# Transcribing an interview offline, without sending the audio to the cloud

> Transcribe an interview without uploading the audio: consent, recording, an on-device Whisper model, proofreading and anonymization.

Canonical: https://ntilia.com/en/guides/transcribe-interviews-offline
Updated: 2026-09-27

## The essentials

To transcribe without exposing a source, run the speech-recognition model on your own device: Whisper, an open-source model, makes that possible. Download it before you leave, record cleanly with the person’s consent, then proofread the transcript, especially proper names.

## Why transcribe on the device

Most transcription services upload the audio to their servers. For an ordinary meeting that is acceptable; for a source taking a risk by talking to you, their voice and words end up with a third party. Local transcription removes that transfer, and works without a network.

## Step by step

1. **Get consent** — Say you are recording, what the recording is for, and offer anonymity when needed.
2. **Record carefully** — A quiet place, the phone close to the person, not on a vibrating table. Good audio beats a big model.
3. **Download the model before you leave** — The model downloads once, on Wi-Fi; after that it runs without a network.
4. **Transcribe and proofread** — Models mostly get proper names, numbers and mixed languages wrong. Listen again to the passages you will quote.
5. **Anonymize before sharing** — Replace names and identifying details in the text before it leaves your device.

## Which model to choose

- Tiny (about 45 MB): the fastest, recommended on phones.
- Base (about 90 MB): a good balance, recommended on computers.
- Small (about 250 MB): more accurate, slower, for a recent computer.

## With nTilia

From Pro, nTilia transcribes a note’s audio with Whisper on the device: the audio is not uploaded. The transcript lands in the note with [mm:ss] timestamps; the Outline tab lets you jump to them. On phones, you need a WebGPU-capable browser.

> **Good to know** — If you later sync the note, its text is private but not end-to-end encrypted: that is what lets you publish it in the journal later. For an interview that must never leave the phone, keep it as a device-only note.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I transcribe an interview without an internet connection?

Yes, with a model like Whisper that runs on the device. You just need to have downloaded it beforehand, while you had a network.

### Is local transcription as accurate as the cloud?

Small models, suited to phones, make more mistakes than the large server models. Good audio and proofreading make up for most of it.

### Is Whisper free?

Whisper is an open-source model released by OpenAI. In nTilia, local transcription is included in the Pro plan.

## Go further

- [Comparison: nTilia or Otter.ai](https://ntilia.com/en/compare/otter)
- [Comparison: nTilia or Whisper Notes](https://ntilia.com/en/compare/whisper-notes)
- [Otter.ai alternatives without the cloud](https://ntilia.com/en/alternatives/otter)
- [Guide: interview transcription, method and GDPR](https://ntilia.com/en/guides/interview-transcription)
- [nTilia for researchers](https://ntilia.com/en/for/researchers)
- [Guide: take notes without a network](https://ntilia.com/en/guides/take-notes-without-a-network)

## Sources

- [OpenAI — Whisper (GitHub)](https://github.com/openai/whisper)