An offline journal
Updated: September 7, 2026. Current App Store version: 0.0.28.
Slate works with no connection at all. Not a reduced mode, not a cache that syncs later. Everything the app does, it does on the phone, so the network is simply not part of it.
What runs on the phone
Recording, obviously. Transcription, with Apple’s SpeechAnalyzer, the same on-device engine iOS 26 uses for its own features. The reflection on each entry and the weekly review, written by Apple Intelligence, the on-device model that runs on the Neural Engine of an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Storage, in the phone’s own database.
Try it
Turn on airplane mode. Open Slate and record an entry. The transcript appears, then the reflection. Turn airplane mode off. Nothing catches up, because nothing was waiting.
The one optional exception
Backup. It is off by default. When you turn it on, transcripts and reflections are copied to your own iCloud account, encrypted, so a new phone can get them back. Audio is never included. With backup off, Slate makes no network connection of any kind, and the App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected either way.
Why it matters
A journal you speak into is the most personal text you produce. Offline is not a feature on top of private; it is how private is possible. If your words never leave the phone, there is nothing to trust anyone with.