Wispr Flow Launches an AI Notetaker, but Its CEO Says You Must Tell People First
The voice-dictation app adds meeting transcription that runs quietly on your Mac. The catch: secretly recording colleagues could break the law, and your relationships.
Key points
- Wispr Flow, a voice-dictation app, launched a new feature called Notetaker in mid-2025 that transcribes and summarises meetings directly on a Mac laptop.
- The tool records for up to six hours per session, up from a previous six-minute limit.
- Wispr CEO Tanay Kothari says users must always tell other participants they are being recorded, partly because laws in places like San Francisco require consent from everyone in the room.
- Enabling Privacy Mode stops Wispr from using your recorded data to train its AI models.
- Rival tools including Granola AI and Otter AI already compete in the same space.
Something has quietly crept into a lot of business meetings this year. Not a new colleague. Not a consultant. It is a small piece of software sitting in the corner of someone's screen, writing down everything you say.
Wispr Flow, an app best known for letting you dictate text by voice instead of typing it, wants a share of that market. As first reported by Wired AI, the company has launched a feature called Notetaker: a tool that connects to your calendar, listens to your meetings, and then uses generative AI (the same underlying technology that powers chatbots like ChatGPT) to produce a written summary and answer follow-up questions about what was said.
How does it actually work?
Notetaker runs on your device, so the audio never leaves your computer while being transcribed. It does not appear as a visible bot inside the meeting, which means other participants may not notice it.
After the meeting ends, the app produces a written summary. It also opens a chat-style interface where you can ask questions about the conversation, for example typing a rough phrase to find a specific quote you half-remembered. In early tests, the transcription and quote retrieval were accurate.
The recording limit has jumped from six minutes to six hours. That is not a typo.
Who is paying and what does it cost?
Wispr Flow operates on a subscription model. The Notetaker feature launches on Mac first, with Windows support planned later. Pricing details for the new tier were not disclosed at launch, but the core Wispr app has offered both free and paid plans.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform at launch | Mac only |
| Max recording length | 6 hours |
| Previous recording limit | 6 minutes |
| On-device transcription | Yes |
| Visible bot in meeting | No |
| Privacy Mode | Stops data use for AI training |
Should you worry about being secretly recorded?
Yes, and so should the person thinking of secretly recording you.
Kothari is direct on this point. He says users should always tell everyone in a meeting that Notetaker is running. In San Francisco, where Wispr is based, state law requires the consent of all participants before a private conversation can be recorded. Many other US states and most European countries have similar rules.
Beyond the legal angle, Kothari frames disclosure as simple respect. "It's just a basic trust-setting exercise," he says. Break that trust, and colleagues or clients may not give you a second chance.
If you are a meeting participant who suspects you are being recorded without consent, it is reasonable to ask directly before the conversation begins.
What is the honest takeaway here?
AI meeting recorders are spreading fast. Wispr Flow is a real, functioning product joining a crowded field that includes Granola AI and Otter AI. The technology works. The six-hour limit suggests these tools are being built for serious, everyday use, not novelty.
The one doable thing you can do today: decide your own policy before someone else decides it for you. If you plan to record meetings, say so at the start. If you do not want your words recorded, ask at the start. Either way, say something.
