Spokenly Local Only Mode: how to keep dictation on your device, and what it turns off
By Ryleigh Newman · Published
Local Only Mode is Spokenly's switch for private dictation. It blocks the app's internet connections, apart from local model downloads, so with a local model your audio and text stay on your device. Turn it on after installing a local model such as Parakeet or Whisper. Online models stop working while it is on, and so does settings sync.
I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Spokenly with that in mind. Every fact about Spokenly here comes from its own documentation at spokenly.app, read on October 11, 2026.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
Turn it on
- Install a local model, such as NVIDIA Parakeet or Whisper, under Dictation Models.
- Turn on Local Only Mode in Spokenly's settings.
- Dictate. With a local model selected, nothing is sent out.
If you leave an online model selected, transcription fails, because the network requests are blocked. That failure is the mode working as designed.
What still connects, and what stops
From Spokenly's Local Only Mode and sync pages, read October 11, 2026.
| Thing | With Local Only Mode on |
|---|---|
| Local models | Work as usual |
| Online models | Fail, because requests are blocked |
| Local model downloads | Allowed. They come from Spokenly's CDN or Hugging Face, and the docs say they never include audio, transcripts or analytics |
| Connections to localhost | Allowed, so a speech or text model you host on your own machine keeps working |
| Settings sync | Disabled |
Spokenly's docs say that with local models the audio already stays on the device, and that this mode adds a layer on top by disabling network activity.
Lock it on for a team
An organization can force Local Only Mode with device management so users cannot turn it off. On a Mac the setting is a configuration profile:
From the same page. In Jamf Pro it goes under Application and Custom Settings.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Preference domain | app.spokenly |
| Key | localOnlyMode |
| Type | Boolean |
| Value | true |
After the profile is installed and Spokenly restarts, the toggle is locked and Settings says your organization manages it. On Windows the same policy is a registry value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Spokenly, set through Group Policy or Intune.
Cleanup without the cloud
With the network blocked, AI Instructions that depend on an online provider have nothing to call. Two things still work. Local Model Cleanup runs a small language model on your computer, removing filler words and repeats and fixing punctuation, and it is off by default. And because localhost is allowed, a mode can point at a text model you run yourself. The Spokenly guide covers modes.
The same result with nothing to switch
Local Only Mode exists because Spokenly can do both: local and cloud. YapToText, the free Mac app I built, only does local. Speech recognition and cleanup run on the Mac, there are no cloud models to select by mistake, no account, no analytics, and the only network use is a model download you start yourself. The App Store version ships with both of its models, so even that download does not happen unless you pick another model.
The trade is real in the other direction too: Spokenly offers cloud models, Windows, Linux and a phone app, and YapToText offers none of those. Offline dictation on a Mac lists the apps that work with Wi-Fi off, and private dictation on a Mac compares what each one sends.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
The short version
- What it does. Blocks Spokenly's network access, except local model downloads and localhost.
- Before you turn it on. Install and select a local model.
- What breaks. Online models and settings sync.
- For teams. A profile with the key localOnlyMode locks it on.
If Spokenly changes this mode, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.
This app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.
Related
Sources
- https://spokenly.app/docs/local-only-mode (checked 2026-10-11)
- https://spokenly.app/docs/sync (checked 2026-10-11)
- https://spokenly.app/docs/local-model-cleanup (checked 2026-10-11)
- https://spokenly.app/docs (checked 2026-10-11)
- https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-11)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-11)
Questions
What is Local Only Mode in Spokenly?
A setting that blocks Spokenly's internet connections, except local model downloads, so dictation with a local model stays on your device.
Does Spokenly work offline?
Yes, with a local model such as Parakeet or Whisper. Its docs say you can work fully offline with local models.
Why does Spokenly fail to transcribe with Local Only Mode on?
An online model is selected. Local Only Mode blocks network requests, so switch to a local model.
Is Spokenly private?
With a local model the audio stays on your device, by its docs. Online models send audio to a provider. Local Only Mode blocks the network so that cannot happen.
Can a company force Spokenly to stay local?
Yes. A configuration profile with the key localOnlyMode set to true locks the mode on, through MDM on a Mac or Group Policy on Windows.