Session notes written on your Mac, not on a server
A cloud notetaker in a therapy session is a vendor listening to protected health information. Plenty of practices decide that is fine with the right agreement in place. Plenty decide it is not. If you are in the second group, here is how to get the notes without any of it leaving your Mac.
Last updated: September 2026
Full disclosure: this page is published by the makers of Minutes. It is one way to solve this, the others are named with what they do well, and nothing here is legal advice.
What a cloud notetaker is, in your terms
When an AI notetaker joins a telehealth session or uploads its audio, a company you do not employ is processing what your client said. Under HIPAA that company is a business associate, and you need a signed agreement with it before any session goes through. Many consumer notetakers will not sign one. Some will, on a higher plan. Either way the transcript then lives in their workspace, on their servers, under their retention policy.
None of that is a reason to avoid notes. It is a reason to know where the audio goes before you press record.
What changes when nothing leaves the Mac
Minutes records the session on your Mac, writes the transcript with Apple's speech model and the summary with the on-device Apple Intelligence model, and saves one Markdown file with the audio beside it in a folder you choose. Nothing is uploaded. No bot joins. There is no vendor processing the audio, so there is no business associate for the transcription step, because there is no business in it.
What Minutes is not: a compliance product. It carries no certification, we do not sign agreements, and the obligations you have for the Mac itself stay yours: FileVault on, a login password, access limited to you, and a backup you control. If your notes must live in a specific record system, this is a file you paste from, not a replacement for it.
Consent and the recording in the room
Recording a session needs the client's consent, in most places in writing, and the rules differ by state and country. Minutes does not announce itself to the other side. Tell the client, record their answer, and keep it in the file. Minutes shows a recording indicator on your own Mac the whole time.
If you keep the note and not the audio, delete the .m4a next to it. Nothing else holds a copy.
What it writes, and what it does not
Minutes writes a summary, the decisions and the action items, with a Reminders button for anything either of you promised to do. It does not write a SOAP or DAP note, does not know your treatment plan, and has no templates. Most practitioners paste the summary into their own note format. It needs macOS 26 on Apple Silicon with Apple Intelligence on, and it does not transcribe recordings you already have.
| Joins the session | Audio uploaded | A vendor processes the audio | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes | $15 once | ✗No | ✗No | No |
| Otter.ai | Free 300 min, then $8.33+/user/mo | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | Yes, so an agreement is needed |
| Fireflies.ai | Free, or $10 to $39/seat/mo | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | Yes, so an agreement is needed |
| Granola | Free, or $14/user/mo | ✗No | ✓Yes | Yes, so an agreement is needed |
FAQ
Is Minutes HIPAA compliant?
HIPAA compliance belongs to a practice, not to a piece of software, and Minutes carries no certification. What it does is keep the audio, the transcript and the notes on your Mac, so no vendor processes them and there is no business associate for that step. The safeguards on the Mac itself are still yours.
Does a bot join my telehealth session?
No. Minutes records what your Mac already hears, your microphone and the call audio, as two channels. The other side sees nothing new in the participant list.
Do I still need the client's consent to record?
Yes. Recording rules differ by state and country and most require consent, often in writing. Minutes does not announce itself; you do.
Can I keep only the note and delete the audio?
Yes. Each session is one Markdown file with an .m4a beside it. Delete the audio and the note stays. Nothing else holds a copy.
Does it write SOAP notes?
No. It writes a summary, decisions and action items. Paste them into your own note format. Minutes needs macOS 26 on Apple Silicon and is $15 once, with a 7-day trial and a 14-day refund.
Keep the meeting on your Mac
Both sides of the call transcribed, the summary written on device, and the promises pulled out with an Add button. Plain Markdown in a folder you own. $15 once.
Get Minutes, $15 Try free for 7 daysmacOS 26 on Apple Silicon · nothing uploaded, ever · 7-day trial, no card up front
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