Security
Security at NoteOwl
NoteOwl’s security starts with what it doesn’t have: a copy of your meetings. It records, transcribes, summarizes and answers questions with on-device AI models on your Mac, so your recordings, transcripts and notes are never uploaded to NoteOwl or anyone else.
Below: where your data lives, what the app sends over the internet, what NoteOwl keeps for your account, and how to check that the app and its updates are genuine.
NoteOwl security · the short version
- The AI runs on your Mac
- Nothing you record is uploaded
- Never used to train AI models
- No analytics or telemetry in the app
- Signed and notarized, with signed updates
- Works offline after the model download
Where does NoteOwl keep my meetings?
In one folder on your Mac, ~/Library/Application Support/NoteOwl. NoteOwl keeps no copy on its servers and doesn’t sync your notes to iCloud.
Your notes are as safe as your Mac
- Turn on FileVault. In System Settings → Privacy & Security, so the Mac’s disk can’t be read without your password or recovery key, even if the Mac is lost or stolen.
- Lock your screen. Use a login password and ask for it after sleep or the screen saver. Anyone using your Mac account can open NoteOwl.
- Back up. Time Machine backs up NoteOwl’s folder with the rest of your home folder, so your notes survive a lost Mac. Keep the backup disk somewhere safe.
- Mind your exports. An export is an ordinary file, and anyone who has it can read it. Save it somewhere you trust, and leave voice profiles out unless you need them.
Does NoteOwl use my meetings to train AI?
No. Your recordings and transcripts are never sent to NoteOwl or anyone else, so they can’t be used to train AI models.
Who can open your meetings
Whoever can use your Mac account, and nobody at NoteOwl: there’s no copy to open. For the trial and Pro, NoteOwl’s licensing service keeps your account and licence records, such as your email address.
What does the NoteOwl app send over the internet?
Requests to download its on-device AI models, check for updates and, for the trial and Pro, sign you in and check your licence. None of them carries your recordings, transcripts, notes or memory, and the app has no analytics or telemetry.
- On-device AI model download
- WhenOnce after you install (about 8 GB), and a model part the first time a feature needs it. While you’re online, NoteOwl can also check that its model files are current.
- What’s sentRequests for the model files, to the servers that host them. Nothing of yours.
- Apple’s language assets
- WhenOnce, only if your Mac doesn’t have them yet, when NoteOwl first indexes your notes for search. macOS downloads them from Apple.
- What’s sentNothing of yours.
- Update check
- WhenAbout once a day while NoteOwl is running, and when you choose Check for Updates…. An update downloads and installs only when you say so.
- What’s sentA request to www.noteowl.ai for the list of NoteOwl versions. No personal data.
- Sign-in and account (trial and Pro)
- WhenWhen you start the trial, buy NoteOwl Pro or activate a Mac; while you’re signed in, when NoteOwl opens or you open a licence screen; and for up to 15 minutes after you click Buy.
- What’s sentYour email address and the code NoteOwl emails you, then your sign-in session and an identifier created on this Mac. Activating also sends the Mac’s name.
- Licence check (Pro)
- WhenAt most once every 7 days, and only when you’re already online. If it fails, nothing changes.
- What’s sentOnly your licence’s identifier.
- Trial feedback
- WhenOnly if you answer the question at the end of the trial and click Send.
- What’s sentThe reason you picked and anything you typed.
| Connection | When | What’s sent |
|---|---|---|
| On-device AI model download | Once after you install (about 8 GB), and a model part the first time a feature needs it. While you’re online, NoteOwl can also check that its model files are current. | Requests for the model files, to the servers that host them. Nothing of yours. |
| Apple’s language assets | Once, only if your Mac doesn’t have them yet, when NoteOwl first indexes your notes for search. macOS downloads them from Apple. | Nothing of yours. |
| Update check | About once a day while NoteOwl is running, and when you choose Check for Updates…. An update downloads and installs only when you say so. | A request to www.noteowl.ai for the list of NoteOwl versions. No personal data. |
| Sign-in and account (trial and Pro) | When you start the trial, buy NoteOwl Pro or activate a Mac; while you’re signed in, when NoteOwl opens or you open a licence screen; and for up to 15 minutes after you click Buy. | Your email address and the code NoteOwl emails you, then your sign-in session and an identifier created on this Mac. Activating also sends the Mac’s name. |
| Licence check (Pro) | At most once every 7 days, and only when you’re already online. If it fails, nothing changes. | Only your licence’s identifier. |
| Trial feedback | Only if you answer the question at the end of the trial and click Send. | The reason you picked and anything you typed. |
What does NoteOwl keep about my account?
Nothing, if you use NoteOwl Free without signing in. For the trial and NoteOwl Pro, NoteOwl’s licensing service keeps the records a licence needs, and none of them comes from what you record: there’s no field for a recording, transcript, title or search.
