalina, before Apple moved general text dictation on device for Apple silicon Macs.
- What it does not show
- The guide describes Catalina only. It does not describe Voice Control's on-device processing, which is covered by Apple's Catalina announcement.