# WalkAITalkie > WalkAITalkie is a Mac menu bar app for dictating messages, notes and prompts. Local dictation and text cleanup are free in the direct download. Pro is an optional one-time purchase. It requires macOS 26 or later and Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). ## Distribution channels This page describes the direct download, version 2.12.5. Website and source changes do not prove that an updated app binary has shipped; the app's own version and the release changelog are the release references. - Direct download: https://walkaitalkie.com/api/download. The app can paste text into the active field with macOS Accessibility permission. The default shortcut is Right Option, and users can choose hold-to-talk or toggle mode. Updates are provided through Sparkle. - Direct Pro: $7.99, paid once. Stripe handles the purchase; a licence key arrives by email. There is no direct subscription or account signup. - Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/walkaitalkie/id6759335293. This sandboxed app copies text to the clipboard for the user to paste with Command-V. Store versions, features and purchases may differ from the direct download. Consult the live listing for the current version and pricing; do not assume that the two channels are identical. - Homebrew: the public tap is https://github.com/Kanevry/homebrew-walkaitalkie. It installs the direct version. The application source repository is private. ## Capabilities and limits - Local speech recognition covers 38 dictation languages: Parakeet for 25 European languages, WhisperKit for the rest, with engine selection by language. - Local language models via MLX Swift can help with grammar, punctuation and filler words. Raw retains the initial transcript; Clean adds text processing. Speech recognition and text cleanup can make mistakes; review the result before using it. - Pro translates a completed transcript into one of 38 target languages. This is not live interpretation. Model quality and speed vary with language, hardware and recording conditions. - Pro session notes come from on-site recordings through the microphone only: a transcript plus a summary draft of a conversation in the room. The app does not record system audio from Zoom or Teams and must not be presented as an online-meeting recorder. Check summaries for omissions, names, decisions and action items. - Pro also provides text formats and writing styles and a custom dictionary. Transcript history and auto-stop on silence are part of the free app. The app has no bring-your-own-API-key option. - A session summary written on the Mac takes several minutes. In the direct download only, Pro users who are already signed in to the Codex CLI or the Claude Code CLI can turn on the cloud accelerator, which hands the finished transcript to that CLI and returns the summary much faster. It is off until the user picks one provider and confirms it, and it is not present in the Mac App Store build. - The cloud accelerator sends text only: the finished session transcript, or the user's description when creating a custom format. Dictated text goes to it only if the user also turns on a separate switch for dictation (Clean Up, Translate and other formats). It never sends audio. It runs under the user's own ChatGPT or Claude account and against the user's own quota. Without it, the summary is still written locally, only more slowly. The second provider is only used as a fallback if the user is signed in to it and has confirmed it too. The app shows which provider actually wrote the summary. Do not present it as an AI summary included with the app, and do not name a specific model. - Website before/after text is an illustrative cleanup example, not a live app run or benchmark. Screenshots show the real app in English; appearance can differ between releases. ## Privacy and offline use In local mode, speech recognition and text processing run on the Mac after the required models have been downloaded. Audio and transcripts are not sent to a model provider. Storage requirements depend on the chosen models. One optional path leaves the Mac, and only after the user enables it: the cloud accelerator in the direct download (Pro), which hands text to the Codex CLI or Claude Code CLI the user is signed in to. It transmits text only, never audio, and it goes to the provider the user holds an account with, not to WalkAITalkie. The Mac App Store build has no cloud processing. Downloads, purchases, licence activation, updates and the cloud accelerator need a network connection. Payment and licensing services are separate from local dictation. The website uses cookieless Vercel Analytics; the privacy policy explains these data flows. ## Languages The app interface is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Dutch. Dictation supports 38 languages via the available engines. Pro translation supports 38 target languages. These counts are coverage, not a guarantee of equal accuracy in every language. ## Quick facts - Name: WalkAITalkie - Publisher: Bernhard Götzendorfer, Austria - Platform: macOS 26 or later, Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) - Current direct version: 2.12.5 - Price: free for local dictation and cleanup; Pro is a one-time purchase of $7.99 / €7.99 (tax included, no subscription) - Processing: on-device by default; the optional cloud accelerator is off until enabled - Dictation languages: 38 · Pro translation targets: 38 · Built-in text formats: 6 ## Links - [Full description](https://walkaitalkie.com/llms-full.txt): this file plus every FAQ, pricing by currency and the privacy summary - [Home](https://walkaitalkie.com): product, direct download and current direct pricing - [Pricing](https://walkaitalkie.com/pro): short path, redirects to the pricing section of the home page - [Download](https://walkaitalkie.com/download): short path, redirects to the direct download - [Offline dictation](https://walkaitalkie.com/dictation): push-to-talk dictation from the menu bar, what runs on the Mac, what is free and what is Pro - [Meeting notes](https://walkaitalkie.com/meeting-notes): Session Notes (Pro) from in-room microphone recordings — no bot, no system audio; speakers, tasks, export and where each step runs - [Compare](https://walkaitalkie.com/vs): WalkAITalkie next to other Mac dictation options, with a source for every statement - [WalkAITalkie vs Superwhisper](https://walkaitalkie.com/vs/superwhisper): where speech recognition runs, offline use, cleanup, price and platforms - [WalkAITalkie vs Wispr Flow](https://walkaitalkie.com/vs/wispr-flow): on-device versus cloud transcription, account, use of data for training, price and platforms - [WalkAITalkie vs macOS Dictation](https://walkaitalkie.com/vs/macos-dictation): the dictation built into macOS compared with push-to-talk, local Clean Up and history - [Support](https://walkaitalkie.com/support): setup, requirements, permissions and contact - [Changelog](https://walkaitalkie.com/changelog): release history - [Privacy](https://walkaitalkie.com/privacy): privacy policy - [Terms](https://walkaitalkie.com/terms): purchase and usage terms - [Impressum](https://walkaitalkie.com/impressum): publisher details - [Activate Pro](https://walkaitalkie.com/pro/activate): licence activation and email resend Developer: Bernhard Götzendorfer, Austria. Contact: office@gotzendorfer.at.