On your device. That's it.
Confidant runs entirely on the computer you installed it on. Audio, transcripts, notes, patient records — none of it ever leaves your Mac or PC. There's no cloud sync, no remote backup, no analytics service that "just sees metadata." If your Wi-Fi is off, the app still works exactly the same.
Where exactly?
Everything is stored under your user account in a single encrypted database file:
macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/com.confidant.notes/Windows:
%APPDATA%\com.confidant.notes\
That folder contains:
An encrypted SQLite database with your patients, sessions, and notes
Encrypted audio recordings
The AI model files used for transcription and note generation
A
.dbkeyfile holding the random encryption key, with permissions restricted to your user account only
The database is encrypted with SQLCipher (AES-256), and the audio files are encrypted with AES-256-GCM. Both use the same key, which lives in .dbkey and is only readable by your OS user account. If someone copies the database file off your machine, they can't read it without also having access to that key file — and reading the key file requires access to your unlocked OS user account.
What about the AI?
Both the speech-to-text engine and the note-generation model run locally on your computer. Audio is transcribed by your CPU/GPU; notes are generated by your CPU/GPU. No API calls to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or anyone else. The model files are downloaded once during setup and then run offline forever.
What does Confidant ever talk to?
Three things, all of them clearly disclosed and toggleable in your network settings:
License validation — once a year, to confirm your subscription is active. Sends only your license key, never any session content.
App updates — periodic check for a new version of Confidant. Sends only your current version number.
Model updates — occasional check for a newer AI model. Sends only the version of the model you have installed.
That's the entire network footprint. You can turn network access off completely from Settings → Network and the app will continue to record sessions and generate notes; you just won't get update or license-renewal checks until you re-enable it.
What about backups?
Confidant doesn't run any backup of its own. Your existing macOS Time Machine or Windows backup will pick up the Confidant data folder along with everything else on your machine. If you want a separate backup, you can copy the data folder above to an encrypted drive — the database and audio files stay encrypted at rest. The encryption key (.dbkey) lives in the same folder, so the backup is portable: restore the folder on a different machine and your data comes back with it.
Bottom line
If you can disconnect your computer from the internet, lock the screen, and walk away, your session data is as safe as anything else on your hard drive. No third party — including us — can read it.