Willow Voice and HIPAA: enabling it, the agreement you sign, and what Willow says it stores

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Willow Voice says it supports HIPAA-compliant workflows, and that to dictate notes containing protected health information you need to enable HIPAA support by signing its Business Associate Agreement. On a Mac that is in Settings, Privacy, Enable HIPAA. Willow says the setting is tied to your account, so it applies on your other devices, and that it is available to individual users as well as clinics and teams.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Willow Voice with that in mind. Every fact about Willow Voice here comes from its own help center, read on October 11, 2026.

I make no compliance claims about any app, mine included. This page reports Willow's statements. Whether they meet your obligations is for your organization and its counsel.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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.

Enable HIPAA support

  1. Open Willow and go to Settings.
  2. Open the Privacy section.
  3. Click Enable HIPAA.
  4. Review the BAA and sign your name to complete the agreement.

On an iPhone it is under Profile, Settings, Data Controls. Signing on one device applies to the others, as long as they are logged into the same Willow account.

What Willow says about your data

From Willow's help center, read October 11, 2026.

QuestionWillow's answer
Is it available to one personYes. Individual users, clinics and larger teams
Is voice or text stored with HIPAA onWhen HIPAA privacy mode is enabled, Willow says it does not store or retain your voice or transcription content
Evidence for a security teamIts Trust Center, with HIPAA and other compliance documentation
SOC 2It says it completed SOC 2 Type II covering the Security criteria, by an independent auditor, with reports available under NDA
Other frameworksIt says it aligns with GDPR and CCPA
EncryptionIn transit and at rest, by its compliance page

When Willow says to enable it

  • Clinical notes, patient summaries or charts.
  • Any documentation with patient identifiers or medical details.
  • Messages or records that include protected health information.

For a whole organization, with enterprise security controls, Willow asks you to contact it about an Enterprise account.

What to check for yourself

  1. Read the agreement before signing. A click in Settings is still a contract.
  2. Confirm the setting shows as enabled on every device you dictate on.
  3. Ask your organization whether a vendor agreement signed by an individual is enough for it.
  4. Remember where the speech goes: Willow processes it with cloud-based models.

The Willow Voice privacy page covers its general data statements, and medical dictation on a Mac sets the options side by side.

How the others compare

Wispr Flow, superwhisper and Aqua Voice each have a page here, from their makers' own statements. Willow's help center describes signing the agreement inside the app, as an individual.

YapToText, the free app I built, takes the other route: speech recognition and cleanup happen on the Mac, with no account and no server. That describes the software. It is not a compliance statement, and I offer no BAA, because it is one person's free project. If your organization requires a signed agreement, an app without one does not meet that requirement.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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

  • Enable. Settings, Privacy, Enable HIPAA, then sign the BAA.
  • Scope. Your account, on every device.
  • Who. Individuals, clinics and teams.
  • Storage. Willow says none of your voice or transcription content with HIPAA mode on.
  • Your call. Your organization decides.

If Willow changes its statements, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis 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.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Is Willow Voice HIPAA compliant?

Willow says it supports HIPAA-compliant workflows once you enable HIPAA support by signing its Business Associate Agreement.

How do I enable HIPAA in Willow Voice?

On a Mac or PC, open Settings, Privacy, click Enable HIPAA, then review and sign the BAA.

Does Willow Voice sign a BAA with individuals?

Its help center says HIPAA support is available for individual users, clinics and larger teams.

Does Willow store my dictation with HIPAA enabled?

Willow says that with HIPAA privacy mode enabled it does not store or retain your voice or transcription content.