Vendor page
Overhear: native, private, always-on dictation for macOS
Rafal Cymerys, 2026
Read the originalRead on October 22, 2026
- What it is
- The official page of Overhear, a dictation app for Mac that transcribes locally with Whisper or Parakeet models on Apple silicon. It describes how text reaches other apps, its cancel words and its license.
- How much weight it carries
- The maker's own product page, read on 2026-10-22. It describes an early open-source release, so features may change. The page's claims about local processing and no uploads are the maker's own; they were not checked against the source code.
Facts taken from this source
- Overhear's page says four cancel words come with the app and that custom ones can be installed.
“Four cancel words ship with the app, and custom ones can be installed” (Section at the top, under 'Speak cancel word')
- Overhear's page describes the app as free and open source.
“Free and open source · macOS 14 or later · Apple Silicon” (Header line under the 'Download for macOS' button)
- Overhear's page says there is no server and that audio is never uploaded anywhere.
“No server Audio is never uploaded anywhere.” (Section 'Three things it's good at', under 'Multilingual input')
- Overhear's page says its voice never leaves the Mac and that transcription runs locally with Whisper or Parakeet.
“Your voice never leaves your Mac. Transcription runs locally, on Whisper or Parakeet.” (Section 'Three things it's good at', under 'Multilingual input')
- Overhear's page says its text arrives through the clipboard and a simulated paste, so it lands in any app that accepts a paste.
“Text arrives through the clipboard and a simulated ⌘V, so it lands anywhere that accepts a paste” (Section 'Three things it's good at', under 'Works across your Mac')
- Overhear's page says that after the chosen model downloads once, everything happens offline.
“The model you choose downloads once, and everything after that happens offline.” (Section 'Three things it's good at', under 'Multilingual input')