LesskeysHow to transcribe a video without uploading it
To transcribe a video, add the file to a tool that runs the speech model on your own computer. It takes the audio out for you, writes the text and sends nothing anywhere.
macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon · No subscriptionWindows 10 and 11 · No subscription
Last reviewed
Transcribe a video
How to transcribe a video on your computer
- Open Lesskeys and choose the Transcribe tab.
- Drop the video file in, or choose it with the file picker.
- Check the language, then start. You set how many people spoke (2 by default).
- Read the transcript in the Library and copy the text.
MP4 to text
MP4 to text: a video file on your computer
MP4, MOV and M4V go in as they are. Lesskeys takes the audio out for you.
No conversion, no audio extraction first. MKV, AVI or another format? Convert it to MP4 first.
- MP4
- MOV
- M4V
- Convert others first
Get the text out
Extract the text from a video
The text lands in the Library, line by line, with a label for each voice.
Copy it all or one quote, and play the video from any line to check a word.
Your YouTube video
Your own YouTube video
Download your own upload from YouTube Studio, then use the same steps.
- In YouTube Studio: Content, the video's menu, Download
- An MP4 file, in 720p or 360p
- Not for removed videos or ones with a strike; five downloads of a video a day
Only your own uploads. Another person's video is theirs, and YouTube's terms set the limits.
Source: YouTube, Download YouTube videos that you've uploaded. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
A podcast episode
A downloaded podcast episode
An episode file goes through the same steps.
Your own show's file, or an episode its maker lets you download. Each voice gets a label. Podcast transcription has more.
What stays here
Before you trust the word private
A local step can still be followed by one that is not.
- Transcription runs on the device
- Every later step runs on the device
- No account needed
- Works with the internet off
A summary or clean-up sent to a language-model service is an upload of your words. For meetings, see private meeting transcription.
On a Mac
Transcribing on a Mac
- macOS 13 or later, Apple Silicon
- The video never leaves the Mac
How local transcription works explains what runs where.
On Windows
Transcribing on Windows
- Windows 10 and 11
- The video never leaves the PC
Questions
Questions about transcribing a video
How do I pull a transcript from an MP4?
Add the MP4 in the Transcribe tab of Lesskeys. It takes the audio out of the video on your computer and writes the transcript, with a label for each voice and nothing uploaded.
Can I transcribe my own YouTube video?
Yes. Download your upload from YouTube Studio (Content, the video's menu, Download) and add the MP4. This works for your own uploads only; YouTube's terms limit downloading other people's videos.
Do I need to extract the audio from the video first?
No. Lesskeys takes the audio out of MP4, MOV and M4V files for you, on your computer.
How do I know an app is not uploading my audio?
Check that transcription and any later formatting run on the device, that no account is required, and that it works with the internet off. If it keeps working offline, nothing is being uploaded.
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