❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Tells me More is a powerful AI-powered audio transcription application that runs completely offline on your Mac. It uses OpenAI's Whisper model to convert speech to text with exceptional accuracy, supporting multiple languages and formats.

Yes! Tells me More is completely free and open-source. There are no subscription fees, API costs, or hidden charges. Once you download the app, you own it forever with no recurring costs.

Tells me More stands out because:

• 100% offline processing - your data never leaves your device
• No subscription fees or API costs
• Optimized for Apple Silicon with Metal GPU acceleration (5-8× real-time speed)
• AI-powered text correction using Llama 3.2
• Multiple export formats (TXT, MD, HTML, PDF, DOCX)
• Automatic summary generation

Tells me More supports all common audio and video formats including:

• Audio: MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG
• Video: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV (extracts audio automatically)

Tells me More supports 99+ languages through Whisper AI, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, and many more. The AI automatically detects the language or you can manually select it.

AI Enhanced uses Llama 3.2 1B to automatically correct the transcription by:

• Fixing grammar and spelling errors
• Adding proper punctuation
• Correcting capitalization
• Removing filler words and hesitations
• Improving readability while preserving the original meaning

This feature is always enabled and runs automatically after transcription.

You can export your transcriptions in:

• .txt - Plain text
• .md - Markdown
• .html - HTML document
• .pdf - PDF document
• .docx - Microsoft Word

Yes! Tells me More can handle audio files of any length. Long files are automatically split into chunks and processed in parallel for faster transcription. We've successfully tested with files over 2 hours long.

For Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4):

• macOS 12 (Monterey) or later
• 8GB RAM minimum (16GB recommended)
• 2.5GB free disk space

For Intel Macs:

• macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later
• Intel Core i5 or better
• 16GB RAM recommended
• 2.5GB free disk space

On Apple Silicon Macs: 5-8× faster than real-time (a 1-hour audio file takes 8-12 minutes)
On Intel Macs: 3-5× faster than real-time (a 1-hour audio file takes 15-20 minutes)
The actual speed depends on your hardware and audio complexity.

On first launch, Tells me More needs to download AI models (~2.5GB total):

• Whisper Small model (~500MB)
• Llama 3.2 1B model (~700MB)

After the initial setup, all processing is offline and fast.

No, never! Tells me More processes everything 100% locally on your Mac. Your audio files, transcriptions, and data never leave your device. No internet connection is required for transcription (only for the initial model download).

We do not collect, store, or transmit any personal data or transcription content. The only data collected is anonymous usage analytics (like app crashes) if you opt-in. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Yes! Because everything runs offline, Tells me More is perfect for confidential content like:

• Medical consultations (HIPAA compliance-friendly)
• Legal proceedings
• Business meetings
• Research interviews
• Personal notes

Try these tips:

• Use high-quality audio with minimal background noise
• Ensure clear speech (avoid mumbling or talking too fast)
• Use the "podcast" or "meeting" audio profile for best results
• Record in a quiet environment
• Enable AI Enhanced for automatic corrections

See our guide on improving transcription accuracy.

Try these steps:

1. Make sure you have the latest macOS version
2. Re-download the latest version from our website
3. Check that you have enough free disk space (2.5GB+)
4. Restart your Mac
5. If the issue persists, contact us via the survey link

The app includes powerful AI models:

• Whisper Small: ~500MB (speech recognition)
• Llama 3.2 1B: ~700MB (text correction & summarization)

These models enable offline processing without cloud dependencies.

For support:

• Check our Documentation
• Read our Blog guides
• Fill out our Survey with your question
• Report bugs via the survey

Yes! Tells me More is open-source. You can view the code, contribute, or build it yourself on GitHub.

Absolutely! We welcome:

• Feature requests via our survey
• Bug reports
• Code contributions on GitHub
• Translation help

Yes! Windows and Linux versions are in development. Sign up for updates via our survey to be notified when they're ready.

Mobile versions are on our roadmap! We're focusing on perfecting the desktop experience first, then we'll bring the same powerful offline transcription to mobile devices.

Yes! The core transcription features will always be free and open-source. We may offer optional premium features in the future, but the fundamental transcription capability will remain free forever.