Does Kayit send my audio or transcripts to the cloud?

No. Kayit transcribes entirely on your Mac using on-device machine learning. Your audio, transcripts, and quotes never leave your machine and are never uploaded to any server, account, or third-party API.

Do I need an account or sign-in to use Kayit?

No. Kayit requires no account and no sign-in. There is nothing to log into and no personal information to provide.

What do I need to run Kayit?

Kayit runs on a Mac with Apple chip (M1 or later) running macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later. An internet connection is required only on first launch to download the transcription model.

Why does Kayit need the internet on first launch?

On first launch Kayit downloads its speech-recognition model (roughly 800 MB) over HTTPS from Hugging Face. This is machine-learning model data, not your audio. After the one-time download, transcription works fully offline.

Does Kayit identify who is speaking?

Yes. Kayit performs automatic speaker separation on-device, labelling turns as "Speaker 1", "Speaker 2", and so on. You can rename each speaker, and the renaming applies across the whole transcript.

Private, on-device interview transcription

On the record. Off the server.

Kayit transcribes your interviews locally on your Mac, with speaker identification and quote management built in — so your audio, and the transcription, never touch a server.

Why local matters ↓

Mac with Apple chip (M1 or later)

No account required

Free trial

source-interview-04.m4a ● On device

00:00:08Reporter When did you first become aware of the situation?

00:00:17Maria Chen Back in March, long before anyone was talking about it. I tried to report it then but was told to wait.

00:00:41Reporter Do you have documentation?

0:41 / 3:12

Insights on device

Summary

Source first flagged the issue in March but was told to wait before anyone acted on it.

Outline

00:17 The March warning

00:41 Documentation & records

Entities

People

Maria Chen4 Tom Reyes3 Councilman Ortiz2

Organizations

City Council3 Public Works2 Budget Office2

Places

City Hall3 Riverside District2 Fifth Ward

Dates

March 20252 January 12 April 3

Key Terms

budget5 documentation4 inspection3 shortfall3 permit2

Where your audio goes

Descript, Otter.ai, Whisper API, Rev, Trint — all upload your audio to the cloud

Kayit — stays on your Mac

Stays on your machine

Runs entirely on Apple devices using on-device machine learning. Your audio never touches a server or a third-party API.

Knows who's speaking

Automatic speaker identification separates voices without cloud diarization. Rename speakers in your notes after the fact.

Insights, computed on-device

An optional on-device AI gives you a plain-language summary, a click-through timestamped outline, and suggested pull-quotes — plus the people, organizations, and places mentioned. It all runs on your Mac, and switches off per interview or across your whole newsroom if you have an anti AI policy.

Built for your workflow

Audio and text stay in sync — click any word to jump to that moment, or save any passage as a quote. Export to Markdown, plain text, quotes, or audio clips, plus an open .transcript.json sidecar that drops straight into Obsidian. Your files, no lock-in.

For journalists

Your sources trust you.
Kayit is built so you can keep that trust.

When a confidential source speaks on the record, that audio is the most sensitive file you hold. Cloud transcription services upload it to servers you don't control, subject to breaches, subpoenas, and terms that can change overnight. Kayit never uploads anything. Transcription, speaker separation, and quote extraction all happen on your Mac — so the recording, the transcript, and your notes stay exactly where you put them.

Initially built for journalists, but is perfect for anyone bound to keep a conversation private. If your IT or security team blocked cloud transcription, Kayit is what they could approve.

Lawyers privilege
Researchers consent & IRB
Clinicians patient confidentiality
Investigators sensitive casework

Questions? Read the FAQ ↓

No account needed. Nothing to sign into and no personal data to hand over.
Works offline. After a one-time model download, disconnect the Wi-Fi and it still runs.
You own the files. Export transcripts, quotes, and audio clips as Markdown, plain text, or an open .transcript.json sidecar that drops straight into an Obsidian vault — no lock-in.
Cloud-folder warnings. Kayit warns you before saving or exporting interviews into iCloud, Dropbox, or other syncing folders.

Pricing

One simple plan. Everything on your Mac.

Start with a free trial — no account, no per-minute fees, and no upload limits. Cloud tools meter your minutes and cap your uploads; Kayit doesn't, because your audio never leaves your machine.

Monthly

$9.99/ month

Billed monthly. Cancel anytime.

Annual

$99/ year

Just $8.25 a month, billed once a year.

Free trial at launch · then $9.99/mo or $99/yr · macOS 15+ · Mac (M1 or later)

Rolling it out across a newsroom, firm, or research team? Ask about volume licensing →