VoiceInk History: finding old transcripts, exporting them, and deleting them on a schedule
By Ryleigh Newman · Published
VoiceInk saves every dictation in History on your Mac: the original text, the enhanced text if AI Enhancement ran, the audio, and details about how it was made. That is how you get back a dictation that never pasted, and it is also something to manage if you dictate private things. This page covers both halves.
I built YapToText, a different dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about VoiceInk with that in mind. Every fact about VoiceInk here comes from its own docs, read on October 10, 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.
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On this page: 8 sections
Finding a transcript
- Open it. History is in the sidebar, newest first, loading 20 at a time.
- Search. The search field matches both the original and the enhanced text.
- Expand a row. You get the original text, the enhanced text in its own tab, a Copy button, audio playback if the file still exists, and an Info button.
- Play it back. A waveform player with seeking, and speeds of 1x, 1.5x and 2x.
The Info panel shows the date, audio length, transcription and enhancement models and how long each took, the prompt and Mode, and the AI system prompt and user message when that request was saved. The AI request has its own copy button.
Quick History, without opening the app
Assign a shortcut to Open Quick History in History Settings. It opens your recent transcriptions in a small panel: search, move with the arrow keys, and press Return to paste the selected one into the app you were using. It pastes the enhanced text when there is one, otherwise the original. Right Arrow opens details, where you can play the audio and retry while the audio still exists. Escape closes it.
Exporting and bulk actions
From VoiceInk's docs, Transcription History, read October 10, 2026. Select one or more rows to show these.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Export | Exports the selected rows to CSV |
| Delete | Deletes the selected transcripts and their audio |
| Analyze | Shows timing for the selected transcripts, by model, with your Mac's model, processor and memory |
| Select All | Selects every row that matches the search, not only the loaded ones |
Deleting history automatically
From VoiceInk's docs, Transcription History, read October 10, 2026. The two settings cannot be on together.
| Setting | Choices | What it deletes |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-delete Transcript History | Immediately, 1 hour, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days | Transcripts and their audio |
| Auto-delete Audio Files | 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days | Only the audio. The text stays |
- When it runs. After each transcription and at launch, counted from when each transcript was made.
- Run Cleanup Now. Deletes what is older than the period right away, and leaves newer items.
- No confirmation. Turning on transcript auto-delete and running cleanup do not ask first, so choose carefully.
- Immediately still writes. An entry is created and then removed after processing. It is not a way to never save one.
What deleting does and does not do
VoiceInk's docs are unusually precise here. History lives in a local SQLite database, and deleting removes the records and their audio from the app, but SQLite's write-ahead log and unused pages can keep old bytes until they are reused, so the docs call it application-level deletion, not guaranteed erasure. The Dashboard also keeps separate statistics without your text, such as word counts, timings and model names, and deleting a History record does not delete those. Local transcription does not mean no history: VoiceInk still saves it on the Mac. The VoiceInk privacy page covers what goes to cloud providers.
How YapToText's History compares
VoiceInk from its docs, read October 10, 2026. YapToText from its own settings.
| VoiceInk | YapToText | |
|---|---|---|
| Kept by default | Not stated in the docs. Auto-delete is a setting you choose | The last 500, and items older than 30 days are deleted |
| Retention choices | Transcripts from immediately to 7 days, or audio from 1 to 30 days | Keep everything, 500, 100 or this session only, and auto-delete after 7, 30 or 90 days, or never |
| Raw and cleaned text | Original and enhanced tabs | Both kept, with Copy Raw Transcript on each entry |
| Export | CSV of selected rows | The whole list, or one entry as text, Markdown or audio |
| Paste an old one | Quick History, then Return | Insert into the previous app, on each entry |
| Clear on quit | Not described in the docs | Clear history when I quit, off by default |
Both keep history on the Mac and send none of it anywhere by themselves. YapToText also keeps a dictation if the app or the Mac crashes mid-sentence, and files it as Recovered after a crash. The YapToText History help page covers its settings.
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
- Find one. History, then search. It matches original and enhanced text.
- Paste an old one fast. Give Open Quick History a shortcut.
- Export. Select rows, then Export, as CSV.
- Delete on a schedule. History Settings, Auto-delete Transcript History or Audio Files.
- Know the limit. Deletion is in the app, not a secure wipe, and Dashboard statistics stay.
If VoiceInk changes how History works, 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://tryvoiceink.com/docs/transcription-history (checked 2026-10-10)
- https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/dashboard (checked 2026-10-10)
- https://tryvoiceink.com/docs/privacy-and-data (checked 2026-10-10)
- https://github.com/ryleighnewman/YapToText (checked 2026-10-10)
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/yaptotext/id6786382289 (checked 2026-10-10)
Questions
Where does VoiceInk save my transcripts?
In History, stored locally on your Mac in VoiceInk's app support database, with the audio when it is kept.
How do I export VoiceInk history?
Select one or more rows in History and choose Export. It saves the selection as a CSV file.
How do I make VoiceInk delete history automatically?
Open History Settings and choose Auto-delete Transcript History, from immediately to 7 days, or Auto-delete Audio Files to keep only the text.
Does deleting VoiceInk history erase it completely?
VoiceInk's docs say it is application-level deletion: SQLite can keep old bytes until it reuses them, and Dashboard statistics stay.
What is Quick History in VoiceInk?
A panel you open with a shortcut to search recent transcriptions and press Return to paste one into the current app.