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On-device AI and privacy-first: Fluid and SwiftSweep illustrate a new app benchmark for Mac/iOS

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Mac and IOS apps On-device Fluid

Two posts spotlight Fluid and SwiftSweep as privacy-first, on-device AI benchmarks for the Mac/iOS era. Fluid is a 6MB macOS app with ~100MB of memory usage that runs completely offline for dictation. [1]

Fluid uses a fast local transcription model—an alternative to the cloud Whisper flow—and it’s designed to replace paid voice-to-text with no data ever leaving the Mac. An edit even says it’s open-sourcing the project and has shipped upgrades like Parakeet TDT v3 with 25 languages, improved UI, automatic updates, and broader macOS 13 compatibility. [1]

SwiftSweep brings on-device, privacy-respecting photo cleanup to iOS, with a strong no-data-to-the-cloud stance. A note on pricing shows a temporary free lifetime offer for 24 hours, followed by a seven-day window at 9.99$; the app remains downloadable from the App Store and the site. [2] Users praise privacy—some say it “collects no data and runs locally” while tackling thousands of photos. [2]

Together, these posts sketch a trend: tiny, offline-capable apps that sidestep cloud bells and whistles in favor of local AI on the Mac/iOS platform. If Fluid’s open-source future and SwiftSweep’s privacy-first cleanup catch on, we may see more low-footprint tools joining the ecosystem. [1][2]

References

[1]
Reddit

I built FLUID - a fully free insanely fast local AI dictation app - Whisper flow alternative for macOS - Never pay for voice to text! Heavily optimized and minimal. 6MB app size and ~100MB Memory use.

Fluid: free offline mac dictation app; fast local AI, no cloud; community feedback and open source; competing with Whisper Flow.

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[2]
Reddit

SwiftSweep is Free for lifetime for the next 24h.

SwiftSweep iOS photo cleanup; price changes, free lifetime offer, user feedback, bugs, and feature requests for local processing privacy on-device

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