ONSET Download

Privacy Policy

How ONSET handles information, and the choices you have.

Last updated 12 October 2026

Summary

  • Smart mode, which is on by default, can send the text on your screen to AI providers. ONSET reads what is on your screen, on your Mac, to carry out your requests. While Smart mode is on, ONSET may send the words of a request and the text on the screen of the app you are using, through our servers, to AI service providers or to AI inference providers that run our own models, to process that request. Our servers do not store them. You can turn Smart mode off in ONSET’s Settings.
  • Examples. ONSET sends us examples of how it is used, which may include recordings and transcripts of speech it hears while it is listening, including what you say to it and other speech nearby. During the beta, this stays on unless you ask us to turn it off. Examples are not linked to your account and do not carry your name, email address, or any account or device identifier. What is said in a recording can still identify you or other people, so we treat examples as personal information.
  • Usage statistics and error reports. ONSET sends us usage statistics and error reports linked to your account, such as when ONSET was in use, how many of your requests it completed and errors in the app. They are designed not to include recordings, transcripts, what you said or the content of your screen. Feedback you send, including any pictures you attach, is also linked to your account.

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Kavun, LLC (“we”, “us” or “our”), the provider of ONSET, collects, uses and discloses information in connection with the ONSET application for Mac, the website heyonset.com and the related online services (together, “ONSET”), and the choices available to you. By creating an account or using ONSET, you acknowledge the practices described in this policy, which you should read together with our Terms of Service.

2. Information we collect

A. Information processed on your Mac

ONSET recognises your speech, interprets your requests and writes dictated text on your Mac. To carry out your requests, it reads what is on your screen. This processing takes place on your Mac, and we do not collect the content of your screen, unless Smart mode is on, as described in Section 2(H), or you attach a picture of it to feedback. ONSET may also keep diagnostic logs on your Mac. When something goes wrong in the app, ONSET may send us an error report, as described in Section 2(D).

If you choose to set up voice recognition, ONSET creates a voiceprint, a mathematical model of your voice, so that it responds only to you. It is created and stored only on your Mac; it is never sent to us, and we cannot access it. ONSET uses it only to tell whether speech is yours and does not keep a voiceprint of anyone else. You may remove it at any time in ONSET’s Settings.

If you allow System Audio Recording, ONSET uses the sound your Mac plays, such as music or a video, only so that it can hear you over it. This happens on your Mac. That sound is not recorded, kept or sent to us, and is used for nothing else. You may turn this off at any time in System Settings.

B. Account information

You need an account to use the ONSET app, and we need your email address to create it. Your account consists of your email address, which you use to sign in with a one-time code, and related account information, such as the date the account was created.

C. Examples

To improve ONSET, the app sends us examples of how it is used. “Share examples to improve ONSET” in ONSET’s Settings is on by default and, during the beta, can’t be turned off in the app; to stop sharing, email support@heyonset.com and we’ll help you turn it off.

An example may contain:

  • a recording and a transcript of speech that ONSET hears while it is listening, including commands, responses to its questions and dictated text, such as the text of an email, message or document you dictate, as well as speech that ONSET determines was not directed at it, such as a conversation in the room, another person’s voice or audio playing nearby, and the phrases you say while setting up voice recognition;
  • information about how ONSET interpreted and acted on the request, and whether it succeeded, described in general terms and not by the content of your screen;
  • technical information, such as the versions of ONSET, its models and macOS, your Mac’s language and region setting, and the identifier of the app in use.

ONSET does not send recordings of silence. While ONSET is paused, its microphone is closed and nothing is heard or sent, unless you turn on “Listen while paused” in ONSET’s Settings; then it keeps listening for you to wake it, and speech it hears while paused may be included in examples.

We do not attach your account, name or email address, or any user, device or installation identifier, to examples, and they are stored separately from your account. They are not linked to you. However, what is said in a recording or transcript can itself identify you or other people, depending on what you or others nearby say, so we treat examples as personal information. We do not use examples to identify anyone, and we do not attempt to re-identify them.

D. Usage statistics and error reports

ONSET sends us statistics about your use of the app, which are linked to your account while you are signed in. Usage statistics include when the app was opened and closed, the time ONSET was running and listening, and, for each request, whether it was completed, required clarification or could not be completed, and the number of words dictated. Usage statistics do not include recordings, transcripts, the content of your requests, the names of the apps you use or the content of your screen.

