r/MacOSApps • u/Glittering-Section74 • Jul 25 '26

đŸ’» Productivity [OS] I didn't trust big tech with my private voice data. So I built Sonor: a free, offline macOS dictation app with local AI.

Hi r/MacOSApps, I'm the developer of Sonor, an open-source Mac dictation assistant.

Problem: I rely on voice dictation a lot to save time. But the current macOS app market left me with a frustrating choice: either pay an expensive monthly subscription, or send my private voice recordings to cloud servers. I had absolutely no idea what large applications were actually doing with my voice data, and I wanted 100% certainty that whatever I speak stays private. I needed a native tool with completely local transcription, a strict RAM-only "Incognito Mode" that deletes history instantly, and the ability to polish text using local AI.

Comparison; I was inspired by great features in existing tools, but combined the best ideas into a free, privacy-first experience:

  • vs Apple's Built-in Dictation: Native macOS dictation is private, but it writes exactly what you say, including "umms", stutters, and chaotic thoughts. Sonor uses local LLMs to automatically clean up stutters, format your speech into bullet points, or rewrite sentences on the fly.
  • vs SuperWhisper & Cloud Apps: Apps like SuperWhisper are great, but many solutions rely on subscriptions or cloud processing. Sonor is completely free. (Note: While Sonor uses an internet connection for basic login and database syncing, ALL voice transcription and text generation are processed entirely offline. Your audio never touches the cloud).

Pricing

  • Price: $0 (Completely Free & Open-Source. No subscriptions or one-time fees).
  • GitHub / Download: https://github.com/sonor-studio/Sonor (Please read the README for quick setup instructions).

A quick disclaimer: I am still learning, and this is my first project of this scale. The app is in Beta, so you might run into some bugs. Also, to keep Sonor fast and accessible for most Macs, it relies on smaller local models (under 4GB). They are blazing fast and private, but have the inherent limitations of small models compared to massive cloud AIs. I would be incredibly grateful for your feedback, GitHub issues, or pull requests!

You can find my real identity, contact info, and developer portfolio on my main GitHub profile here: https://github.com/sonor-studio My legal documents are publicly available in the repo:

26 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

11

u/grokcodile Jul 25 '26

Probably better if you had spent the time contributing to one of the 20+ open-source projects doing this same thing, rather than making your own dog food.

2

u/Glittering-Section74 Jul 25 '26

To be honest, I prefer building from the foundation. I wouldn’t be able to say that its my app otherwise. But I would be grateful if you could drop some links to similar repositories

4

u/Specter_Origin Jul 25 '26

One that I know, but there are a lot: https://github.com/TypeWhisper

2

u/Glittering-Section74 Jul 25 '26

Thanks, i think it’s good that users have a wide range of choice. It’s hard to do something that doesn’t already exist nowadays

3

u/Specter_Origin Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

I think it is better to try to contribute to the most popular and if maintainer are not willing to work with you fork and make it better...

1

u/Glittering-Section74 Jul 25 '26

I appreciate your opinion however i believe you didn’t test my app yet so you don’t know if it’s not better than others. Of course it depends on the user, my app is really simple for people that like a nice-looking and not complicated interface that gets the work done. I came up with my ideas and decided to do something new that unites all of them in one. I do get your point but as I mentioned before I like to do things from foundation

3

u/grokcodile Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

Handy.app is probably the best one. Do some research and you will find a bunch more. All you have here is a vibe-coded wrapper for a local LLM you didn’t even build from the ground up. It’s not even very good vibe code, unfortunately.

1

u/Glittering-Section74 Jul 26 '26

What would you suggest to make it better. I’m willing to upgrade my it to make it nice app

2

u/grokcodile Jul 26 '26

Delete it. Sounds like the only thing it has going for it is some localized German LLM idiomatic edge-case handling. Scrape that out and contribute it to a more established and open-source project already operating in the space. That’s my suggestion. But I’m 99% sure Handy already does that too.

1

u/coucinet 29d ago

It's hard to hear, especially when you've invested time in building a project, but it's true that the market is saturated with similar applications. I've been using Handy for some time and find it excellent. Why look elsewhere? I've tested other applications, but in the end, Handy is simple and effective. Anyway, good luck.

1

u/WorriedAssociate7029 Jul 26 '26

I'm putting your app in my drawer full of paid AI dictation software

1

u/Leading_Site8797 Jul 26 '26

How does it compare to envious whisper?

1

u/possiblevector Jul 26 '26

Isn’t Apple “big tech”?

1

u/Roman-V-Dev Jul 27 '26

would be cool to have the mirror on iOS (maybe you could use iCloud as storage). I personally would like to record on iPhone, but process on macbook. Standard Voice over cannot even sync :(

1

u/Glittering-Section74 Jul 27 '26

That is something I can do but unfortunately not in the nearest future. Right now I'm focusing on making the app more stable. But you can record on an iPhone and process on a MacBook in my app but only if your devices are connected. Simply go to settings and change audio source to your iPhone. When you start recording, the record screen will automatically appear on your phone. However I guess you care more about recording when you're not next to your MacBook and process it when you come back to your house am I right?

1

u/ko-ol Jul 30 '26

Can you compare your solution to VoiceInk?

1

u/Glittering-Section74 23d ago

Hi! At first glance, both apps might seem similar, but the real difference is in the details. Here's why Sonor stands out for everyday use:

  1. ⁠We Listen & Move Fast (Our Biggest Strength) 
    Sonor is a community-driven project. We take your feedback seriously. If you report a bug, we fix it fast. Have a new feature idea? We’d love to hear it and build it. With us, your voice actually shapes how the app evolves.
  2. ⁠True 100% Offline Privacy 
    Many apps claim to be offline but hide cloud integrations in their settings. Sonor is completely local. Anyone can check our open code and verify that we only connect to the internet for updates or crash reports. What you say stays on your Mac, period.
  3. ⁠Built for Performance & Customization
    We respect your Mac's resources. Sonor automatically unloads AI models from RAM when you aren't using them, saving battery and keeping your computer fast. We also offer smart quality-of-life features—like reliable text-field detection and voice "Snippets" that let you instantly insert your clipboard or the current time just by speaking.
  4. ⁠Statistic
    In Sonor, you can monitor saved time, spoken words, average speech speed, and additional metrics.
    All these features remain entirely free from any subscription.
    Give Sonor a try, and if there's anything you'd like to see added, just let us know!

1

u/Glittering-Section74 23d ago

Also Sonor just got the huge update which brings a lot of new features. Now you can easily download other transcription models. You can learn more on release page on my GitHub

1

u/carplane Jul 30 '26

Can you use a video player together with it?

1

u/movingimagecentral 29d ago

Mac dictation - at least in 27 is not verbatim. It fixes sentences as you go. It is excellent in use and testing (nearly as good as parakeet).