SayTape
Records without losing a minute. Writes it down on your phone.
SayTape records audio when you tap Record and turns it into text on your phone. Your recordings, transcripts, bookmarks and settings never leave the device through SayTape. There is no account, no analytics and no crash reporting. SayTape has no internet permission.
SayTape's manifest does not request INTERNET or ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE; it explicitly removes them. An Android app cannot open a network connection without INTERNET — the operating system refuses. You can confirm this in the Play listing's permission list or by inspecting the APK.
Speech models are downloaded once by the Google Play Store app through Play Asset Delivery, not by SayTape. Google Play handles that download under Google's own privacy policy; SayTape sends nothing with it.
This is the complete list. There are no others.
| Permission | Why | Without it | Withdraw |
|---|---|---|---|
Microphone (RECORD_AUDIO) |
To record when you tap Record. Asked the first time you tap Record, not before. | Nothing can be recorded. Opening existing audio files still works. | Settings › Apps › SayTape › Permissions › Microphone |
Foreground service, microphone type (FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MICROPHONE) |
So a recording keeps going with the screen off or while you use other apps. A notification is always shown while the microphone is on. | Recording would stop when you leave the app. | Stop the recording |
Foreground service, media processing and data sync types (FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PROCESSING, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC) |
To keep transcribing on the phone after you close the app, with a progress notification. "Data sync" is only the Android 10–14 type for this local file processing; nothing is synced anywhere. | Transcription would stop when you leave the app. | Pause from the notification |
Post notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS), Android 13+ |
To show recording controls, transcription progress and "transcript ready". | Recording still works; the controls are not visible in the notification shade. | Settings › Apps › SayTape › Notifications |
Change audio settings (MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS) |
Only to route recording to a Bluetooth microphone you pick in Settings › Microphone. Granted at install; it does not give access to audio. | Bluetooth microphones could not be selected; the phone microphone still works. | Not user-switchable; uninstalling removes it |
Keep awake (WAKE_LOCK) and run at startup (RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED) |
Added by Google's Play Asset Delivery library (through Android WorkManager), which schedules the speech-model download and resumes it after a restart. SayTape's own code never starts at boot and never records or transcribes at startup. | The model download could not be resumed after a restart. | Not user-switchable; uninstalling removes them |
SayTape does not request storage permissions: recordings are saved through Android's media store into your Recordings (or Music) folder, and files you export and backup files go only where you choose in the system file picker. If you turn on Settings › Transcript file, a .txt or .srt copy of each transcript is written to Documents/SayTape (Android 10+) or SayTape's app folder Music/SayTape (Android 8–9).
| Data | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your recordings (M4A audio files) | Shared storage: Recordings/SayTape or Music/SayTape (Android 10+); SayTape's app folder on Android 8–9 |
They are your files; visible in a file manager |
| Audio files you open or share into SayTape (a copy) | App private storage | So the file stays available for playback and transcription |
| Transcripts, word timings, bookmarks, cuts, folders, the trash | App private database | To show, search and export them |
| Temporary working audio while recording or transcribing | App private storage, deleted when transcription finishes | Crash-safe recording and transcription |
| Speech models and the speaker-labelling pack | Storage managed by Google Play for SayTape; the speaker pack is downloaded by Google Play like the speech models | Offline transcription and optional speaker labels |
| Speaker names you give, custom vocabulary | App private database and storage | Shown in transcripts and exports; the vocabulary guides transcription |
| Transcript side files (only if turned on) | Documents/SayTape (Android 10+) or the Music/SayTape app folder (Android 8–9) |
A plain copy of your transcript that is yours to keep |
| Settings: theme, app language, transcript language, model, recording quality, save folder, measured transcription speed, whether you finished the introduction | App private storage | To remember your choices |
App private storage is readable only by SayTape. Deliberately not stored: usage statistics, location, device identifiers.
Android cloud backup and device-to-device transfer remain disabled for SayTape.
Settings › Backup and move to a new phone creates one .saytape file that you save where you choose in the system file picker. It contains your recordings' audio, transcripts, word timings, edits, bookmarks, cuts, folders and speaker names; speech models are not included. The file is not encrypted — anyone who has it can open it, so keep it somewhere you trust. SayTape never uploads it; where it goes afterwards depends on the place you picked. Restoring it in SayTape adds the recordings that are not already on the phone.
SayTape is not directed at children and collects no personal data from anyone.
If SayTape's behaviour changes in a way that affects this policy, the policy is updated before that version is published and the date above changes.
basilbase — contact@basilbase.com