- Your email address
- WhyTo sign you in with a code and hold your licence.
- Your purchase
- WhyWhat you bought, when and the payment reference. Card details stay with the payment provider and never reach NoteOwl.
- Each Mac you activate
- WhyAn identifier made from a key created on that Mac (not its serial number) and the name you gave the Mac.
- Trial and licence records
- WhyWhether a trial was used, and which Mac each licence is on.
- Feedback, if you send it
- WhyOnly what you choose to write at the end of a trial.
| Record | Why |
|---|---|
| Your email address | To sign you in with a code and hold your licence. |
| Your purchase | What you bought, when and the payment reference. Card details stay with the payment provider and never reach NoteOwl. |
| Each Mac you activate | An identifier made from a key created on that Mac (not its serial number) and the name you gave the Mac. |
| Trial and licence records | Whether a trial was used, and which Mac each licence is on. |
| Feedback, if you send it | Only what you choose to write at the end of a trial. |
How do I know the app and its updates are genuine?
Apple and the app check them. NoteOwl is signed and notarized, every update is signed and checked before it installs, and your Pro licence is a signed licence the app checks on your Mac.
Signed and notarized by Apple
The NoteOwl app and its download are signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so macOS checks they come from NoteOwl and haven’t been changed before it opens them.
Signed updates, installed when you say
NoteOwl checks for updates about once a day. Each update is signed, the app checks that signature against a key built into it before installing, and nothing installs until you agree.
A licence checked on your Mac
NoteOwl Pro is a signed licence the app checks on your Mac, so Pro works offline. A check with NoteOwl happens at most once a week, only when you’re online, and a failed check changes nothing.
What can NoteOwl access on my Mac?
Only the macOS permissions you grant: Microphone; Accessibility and Input Monitoring for dictation; Screen & System Audio Recording for meetings, audio only. Calendar and Contacts are optional, read on your Mac, and never changed or sent. There’s no Google or Microsoft sign-in.
No bot in your calls
No. NoteOwl records your microphone and your Mac’s audio, so nothing joins Zoom, Teams, Meet or any other call. Recording meetings is part of NoteOwl Pro.
Can I delete everything NoteOwl has stored?
Until you delete it. Delete one recording from its list, or erase your recordings, transcripts and memory with Delete all my data in Settings → Memory. Export all data, in the same place, saves a zip file of everything first.
Step by step
Delete a recording or all your data, or export your meeting notes as Markdown, PDF or text.
FAQ
Questions about NoteOwl security
Is NoteOwl safe for confidential meetings?
Yes. NoteOwl records, transcribes and summarizes meetings on your Mac with on-device AI models, so nothing you record is uploaded to NoteOwl or anyone else, and no bot joins the call. Your notes are as safe as your Mac: turn on FileVault and lock your screen.
Can anyone at NoteOwl read my meeting notes?
No. NoteOwl never receives your recordings, transcripts, notes or memory, so nobody at NoteOwl can open them. For the trial and NoteOwl Pro, NoteOwl keeps your email address, your purchase and which Mac is activated, and nothing you record.
Does NoteOwl use my meetings to train AI?
No. NoteOwl’s on-device AI models run on your Mac and NoteOwl never receives your recordings or transcripts, so they can’t be used to train AI models, by NoteOwl or anyone else.
Does the NoteOwl app have analytics or tracking?
No. The app has no analytics, telemetry or advertising, and crash reports stay in a folder on your Mac unless you email one to support. It goes online only for its model download, update checks and, for the trial and Pro, sign-in and a weekly licence check.
Does NoteOwl work with the internet off?
Yes. After the one-time download of its on-device AI models, about 8 GB, NoteOwl records, transcribes, summarizes and answers questions offline. Starting the trial, buying NoteOwl Pro and activating a Mac need a connection; an activated licence keeps working offline.
How do I report a security problem?
Email support@noteowl.ai with “Security” in the subject, and include what you found and how to reproduce it.
Related
- Are AI note takers safe? The six privacy risks, the questions to ask any vendor, and NoteOwl’s answers.
- What NoteOwl sends over the network Every connection the app makes, when, and what each one carries.
- Where NoteOwl stores your data The one folder on your Mac, and what’s inside it.
- Privacy policy What the app and this website collect, in full.
Private AI meeting notes that stay on your Mac
Free to download. Runs entirely on your Mac.
macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · 16 GB memory minimum, 24 GB recommended
About NoteOwl
NoteOwl is private AI meeting notes and memory for the Mac. It captures meetings without a bot joining the call, labels every speaker, writes summaries and action items, and builds a memory of every conversation that you can chat with — fully offline, because the speech recognition and the AI run on the Mac itself. Dictation into any app is free; Pro is a lifetime licence.
NoteOwl pricing: what’s free and what Pro adds
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