Sprecho can run without keeping anything: no transcripts, no audio recordings, nothing to sync. This article explains where the controls are, what each option really does on the server, and what you give up.
The distinction that matters for a data protection assessment is that "do not store" is not a display setting. It is applied on the server when the dictation arrives, before any row is written.
How do I turn off storage of my dictations?
- Open Sprecho and go to Settings → Privacy.
- Scroll to Data Retention.
- Set Text Retention to Delete immediately after pasting to stop transcripts being stored.
- Set Audio Retention to Delete immediately after pasting to stop recordings being kept.
- The change applies to the next dictation. No restart is needed.
Both dropdowns also offer fixed windows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 days, 1, 2 or 3 weeks, 14 days, and 1, 2 or 3 months. The defaults are 14 days for audio and never delete for text.
What "do not store" actually does
These two options are not the same mechanism, and the difference is worth stating precisely.
Text set to "delete immediately" — the transcript row is never created. The server resolves your retention policy before it writes anything; when the policy says do not store, it returns the formatted text to your app and writes nothing. Because nothing exists, sync has nothing to announce and no other device can pull a copy.
Audio set to "delete immediately" — the app keeps no local copy, and the uploaded file is deleted as soon as processing finishes rather than waiting for the nightly cleanup job.
A widely held assumption is that "do not store" only hides the history in the app while the server keeps a copy. It does not. Earlier versions of Sprecho did store the preference locally only, which is precisely why it was moved to the account: a device-local switch cannot bind the server, and dictations kept turning up on other devices.
Turning it off also clears what is already there
Switching Text Retention to "delete immediately" purges every transcript already stored for your account. That is deliberate — a setting that only stops new rows would leave your entire back catalogue on the server.
Audio is not covered by that purge. To clear existing recordings as well, use Settings → Privacy → Delete All Data → Delete All. That removes all transcripts and audio from this device, from the server and from your other synced devices. Your usage statistics — word counts, dictations, time saved — are aggregate counters and are kept.
Retention days, if you do not want "all or nothing"
A number of days is a compromise many teams prefer: dictations stay available long enough to be useful, then disappear without anyone having to remember.
- The expiry is stamped on the record when it is created, from your setting at that moment.
- A nightly cleanup job deletes everything whose expiry has passed.
- Changing the setting affects new dictations. Existing records keep the expiry they were given.
- An offline device that syncs a dictation older than the retention window does not resurrect it — the server refuses to re-create an already-expired record.
What you lose
| Still works | No longer works |
|---|---|
| Dictating into any app | The history list in the app |
| Formatting, punctuation, filler-word removal | Re-copying an earlier dictation |
| Dictionary, snippets, per-app writing styles | Seeing past dictations on your other devices |
| Weekly word quota and time-saved statistics | Playing back an earlier recording |
On a team
If your team owner has set a data protection policy, these controls are read-only and show Managed by your team. The policy is enforced on the server for every member, and where a team policy and a personal setting differ, the stricter one applies. Your own preference is still saved and takes effect again if you later leave the team.
Team owners configure this in the team settings — see the Enterprise admin dashboard.