The Short Version

Your data stays on your Mac. Screenshots, audio recordings, transcripts—all stored locally. I can’t see it, I can’t access it, and it never leaves your device unless you explicitly use optional cloud features.

What Previously Captures

When you use Previously, the app captures:

• Screenshots of your screen (configurable interval)
• Text extracted from those screenshots via OCR
• Audio from your system and/or microphone (optional)
• Transcriptions of that audio
• Metadata like app names, window titles, URLs, timestamps

All of this is processed and stored locally on your Mac.

What Stays Local

Everything by default:

• All screenshots
• All audio recordings
• All text extractions and transcriptions
• All activity data
• Your search history
• Your settings and preferences

This data is stored in your personal Library folder—a private location that isn’t synced to iCloud or accessible to other applications.

What Runs On-Device (No Key, No Cloud)

The whole memory engine is local. Aside from a one-time model download on first run, none of this needs an API key or an internet connection:

• Screen and audio capture, encrypted at rest
• OCR (on-screen text) via Apple Vision
• Transcription via local Whisper, on the Apple Neural Engine
• Speaker diarization (who said what), on-device
• Semantic search using on-device embeddings, meaning-based search that runs locally after a one-time model download
• Keyword search, entity extraction, activity recognition

The parts people assume must be cloud—transcription, diarization, semantic search—all run on your Mac.

AI Summaries: Bring Your Own Key

One layer is optional and cloud-backed: AI synthesis—answering questions about your history (Ask), and writing meeting, daily, and weekly summaries. These use your own Fireworks API key:

How it works: You add your own Fireworks API key in Previously settings. The app makes API calls directly to Fireworks—I never see your key or the data you send. Only already-extracted, redaction-checked text leaves the device; raw screenshots and audio never do.

This means:

• Your data goes directly to Fireworks, not through me
• You pay Fireworks directly at their standard rates
• I can’t access your API usage or data

You can use Previously entirely without a key. Capture, transcription, diarization, keyword and semantic search all work offline—skip the key and you just lose the generated summaries and answers.

Website Analytics

This website uses simple, privacy-respecting analytics to understand how people find and use the site. I collect:

• Page views (no personal identifiers)
• Referrer information
• Country (from IP, not stored)

I don’t use cookies for tracking, and I don’t share data with advertisers.

What I Collect

Nothing to run the app. Previously is free—no account, no license, no payment, no sign-up. If you email me for support, I have your email because you sent it. That’s it. No profiles, no tracking.

Data Retention

In the app: You control how long Previously keeps your data. Set retention limits, storage caps, or delete everything at any time.

On my end: nothing to retain—there’s no account and no payment.

Your Rights

You can:

• Delete all local data at any time (in-app)
• Request deletion of any account information I hold
• Export your data
• Use the app without cloud features

Security

Your local database is encrypted. I also recommend:

• Enabling FileVault on your Mac
• Using a strong system password
• Keeping macOS updated

Contact

Questions? Email me: privacy@previously.app

Last updated: July 2026