TrickTic Dictate Privacy Policy

What the developer receives

The app has no analytics, advertising, tracking or crash reporting. Account-free use sends no recordings or transcripts to TrickTic. If you choose desktop sign-in or cloud sync, the account and selected synced data described below are handled through services operated for TrickTic. If you email us, we receive what you send.

Optional desktop accounts and sync

Windows and macOS desktop builds can offer Google sign-in through Firebase Authentication in TrickTic's metrix-writer project. Google and Firebase process your sign-in; the app keeps your account identifier, display name and email and stores its session credential using Windows data protection or the macOS Keychain. Dictation does not require an account. The Android app from Google Play remains account-free.

Signing in alone does not upload your settings, dictionary or history. You separately choose settings and dictionary sync and, with separate consent, text-only transcript history sync. Enabled categories are sent over HTTPS to Cloud Firestore in TrickTic's project so your signed-in devices can restore and sync them. Synced records include device identifiers, revisions and timestamps needed to coordinate changes. Recordings, provider API keys, downloaded models and captured application or clipboard context are excluded from account sync.

The Firestore database is in Tel Aviv (me-west1); this is not a promise that Google Authentication or every supporting service processes data only in Israel. Cloud sync is not end-to-end encrypted. Google and authorized service administrators can process the stored data. Google's terms and privacy policy apply to its services. Account deletion and session revocation use TrickTic's account service at writer-account.tricktic.com, which receives the authentication needed to act on your account.

Turning sync off or signing out stops future syncing; it does not itself delete cloud copies or the local files on your devices. In Settings, Account, use the cloud-data deletion controls or Delete account to remove the cloud data or the Firebase account. Account deletion requires a recent Google sign-in. Your local recordings, original transcripts and provider keys stay on your device. You can separately choose whether to keep or remove downloaded account copies; Delete everywhere removes synced copies from other devices when they reconnect. An offline device can retain local copies. The app reports deletion progress and completion; a failed request is not confirmation of deletion. If you cannot access the app, contact contact@tricktic.com for help with a deletion request; we need to verify account ownership before acting.

Where your audio and text go

The app records only when you start a dictation. You choose where each dictation is transcribed:

Speech requests include the language you selected and can include the words in your dictionary, as spelling hints. Text requests include the transcript and, on Windows, any custom instructions and context you enable in Modes. Your API key is sent only to the provider that issued it.

Each provider handles what you send under its own terms and privacy policy and your account with it. A provider may retain a request, or charge for it, even after you cancel it in the app. Deleting data in TrickTic Dictate does not delete copies a provider holds. Review your provider's terms before you use it.

Windows: context and early processing

Modes can send context with a text request: the title of the active window, the text you selected and the contents of your clipboard. Each is off unless the mode enables it. The Regular mode sends none of them, and the Command mode sends the selected text. You can change this in Settings, Modes. Context can contain material unrelated to your dictation.

With Process while speaking, the Super mode can send partial text to its text provider before you stop recording. If a mode has a fallback model, the same request can also go to the fallback model's provider. Cancelling cannot recall a request that was already sent.

After a request succeeds, its context is erased from the saved request. A failed or interrupted request keeps its context so it can be retried, until you delete your history.

Other connections

• Model downloads: when you choose to download an on-device model, the app downloads it from Hugging Face (huggingface.co) and its download servers.
• Key checks: to confirm that a key works, and on Windows to prepare a connection while you speak, the app contacts the provider with your key and no audio or text.
• Windows updates: the Windows app checks updates.tricktic.com for a new version shortly after it starts and every six hours. The check carries no identifier and no app data. An update downloads only when you choose to install it.
• Android updates: the Android app from Google Play is updated by Google Play and makes no update checks of its own.

All of these connections use HTTPS. Like any internet service, the services you connect to receive standard connection information, such as your IP address.

Data stored on your device

Your recordings, transcripts, processed text, dictionary and settings are stored on your device, so a failed transcription can be retried without recording again. They are kept until you delete them; there is no automatic expiry. The app does not encrypt them itself, so use your device's lock screen and disk encryption.

Your API keys are stored encrypted: on Windows with Windows data protection for your Windows account, and on Android with a key held in the Android Keystore.

On Android, app data is stored in the app's private storage and is excluded from Android backup and device transfer. On Windows, data is stored in your user folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\MetrixWriter) and is included in any backups you make of that folder.

Android accessibility service

The optional accessibility service, TrickTic Dictate · voice insertion, puts your dictation into the text field you are typing in, in any app. The app asks for your consent before it opens Android's Accessibility settings, and the service does nothing until you accept.

While it is on, it reads the text, cursor position and ID of the focused field, notices when focus, text or windows change, and sees which app window is in front and where the keyboard is. It skips password, number and private fields and never presses Send. What it reads is used only on your phone. It is not saved and not sent anywhere. If you decline or turn the service off, you can still record and copy your text from History.

Clipboard, sharing and export

On Windows, the app pastes your dictation through the clipboard and restores the previous clipboard contents where possible. Windows may keep the dictation in clipboard history, or sync it, depending on your Windows settings. Turn on Private clipboard delivery to ask Windows not to.

When you insert, copy, share or export a dictation, a copy goes to the app or location you choose and is controlled by it.

Permissions

Android:

Windows:

Revoking a permission stops future access. It does not delete recordings already saved.

Deleting your data

• Android: delete a single dictation in History, or everything in Settings, Storage & about, Delete all audio and transcripts. This removes the audio, transcripts and the app's shared copies. Models, your dictionary, settings and keys are kept. Uninstalling the app deletes all of its data and keys.
• Windows: use Settings, Data & Privacy, Delete all audio and transcripts. Models, your dictionary, settings and keys are kept. Deleting a single recording's audio keeps its text.
• Uninstalling on Windows does not delete your data folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\MetrixWriter. Delete that folder yourself to remove your recordings, text and saved keys.
• Copies you shared or exported, and copies held by a provider, are deleted where they are kept.

Children

TrickTic Dictate is not directed at children. Cloud providers set their own minimum ages for their accounts.

Security

To report a security problem, see the security policy at https://tricktic.com/automation/legal/tricktic-dictate/security.

Changes to this policy

When the app's handling of data changes, this page is updated and the date above changes with it.

Contact

Email: contact@tricktic.com