ONSET may also send us error reports when something goes wrong in the app or on our servers, including when the app stops unexpectedly. An error report contains technical information about the error and the versions of ONSET and macOS. Error reports are designed not to include recordings, transcripts, the content of your requests or the content of your screen.

Usage statistics and error reports are collected whether or not you share examples. We use an analytics and error-tracking service provider to receive and store them on our behalf. Like any request made over the internet, they reach that provider from your IP address, which it keeps with them and uses to estimate an approximate location, such as your country and city.

Usage statistics and error reports are associated with an identifier for the Mac on which they were recorded, which does not reveal your Mac’s serial number or hardware identifier. It lets us tell apart use of ONSET on different Macs, and use of more than one account on the same Mac. It is never included in examples.

E. Updates and downloads

ONSET checks with our servers for new versions, sending the versions of ONSET and macOS, and downloads its models during setup and when they are updated. As with any request made over the internet, our servers receive your IP address.

F. Feedback

If you send feedback from ONSET, we receive your message, any images you attach, and the versions of ONSET and macOS you are using. Feedback is associated with your account so that we can respond.

G. Our website

Our website uses analytics to understand how visitors use it, such as the pages visited, the referring website and any campaign link that brought you, the type of browser and device, your approximate location (such as your country and city, estimated from your IP address), and which links you follow, such as the download buttons. To recognise your browser across pages and visits, our website uses a first-party cookie, described in Section 4. This information is not linked to your ONSET account. We also use cookie-free analytics to measure page performance, such as page load times, and our servers count downloads of ONSET without linking them to you. Our website does not track you across other websites and does not use advertising trackers. Like any website, it receives your IP address and the information your browser sends with each request.

H. Smart mode

Smart mode is a setting in ONSET’s Settings. It is on by default, and you can turn it off at any time. Only while it is on, ONSET may send over the network:

  • the words of your request, that is, what you said;
  • the text on the screen of the app you are using, such as the text of its buttons, menu items and links, and the text in its fields; and
  • information about what ONSET has already done for that request.

The text on your screen may include personal information, such as the contents of emails, messages or documents you have open.

This information goes to our servers, which pass it, to process your request, either to an AI service provider or to an AI inference provider that runs our own models for us. We may use AI service providers such as TypeSafe, OpenAI or Anthropic, and AI inference providers such as Baseten or Fireworks AI. These providers receive it from our servers, not from your Mac, and do not receive your email address or account. They process it to return a result and may keep it for a limited time under their terms with us, for example to detect abuse.

Our servers do not store or log your request or the content of your screen. To apply a usage limit, they keep a short-lived record of how much your account has used Smart mode recently. When the limit is reached, Smart mode pauses for your account for a while, and ONSET carries on working on your Mac.

While Smart mode is off, the content of your screen does not leave your Mac, unless you attach a picture of it to feedback.

I. Information we do not collect

ONSET is free of charge, and we do not collect payment information. ONSET does not offer sign-in through another company’s account, and it does not sign in to your email, calendar or contacts accounts.

3. How we use information

We use the information described above to:

  • provide ONSET, including your account, updates, model downloads and Smart mode;
  • improve ONSET, including by training and evaluating its models on examples, and by using usage statistics and error reports to understand how ONSET is used, how reliably it performs, and to find and fix problems. Before we use examples to train our models, we take steps to remove private details, such as names, addresses, phone numbers and account details;
  • communicate with you, including to send sign-in codes, respond to feedback and send occasional product updates, which you may unsubscribe from at any time;
  • protect ONSET, our users and the public, including by preventing abuse of our services; and
  • comply with applicable law.

Where the law requires a legal basis for processing, we rely on the performance of our agreement with you (for your account, updates, models and Smart mode); our legitimate interests in improving, protecting and telling you about ONSET (for examples, usage statistics, error reports, website analytics, abuse prevention and product updates), which you may object to as described in Section 9; your consent, where we ask for it; and our legal obligations. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.

4. Cookies, analytics and advertising

We do not use advertising or advertising cookies on our website or in the app, and we do not track you across other companies’ websites or apps.

Our website uses a first-party analytics cookie and similar browser storage to recognise your browser across pages and visits and to understand how our website is used, as described in Section 2(G). It is kept for up to one year and is used only by an analytics service provider that processes it on our behalf. If your browser sends a “Do Not Track” signal, our website does not run these analytics. You can block or delete cookies and other site data at any time in your browser’s settings; our website works without them.

