Delete a recording or all your data
Last updated Checked against NoteOwl 1.0.0
To erase your NoteOwl library from your Mac, including recordings, transcripts and memory, open Settings, click the Memory tab, click Delete all my data and confirm with Delete everything. To delete one meeting, dictation or transcript, right-click it in its list and choose Delete; its audio and note files move to the macOS Trash.
Delete all your data
This erases your recordings, transcripts and memory from this Mac, and it can't be undone. Export first if you might want anything back.
- Open NoteOwl and click Settings in the sidebar.
- Click the Memory tab.
- Under Manage data, click Export all data… if you want a copy first. It saves everything to a file on your Mac.
- Click Delete all my data.
- In Delete all your data?, click Delete everything. The button reads Deleting… while NoteOwl works.
Delete all my data is greyed out while an export is running, and NoteOwl won't start it while it's recording or finishing a recording.
What does Delete all my data remove?
Your meetings, dictations and imported recordings with their transcripts, plus summaries, action items, people, Chat conversations and calendar prep notes. NoteOwl erases these directly, so they don't go to the Trash, and they can't be recovered.
It also removes your Vocabulary, the templates you wrote, the voices NoteOwl learned to recognise, the titles you gave recordings, your private notes on people and the daily brief in Review.
These stay:
- NoteOwl's on-device AI models, so you don't download them again.
- The macOS permissions you granted.
- Your NoteOwl Pro licence, and your account if you have one.
- The built-in templates, and the examples NoteOwl shows on some screens, which aren't your data.
- Anything outside NoteOwl: exports you saved, and items you deleted one at a time earlier, which are in the Trash until you empty it.
What if NoteOwl says “Not everything could be deleted”?
NoteOwl names what it couldn't erase, for example Deleted, except: templates. Please try again. Click OK, then click Delete all my data again. If nothing could be erased at all, it says so and your data is unchanged.
The same message appears if a recording is still running or processing. Wait for it to finish, then try again.
How do I delete one meeting, dictation or transcript?
Right-click it in its list and choose Delete, then click Delete again to confirm. NoteOwl removes it from your library, from search and from memory that came only from it, and moves its audio and note files to the macOS Trash.
- A meeting: in Meeting Scribe, right-click the meeting and choose Delete. To delete several, click Select above the list, tick them and click Delete with the number selected, such as Delete (3).
- A dictation: in Dictations, right-click it and choose Delete, or select it and press the Delete key.
- An imported recording: in Transcripts, right-click it and choose Delete.
- A chat: in Chat, right-click it and choose Delete. This removes the conversation only. Your recordings and memory are untouched.
Are deleted recordings kept in the Trash?
Yes, when you delete them one at a time. The recording's audio and note files move to the macOS Trash, so a mistake doesn't lose the files straight away. Putting them back doesn't restore the item in NoteOwl, though: it's gone from your library, search and memory.
To remove the files for good, empty the Trash: in the Finder, choose Finder → Empty Trash. Delete all my data doesn't use the Trash, but it doesn't empty it either, so empty it afterwards if you deleted recordings one at a time before.
Does this delete my NoteOwl account?
No. Deleting your data only affects this Mac. If you signed in for the trial or NoteOwl Pro, your account is separate: to delete it, click … next to your name at the bottom of the sidebar, choose License…, click Delete account and then Confirm account deletion.
Deleting your account removes your email address and sign-in from NoteOwl's servers. Your recordings stay on your Mac, and NoteOwl Pro keeps working on it.
Common questions
Can I undo Delete all my data in NoteOwl?
No. Delete all my data erases your recordings, transcripts and memory from this Mac for good, and it doesn't move them to the Trash. To keep a copy, click Export all data just above it first.
Does Delete all my data remove my NoteOwl Pro licence?
No. Your NoteOwl Pro licence, the on-device AI models and the macOS permissions you granted all stay, so NoteOwl keeps working as before, without your recordings.
Does deleting a meeting in NoteOwl delete its action items?
Yes, if they came only from that meeting. NoteOwl removes the commitments and other memory that were found only in the deleted meeting. Anything also said in another recording stays.
Export a note, or all of your data
Export a NoteOwl meeting, dictation or transcript as Markdown, PDF, text or subtitles, or save everything to one zip file with Export all data.
Start the 7-day NoteOwl Pro trial
Try every NoteOwl Pro feature free for 7 days on your Mac. Verify your email, start the trial with no card, and NoteOwl returns to Free when it ends.