Local by default
Session observation and the open source engine run on your Mac.
The short answer
Agent work stays local unless a feature needs a provider
The source code, terminal output, and agent transcripts that Heard observes remain on your Mac. For managed narration, a compact text snippet can pass through Heard’s hosted proxy to a configured language or speech provider. Heard counts usage but does not retain the snippet or generated audio after the request completes.
The open source path can use local Kokoro speech and your own keys. That gives builders an inspectable option with a smaller hosted footprint.
Explicit providers
Hosted features name the model, speech, account, and infrastructure services involved.
Short retention
Narration, audio, hosted rewrite text, and dictation cleanup text are not retained after completion.
Session context starts locally
Heard receives agent events from local hooks, observes supported local session records, or captures a process launched through the universal wrapper. It uses that context to decide whether an event should become speech.
- Source code and terminal output are not stored in the Heard account database.
- Local Kokoro speech can keep voice synthesis on the machine.
- Product analytics excludes narration text, source code, terminal output, project paths, file names, and function names.
Only the selected feature should cross the boundary
Managed voice needs text to reach a speech service. Managed rewriting needs a compact event to reach the configured language model path. Dictation cleanup only handles text the user asks Heard to clean up. The privacy policy names each provider and purpose.
Billing and usage data stay separate from narration content
Heard stores account identifiers, plan state, usage counters, device token hashes, and the operational records required for billing and service delivery. Payments remain on Stripe hosted pages. Narration content is not part of the billing record.
Use the managed app or inspect the engine
The downloadable app is the official managed product. The Apache 2.0 engine can be built from source for local speech or bring your own key configurations. The two paths are related, but they should not be described as the same distribution.
Product facts
What is supported today
- Open source engine
- Apache 2.0Build from the public repository.
- Local speech
- KokoroRuns on the Mac after model setup.
- Hosted retention
- No narration or audio persistenceOperational providers can process standard request metadata.
- Model training
- No private work used for training
- Account deletion
- Available by requestUse the support link in the site footer.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does Heard upload my source code?
Heard does not store source code, terminal output, or agent transcripts in its hosted account database. A short narration snippet can be sent to configured model or speech providers when you use hosted rewriting or voice synthesis.
Does Heard retain narration text or generated audio?
No. The hosted synth and rewrite paths process the request and do not persist narration text, generated audio, rewrite text, or hosted dictation cleanup text after completion.
Can I run Heard locally?
Yes. The Apache 2.0 engine can be built from source, use local Kokoro speech, and use your own provider keys. The downloadable managed app is a separate official build with hosted plan features.
Does Heard train models on my work?
Heard does not use private agent sessions, code context, or voice interactions to train models and does not sell that data.
Which third party services can receive data?
Depending on configuration, Heard can use ElevenLabs, Speechify, Anthropic, OpenAI, or Groq for selected voice, rewriting, or dictation functions. Stripe, Supabase, Resend, PostHog, Cloudflare, and Vercel support accounts, billing, analytics, email, API, and site hosting as described in the privacy policy.
Can I delete my account data?
Yes. Contact Heard support to request access, correction, or deletion. The privacy policy describes the retained account, billing, and operational records.
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