Security overview
The strongest security property JesRecap has is architectural: there is no server holding your meetings, because the recording and the transcription happen on your machine. Here is the rest of it, including the parts we cannot claim yet.
Architecture
Four moving parts, all of them on the endpoint.
Capture
Microphone capture uses cpal, cross-platform. System audio uses Core Audio process taps on macOS and WASAPI loopback on Windows — the operating system's own interfaces. No bot joins the call and no meeting-platform integration is needed.
Transcription
A Whisper-family model file on the local disk, executed locally. Speaker labels come from a local diarization model. No inference request leaves the device, with or without a network connection.
AI notes (optional)
Off by default. When you switch it on, a local language model writes summaries and action items through llama.cpp on your own hardware. Same rule as transcription: no inference request leaves the device, and there is no cloud AI to call.
Storage
WAV files plus a SQLite index in a per-user application-support folder. Two source tracks are kept, so a meeting can be re-transcribed later. Encryption at rest is provided by FileVault or BitLocker.
Network surface, in full
Meeting audio, transcripts, titles, and search data are never transmitted. There is no code path that uploads them. What the product does talk to:
| Endpoint | When | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
models.jesrecap.com |
Once per model, or never if pre-seeded | A file request for the speech models, and — only if you enable AI notes — the roughly 1.3 GB language model. No licence key, no meeting data. Public mirrors are used as a fallback if our host is unreachable. |
| Licence API | Activation, then periodic validation | Licence key, device fingerprint, device name — enough to enforce the licence's device limit |
| Stripe checkout | At purchase, in your browser | Payment details, entered on Stripe's page. We never see or store card data. |
The app can also ask the licence API which version is currently published, so it can tell you an update exists. That is the same host as licence validation and carries no meeting data.
If you restrict egress: allow licence validation, handle the model downloads once (or pre-seed them), and block the rest. Recording, transcription and on-device AI notes keep working without a connection. The deployment guide has the details.
What we do not collect
- No accounts. No usernames, no passwords, no sign-in.
- No telemetry. Not usage events, not feature counters, not anonymised aggregates.
- No crash reporting to us. If something breaks, you tell us.
- No analytics or cookies on this website. The fonts are self-hosted; there are no third-party scripts.
- No calendar, contact, or email access. The app does not ask for it, because it does not integrate with anything.
- No cloud AI. There is no model provider in the stack and no inference endpoint. The optional AI notes feature runs its model on the device, so enabling it adds a file download, not a data flow.
The full field-by-field list of what we do process is on the privacy page. It fits in one small table.
Where the risk actually sits
Local-first moves risk rather than deleting it, and it is worth being direct about where it lands.
- The endpoint. Sensitive recordings sit on a laptop. Full-disk encryption, a short screen-lock timeout, and per-user OS accounts are doing real work here. If the machine is unmanaged and unencrypted, that is your weak point.
- Backups. Time Machine, File History, or a backup agent will copy the meetings folder. Encrypt the destination or exclude the folder — deliberately, either way.
- Exports and pasting. The moment a transcript leaves the app it is governed by wherever you sent it. JesRecap has no cloud AI, and its optional on-device notes never create this risk at all. But its meeting actions can also copy a prompt to your clipboard for you to paste into an assistant of your choosing, and that paste is an upload to that vendor. If that matters for a given conversation, generate the note locally instead.
- Consent. A silent local recorder is technically discreet and socially loaded. Tell people you are recording; see the GDPR and HIPAA guides.
Where we are honest about the gaps
JesRecap is preview software from a small independent developer, and we would rather say the awkward parts out loud than let you discover them in a questionnaire:
- No external security audit or penetration test has been performed. We are not going to imply otherwise with a badge.
- No SOC 2, ISO 27001, or similar certification. Not in progress, not "coming soon". If it becomes necessary for the customers we serve, we will say so plainly and then do it.
- Not open source. You cannot read the source to verify our claims. What you can do is watch the network: run a proxy or a packet capture and confirm that meeting content never goes anywhere. We would rather be checked than believed.
- Preview release channel. Expect bugs and expect changes. Keep your own copies of anything important.
- No formal support SLA. Support is email, answered by a person, but not contractual response times.
Responsible disclosure
If you find a security issue, email support@jesrecap.com with enough detail to reproduce it. We will confirm receipt, work on a fix, and credit you if you want the credit. Please give us reasonable time before publishing, and please do not test against other people's licences or data. There is no bug bounty programme — we are a small operation and would rather be straight about that than advertise rewards we cannot pay.
Security questions
Can you access my recordings?
No. There is no upload path for meeting content, so we have no copy to access, hand over, or lose. Verify it yourself with a network monitor.
Does it work fully offline?
Recording, transcription and on-device AI notes do, once the model files are on disk. Licence activation needs a connection at least once, and the model downloads need one unless an administrator pre-seeded the files.
Are the meeting files encrypted?
They rely on the operating system's disk encryption — FileVault on macOS, BitLocker on Windows — rather than a second app-level layer. Turn it on; it is the control that matters if a laptop goes missing.
What does the licence check send?
The licence key, a device fingerprint, and a device name, so a licence can be limited to the licensed number of devices of the same user. Nothing about your meetings. You can see and remove your own devices at /manage.
Does a bot join our calls?
No. JesRecap records the audio your computer already plays, so nothing appears in the participant list and no meeting-platform permissions are needed. It works with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex, Slack huddles, any app, or in-person conversations.
Do you have a security questionnaire on file?
Not a portal, but send yours to support@jesrecap.com and you will get direct answers, including the ones where the answer is "not yet".
Check the claims yourself
Install it, put a network monitor in front of it, and watch what does not happen. From €34.95 once, no subscription.