The app sends the usage statistics and error reports described in Section 2(D) to an analytics and error-tracking service provider, which processes them only on our behalf and for the purposes described in this policy.

5. Retention

We retain information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

  • account information, until you ask us to delete your account;
  • usage statistics and error reports, for as long as they are useful for improving ONSET and fixing problems; those linked to your account are deleted when your account is deleted;
  • the record of your recent Smart mode use, only for as long as the usage limit needs it. Our servers do not store Smart mode requests or the content of your screen;
  • examples, for as long as they are useful for improving ONSET. Because examples are not linked to you, we are unable to identify, retrieve or delete the examples that came from a particular person;
  • website analytics, for as long as they are useful for understanding how our website is used;
  • feedback, for as long as needed to respond to it and to improve ONSET.

We may retain information for longer where required by law or where reasonably necessary to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements.

6. International transfers

We are based in the United States. We and our service providers, including AI providers, may store and process information in the United States and other countries, where data protection laws may differ from those of your country. When information is transferred from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses or a provider’s certification under the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

7. Disclosure of information

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for advertising. We disclose information only:

  • to service providers that host our infrastructure, store data, provide analytics and error tracking or deliver email on our behalf, who may use it only to provide those services to us and are bound by obligations of confidentiality and data protection;
  • to AI service providers and AI inference providers, when you use Smart mode, as described in Section 2(H);
  • where we believe in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with the law or a legal process, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our users, the public or us;
  • to our professional advisers, such as lawyers and accountants, who owe us confidentiality;
  • in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of all or part of our business; or
  • with your consent.

8. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures, appropriate to the information involved, to protect it against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, disclosure or alteration. For example, connections to our services are encrypted, and access to stored information is limited to people who need it. No method of transmission over the internet or of storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a security incident affects your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities where the law requires. You can help protect your account by keeping your email account secure.

9. Your choices and rights

Examples. During the beta, you can stop sharing examples by emailing support@heyonset.com, and we’ll help you turn it off. ONSET then continues to check for updates, download its models and send usage statistics and error reports.

Smart mode. Smart mode is on by default, and you may turn it off at any time in ONSET’s Settings.

Depending on where you live, including in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and California, you may have the right to:

  • know what personal information we hold about you, and obtain a copy of it;
  • have inaccurate or incomplete information corrected;
  • have your information deleted, including your account and its usage statistics;
  • object to or restrict our processing of your information, including of usage statistics;
  • receive your information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format; and
  • withdraw your consent where we rely on it.

Your right to object. Where we rely on legitimate interests, you may object at any time. Email support@heyonset.com to stop examples or to object to anything else, such as usage statistics.

To exercise these rights, email support@heyonset.com from the address associated with your account. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request. You may also ask someone you authorise to make a request for you; we may ask them for proof of that authority. If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our response. Because examples are not linked to you, we are unable to locate, provide or delete the examples you shared. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

10. Children

ONSET is not directed to children. You must be at least 13 years old to use ONSET if you live in the United States, and at least 16 years old elsewhere. If you are under 18, or under the age of majority where you live, you may use ONSET only with the permission of a parent or guardian, who agrees to our Terms of Service on your behalf. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@heyonset.com. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child below the minimum age, we will delete it.

11. Third-party websites

ONSET and our website may link to websites and services operated by others. Their privacy policies, and not this one, govern their handling of information.

12. California residents

In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information, for the purposes described in Section 3: identifiers (such as your email address, IP address and the identifier for your Mac associated with usage statistics and error reports); internet or other electronic network activity information (usage statistics, error reports and website visits); approximate location estimated from your IP address; audio and related information (the recordings and transcripts in examples, which are not linked to you); and sensitive personal information, namely the contents of messages or documents, which may appear in dictated text in examples or in the screen text sent with Smart mode requests. We collect this information from you, from your Mac when you use ONSET, and from your browser. We disclose each category for business purposes to the recipients described in Section 7, and keep it as described in Section 5. We have not sold personal information or shared it for cross-context behavioural advertising, and we have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing the personal information of consumers under 16. We use sensitive personal information only for purposes the law permits, such as providing ONSET, and not to infer characteristics about you. You may exercise the rights described in Section 9.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time and will revise the date at the top when we do. If a change materially reduces your rights, we will notify you by email before it takes effect. Changes apply only from the date they take effect, and we will not use information collected before a change in a materially different way without your consent.

14. Contact

Questions about this policy or your information: support@heyonset.com. Kavun, LLC.