How it works
- Install Open Blabber and enable the keyboard in Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards, including Allow Full Access.
- In any app, switch to the Open Blabber keyboard with the globe key and tap the mic. Because iOS doesn't let keyboards use the microphone, the first tap hops you into the Open Blabber app once to start a dictation session — then you swipe back.
- For the rest of the session (up to an hour), dictation works right in the keyboard: tap the mic, talk, tap stop — your words are typed where your cursor is. While a session is active, iOS shows the orange mic indicator; audio is discarded except while you're actually dictating.
Transcription is powered by NVIDIA's open Parakeet model running on your device's Neural Engine — accuracy above Whisper large-v3, in 25 languages, fully offline after a one-time model download.
Privacy Policy
Effective date: July 21, 2026
Open Blabber is built so that there is nothing to disclose. This policy exists because honesty requires saying that out loud.
What we collect
Nothing. Open Blabber has no servers, no user accounts, no analytics, no crash reporting, and no advertising. We do not collect, store, transmit, sell, or share any personal information — because the app is not capable of doing so.
Your voice and your text
- Transcription happens entirely on your device using NVIDIA's Parakeet speech model, run locally by the open-source FluidAudio library. Your audio and transcribed text are never sent to us or to any third party by Open Blabber.
- While a dictation session is active, the app holds the microphone in the background so the keyboard's mic button can work instantly (iOS shows the orange indicator the whole time). Audio is kept in memory only while you are actively dictating; between dictations it is discarded the moment it is captured, and it is never written to disk or logged.
- Audio is discarded as soon as transcription completes. Sessions end automatically after an hour, or whenever you end them.
Permissions we ask for, and why
- Microphone — required so the app can hear you while you dictate. The mic is reserved for the length of a dictation session (so the keyboard's mic button works instantly), but audio is only kept while you are actively dictating.
- Allow Full Access (keyboard setting) — Apple gates all data sharing between a keyboard and its companion app behind this switch. Open Blabber uses it for exactly one thing: letting the keyboard receive the transcription you just made in the app, through a local shared container on your device. The keyboard contains no networking code — the source is public, so you can check.
One thing you should know
On your first dictation session, the app downloads the Parakeet speech model (about 500 MB) from Hugging Face, where it is hosted publicly. This is an ordinary file download — no account, no audio, and no personal data are involved beyond what any web request reveals (your IP address, to Hugging Face's CDN, under Hugging Face's privacy policy). It is the only network request Open Blabber ever makes. After that, transcription works fully offline.
Changes
If this policy ever changes, the new version will be posted here and in the project's public source repository, with the effective date updated. Since the app collects nothing, meaningful changes are unlikely.
Contact
Questions? Open an issue on the project repository
Terms of Use
Effective date: July 20, 2026
By using Open Blabber, you agree to these terms.
The app
Open Blabber is free software provided in the hope that it is useful. You may use it for any lawful purpose. Transcription accuracy is not guaranteed — always review dictated text before sending anything important.
Open source license
Open Blabber's source code is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. You are free to inspect, modify, and redistribute it under the terms of that license, which requires that derivative works remain open source.
No warranty
The app is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. In no event shall the authors be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability arising from the use of the app. Your only remedy for dissatisfaction with the app is to stop using it.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state in which the developer resides, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.