LesskeysPrivate meeting transcription on Mac or Windows
Yes: a meeting is transcribed privately when the audio and the text stay on your own computer and no bot sits in the call. Lesskeys does that on a Mac and on Windows, and the checks below tell you whether any other tool does.
macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon · No subscriptionWindows 10 and 11 · No subscription
Last reviewed
Check a tool
How to check a meeting tool is private
- Look at the participant list. If the tool is listed, a bot is in the meeting.
- Find out where the audio and transcript are stored, and who can open them.
- Find out whether a later step, such as a summary, sends the text elsewhere.
- Find out whether it tells the other people on the call. If not, you have to.
Offline test: transcribe audio without uploading it.
No bot
Does a bot join the meeting?
No. Nothing is added to the participant list.
Lesskeys records on your own computer, so no note-taker sits in the call and no audio goes to a server. It does not announce the recording, so you tell people.
Tell the people you record; some places require everyone's consent.
Any meeting app
Any meeting app works
It records the sound your computer plays, plus your microphone.
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Meet
- Webex
You record what you hear: a muted person is silence. Call recorder for MacCall recorder for Windows has the steps; how to record a Teams meeting covers Teams' own button.
Your computer
Where the transcript stays
On your computer, in the Library: the audio, the optional video and the transcript.
- No botjoins the call
- Nothinguploaded
- Offlineworks with the internet off
Speaker labels work the same way: speaker diarization. You can tell Lesskeys how many people spoke.
The limits
What private does not promise
Private is not permission to record.
Some places require everyone's consent, and your employer may have rules. Other people on the call can record too, and a meeting service keeps its own recording. Lesskeys records only what your computer hears.
On a Mac
Private recording on a Mac
macOS asks for Screen Recording permission the first time.
That is how a Mac lets an app hear the sound it plays, so Lesskeys needs it even for audio only. FaceTime calls can be recorded the same way. The recording, the optional video and the transcript stay in the Library on your Mac.
On Windows
Private recording on Windows
Windows asks for nothing beyond your microphone.
Lesskeys records the sound your PC plays and your microphone together, so no extra permission and no bot are involved. The recording, the optional video and the transcript stay in the Library on your PC.
Questions
Questions about private meeting transcription
Can I transcribe a meeting privately?
Yes. Lesskeys records the meeting's system audio and your microphone on your computer and transcribes it there, so nothing is uploaded and no transcription bot is in the call. Tell the people you record; some places require everyone's consent.
Does private meeting transcription work with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?
Yes. It records the sound your computer plays from any meeting app, including Zoom, Teams and Meet, plus your microphone, then transcribes it on your computer. A Mac asks for Screen Recording permission the first time; Windows needs only the microphone.
Does a bot join the meeting?
No. Lesskeys records on your own computer, so no note-taker bot joins the call and no audio is sent to a server. Because nothing announces the recording, tell the people you record.
Are speakers labeled?
Yes. Lesskeys labels who said what, and you can tell it how many people spoke; you can rename the speakers. The speaker diarization page explains how it works and what makes labels wrong.
More