Privacy & your data

"Nothing leaves your machine" is the architecture, not a setting — here's exactly how.

How "local" works

Capture, transcription, speaker matching, AI summaries, storage, and search all run on your device. Zerds has no server to receive your data — you are the only user of it.

The only network calls Zerds makes

This is the complete list, and it is the same list rendered on Security and in the FAQ — one definition, so none of them can quietly be shorter than another.

Every network call Zerds makes. There are no others.
Call	When	Where to
Model download	The first time you use a model, then cached and run offline. Nothing of yours is sent — it is a file download, and every file is checked against a build-time checksum before it is used	huggingface.co hf-mirror.com (fallback, if huggingface.co is blocked) github.com (k2-fsa/sherpa-onnx, microsoft/onnxruntime releases) raw.githubusercontent.com (uhstray-io/zerds-public — ours) registry.ollama.ai (only for Ollama models)
Model catalogue	When you open the model list in Settings, to see which models exist and how big they are. Asks for a file listing — nothing of yours is part of the request	huggingface.co
ONNX Runtime download	First run, if the runtime is not already present. Checked against a build-time checksum before it is used	github.com (microsoft/onnxruntime releases)
Bug report / feedback form	Only when you click Report a bug or Send feedback. Opens a form in your browser — Zerds sends nothing to it, and attaches no recording, transcript or log	docs.google.com (opened in your browser, not by Zerds)
Your remote AI endpoint	Only if you configure one. Transcript text goes to the server you chose	whichever endpoint you configure — nothing by default
Discord	Only during a Discord recording you start	discord.com
Store ownership confirmation	On launch, on a Microsoft Store build. Windows confirms the licence you already own — no Zerds account, and no transcript, recording or filename is part of it	Windows licensing services — no Zerds server

Where your data lives

Everything is under one folder in your user profile. Where that is depends on your operating system:

Windows   %APPDATA%\Zerds\data\
             macOS     ~/Library/Application Support/Zerds/
             Linux     ~/.local/share/zerds/

That folder holds your settings, the SQLite database (transcripts, search, speaker names), downloaded models, any kept audio, and your exports. You can relocate storage in Settings.

Open it and look — nothing there is obfuscated. The database is SQLite, the audio is in ordinary formats, and the exports are the files you asked for. That is the whole of what Zerds keeps about you.

Encryption

Optional at-rest encryption (SQLCipher) protects the database with a password you set. It's off by default, covers the database (not raw audio files), and has no recovery — if you lose the password, the database can't be opened. Your password is stored locally and never transmitted.

Retention & export

Auto-delete — recordings are removed on a schedule you set (30 days by default), or you can keep them forever or delete any session manually.
Export — any session to Markdown, SRT, or JSON, plus a merged WAV of the audio.

Speaker matching

Optional speaker matching lets Zerds recognize a person across meetings. It is off by default, the stored data lives only on your device, and you can delete it per person or all at once. It is never transmitted anywhere.

Recognising individuals by voice is regulated in some places — Illinois' BIPA and GDPR Article 9 are the examples usually cited. If you switch this on for other people, notifying them and obtaining their consent may be your own obligation. This is context, not legal advice, and Zerds does not handle any of it for you.

No telemetry

Zerds sends no usage data or analytics of any kind. There's nothing to opt out of because there's nothing being collected.