On your Mac
Selected text is processed through Apple’s Translation framework. For short single words, a bounded nearby excerpt may be read and used only for on-device language detection. Verba does not send translations to a Verba-operated server.
Privacy and data handling
Your words stay yours.
Verba has no accounts, analytics, advertising, telemetry, or Verba-operated cloud synchronization.
Only when requested
Selected text is sent to OpenAI with your own API key only after an explicit proofreading command.
No text history
Verba does not keep selected text or results. Your API key is stored as a password item in macOS Keychain.
Selection capture
Accessibility, with a narrow purpose.
Verba uses macOS Accessibility permission to copy the text currently selected in the frontmost app. It snapshots your pasteboard, performs a short copy transaction, and restores the previous contents when it is safe to do so. Secure text fields and unsupported content are rejected.
When translating a short single word, Verba may use a read-only text range query to inspect a small amount of nearby text. This does not alter the selection. The excerpt is used locally to identify the language, is never sent to Apple Translation or OpenAI, and is discarded when the action finishes.
Proofreading and OpenAI
Your account. Your request. Your review.
Proofreading uses the OpenAI Responses API with the API key you configure. Requests set storage off, have strict size and timeout limits, and are not logged by Verba. Corrections are displayed for review; Verba never automatically replaces your writing.
What stays on your Mac
Preferences, not prose.
Verba stores settings such as your target language, shortcuts, and optional update preference. It does not store your selections, translations, or proofreading results.
Full technical policy
Transparency down to the details.
The full policy documents clipboard behavior, provider data handling, networking limits, update checks, local storage, uninstall steps, and current limitations.
Read the complete policy on GitHub