Network boundaries
Your audio-processing path stays on your Mac.
Here is the useful distinction: local speech processing is one thing; model setup, license activation, and software updates are separate network operations.
Audio processing is local after setup
AFK uses the Parakeet speech model through FluidAudio on Apple Silicon. The app captures microphone audio or reads a supported audio file, runs recognition locally, and produces the transcript on the Mac.
On first launch, the app downloads the selected speech model and optimizes it for the machine. The current onboarding copy describes roughly a 1 GB model download and about 2 GB of free disk for setup. Once the model is ready, dictation and file transcription do not need an audio API or a cloud transcription service.
This does not mean AFK has no network behavior at all. Here is the useful distinction.
The network operations AFK uses
| Operation | What it does | When |
|---|---|---|
| Speech model setup | Downloads and loads the Parakeet model through FluidAudio. | First run, or when a model must be prepared again. |
| Polar license activation | Sends the license key, organization identifier, and Mac label to Polar's customer-portal activation endpoint. The app stores the returned activation identifier locally. | When you enter a license key in onboarding. |
| Sparkle updates | Checks the appcast configured in the signed app and downloads an update when one is available. | On the updater's schedule, and when you ask it to check. |
AFK does not bundle a Polar access token. The public app activation request uses the license key you provide; the store-side access token stays in the sales worker and is not exposed to the website or app.
What is kept on the Mac
- Dictation history stores the text and local metadata needed for the app's History view.
- Saved file transcriptions keep a lightweight history reference: source name/path, saved output path and format, duration, processing time, and word count. The transcript text remains in the file you choose to save.
- Unsaved non-empty file results use a local cache so they survive navigation or a relaunch. They expire after one hour unless you save them.
- Deleting history removes dictation records, saved-file references, and cached unsaved results. A file you already saved is not deleted by that action.
AFK has no account system in the app. A purchase email provides the license key used for activation.
But hey—I get it. It might be a big deal for you. Win-win, right?
This website
The static site includes no analytics script. The pricing script makes a same-origin GET /api/sales request so the public ladder can reflect the current paid-sales count; the worker returns public sales and price data or the page keeps its fallback. No Polar credential is sent by the browser.
For the product's practical limits, read the documentation. For the motivation behind AFK, read about the project.
Last reviewed: August 22, 2026.