A local AI scribe processes audio and generates notes entirely on your computer, so session data never leaves your device. A cloud scribe sends data to a vendor's servers, which is faster to set up and often higher quality, but means trusting a third party with sensitive content. For maximum privacy, local wins; for convenience and raw quality, cloud still leads.
The core difference
| Local (on-device) | Cloud |
|---|
|---|---|---|
| Where data is processed | Your computer | Vendor's servers |
|---|---|---|
| Data leaves your device | Never | Yes |
| Risk of vendor training on data | None | Depends on vendor |
| Note quality | Good, improving fast | Highest today |
| Hardware needed | Decent laptop | Any device |
When local makes sense
You handle highly sensitive cases
If a subpoena or breach would be catastrophic, keeping transcripts off any server is the strongest protection. Nothing on a server can't be requested, leaked, or repurposed.
You work where connectivity is unreliable
For therapists who travel, a local tool keeps working on a plane, in a rural area, or anywhere wifi is patchy. (See the complete tech stack for online therapists.)
You don't want to trust a vendor's training policy
With local, the question "do they train on my data?" disappears — there's no copy to train on. (Background: Do AI scribes train on your therapy data?.)
When cloud still wins
Cloud scribes are easier to start with, run on any device including older laptops, and currently produce the most polished clinical notes. The trade-off is that you're trusting the vendor's privacy and retention practices.
The hybrid future
The strongest setup is choice: a cloud mode for convenience and a local mode for maximum privacy. As of 2026, on-device language models have improved enough that a well-tuned local model can match cloud quality for structured notes on a mid-range laptop.
Where Eclio stands
Eclio runs in the cloud today with a strict no-training policy, and a 100% local mode is in development — the first commercial AI scribe where transcription and notes happen entirely on your computer. Same product, your choice of privacy level.