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Steno was built for professionals who work with audio they cannot send to a cloud service. In its default configuration, all transcription and summarization runs on-device, making it suitable for contexts where confidentiality is a hard requirement. If you use the optional cloud summarization feature, transcripts are sent to the configured provider — do not enable this for confidential recordings.
Steno is not certified under HIPAA, SOC 2, or any other compliance framework. It does not make compliance claims. If you work in a regulated environment, consult your compliance team before using any recording tool — including Steno. The value Steno provides is technical: in its default configuration, no data leaves your device. Do not configure a cloud summarization model for recordings containing regulated or privileged information.

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Healthcare

The problem with cloud recorders in clinical settings Clinical conversations contain protected health information. Cloud-based meeting recorders — including dedicated AI note-takers — transmit audio or transcripts to external servers for processing. This creates data transfer obligations and risk, regardless of the vendor’s compliance certifications. How Steno fits
  • Audio is processed entirely on the clinician’s Mac using a local Whisper model
  • Transcripts and summaries are stored in the local filesystem, not synced to any cloud
  • No vendor relationship is created for PHI processing
  • Clinicians can use Steno on their organization-issued Mac without installing third-party cloud services
Typical uses
  • Recording and summarizing clinical consultations for notes
  • MDT (multidisciplinary team) meeting notes
  • Supervision sessions, case reviews, and CPD recordings
The challenge for legal professionals Legal professional privilege protects communications between lawyers and clients. Routing those conversations through a cloud AI service raises questions about whether the privilege is maintained and whether client consent is required. How Steno fits
  • No audio leaves the device — the privilege analysis is the same as a local dictation recorder
  • Transcripts are stored as plain Markdown files you control entirely
  • Can be run on a device managed by your firm without creating any external data processor relationship
Typical uses
  • Client call notes
  • Deposition prep and review
  • Strategy meeting notes

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Finance

Why finance teams use local AI tools Investment discussions, earnings calls, and client advisory conversations may be subject to information barriers, insider trading rules, or client confidentiality obligations. Cloud recording services create an external data trail. How Steno fits
  • Processing is isolated to the analyst’s or advisor’s local machine
  • No audio or transcript is transmitted externally (unless a cloud model is configured — off by default)
  • Compatible with firm policies that prohibit cloud services for sensitive discussions
Typical uses
  • Investment committee notes
  • Client relationship meeting notes
  • Research call notes

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General guidance

For any regulated or confidential context:
  1. Use the local model (the default) — do not configure a cloud model for sensitive recordings
  2. Verify audio is not being captured by any other app or system service before recording
  3. Store recordings on an encrypted volume (macOS FileVault covers this)
  4. Review your organization’s recording consent policies — Steno does not manage consent
  5. Steno saves raw audio in ~/Library/Application Support/stenoai/recordings/ — delete files you no longer need
Steno is a standard macOS app distributed as a signed DMG. It can be deployed via MDM (e.g., Jamf) by distributing the .app bundle. Contact the project via GitHub for enterprise deployment questions.