jamie and Notey: two bot-free notetakers, compared

jamie and Notey solve the same problem the same way at the start: a desktop app records your microphone and your computer's audio, and no bot joins the call. They part ways at the next step. jamie uploads the audio to its servers in Frankfurt, transcribes it there and deletes the audio. Notey transcribes on the Mac and keeps the recording on your disk. One keeps no audio and uses a server; the other uses no server for transcription and keeps the audio.

This comparison describes jamie from its own website, security page and documentation as of September 2026. Check jamie's documentation and security page for the current state.

At a glance

How each one captures a meeting

jamie says it "runs directly on your device and does not require a meeting bot to join your calls." Its recorder uses your default microphone and captures the computer's audio output, and it detects calls in Zoom, Google Meet and Teams. It also captures in-person meetings from a laptop or phone. (jamie, jamie recorder docs)

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays as two separate tracks. It notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and in Chrome, Safari, Arc and Edge when the browser uses the microphone, and asks on its floating button; nothing is saved until you press Allow. For other apps, and for in-person meetings, you press Start.

Where your data goes

This is the difference that decides it for most people.

jamie

• Audio: "The audio recording from your computer is uploaded to a server location in Frankfurt, Germany." Once the transcript is ready, "we delete all audio files permanently." (jamie data FAQ)
• Transcripts are stored on a server in Frankfurt. jamie's security page says all storage and processing stays within the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
• AI notes are written with Anthropic or OpenAI models; jamie says data is not stored there and not used for training.
• Training: "Your data is never used for training of models, not by us or any of the model providers."
• Certifications: jamie lists ISO 27001, GDPR and DORA, with SOC 2 Type II in progress.

Notey

• Audio is written to your Mac and read from there. It is never uploaded to be transcribed, and there is no fallback, debug mode or crash report that sends it.
• Transcription runs on the Mac with Apple's speech recognition. After an English meeting, Notey reads the recording again on your Mac and keeps the words the recognisers agree on. On-device transcription explained covers how that works.
• With no account, nothing leaves the Mac.
• AI notes send transcript text, never audio, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor; not used for training and not kept by Notey. (Notey's privacy policy)
• Sync between your own Macs is optional and part of the paid plans; each meeting is encrypted on the Mac before it leaves, and the recording stays on the Mac that made it.

Neither model is automatically better. If your rule is "no meeting audio on laptops", jamie meets it and Notey does not. If your rule is "no meeting audio sent to a third party to transcribe", Notey meets it and jamie does not, although jamie keeps that processing in Europe.

Telling the other people

jamie's documentation says "it is required to inform all meeting participants", and gives three ways: say so yourself, have jamie send an automatic email before the meeting, or post a notice in the meeting chat on Teams, Meet or Zoom. (jamie recording consent)

Notey has no way to announce itself in the call, because it is not in the call. It shows you a red dot and an elapsed timer whenever audio is being kept, and leaves telling people to you. How to ask for consent to record has wording that works.

Notes and speakers

jamie writes summaries and notes in over 80 languages, and connects out through MCP, webhooks, an API and CRM and document syncing. On business plans it adds SSO, SCIM provisioning and admin controls.

Notey writes fixed kinds of note when you ask: a summary with action items, minutes, tough questions, where the two sides differed, and a follow-up email. Ask Notey answers questions about one meeting. There are no integrations; you export notes as Markdown and the transcript as plain text. Your side and theirs are labelled from the two tracks; on the other side, voices are told apart after the recording and you name them. Everything the AI wrote is labelled as AI-generated.

Where jamie is stronger

• No audio kept anywhere after transcription.
• Languages: over 80, against Notey's 10.
• Platforms: Windows, older macOS versions, phones.
• Participant notices built in.
• Business features: SSO, SCIM, admin controls, integrations. Notey has none.
• Certifications: jamie lists ISO 27001. Notey claims none.

Where Notey makes different choices

• No transcription server. The audio is transcribed where it was recorded.
• Works with no account and no network. Recording, transcription, search and speaker separation are free; AI notes are paid by the hour. See the pricing section.
• A recording to replay. Every transcript line plays from its timestamp.
• Two tracks, so your side and theirs never depend on voice analysis.

Which one fits

jamie is likely the better fit if:

• you want no audio files kept, on the laptop or anywhere;
• your meetings are in a language Notey does not cover;
• you use Windows or need admin controls for a firm;
• you want the tool to send participant notices.

Notey is likely the better fit if:

• meeting audio must not be sent to anyone's servers to be transcribed;
• you want to replay the recording;
• you want to record and transcribe with no account;
• you work on an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 26.

For another pair of bot-free notetakers, see Notey vs Granola. For the field, see the best AI notetakers for Mac.

Frequently asked questions

Does jamie use a bot?

No. jamie's site says it runs directly on your device and does not require a meeting bot to join your calls. It can also capture in-person meetings from a laptop or phone.

Does jamie keep the audio?

No, per its documentation. The audio is uploaded to a server in Frankfurt, Germany, transcribed, and then deleted permanently once the transcript is ready. The transcript is stored on a server in Frankfurt.

Does Notey upload audio to transcribe it?

No. Notey transcribes with the speech recognition built into macOS, on your Mac, and keeps the recording on your disk. Only transcript text is sent, when you ask for AI notes or leave write-ups on.

Which one tells the other participants?

jamie documents three ways to inform participants, which its docs say is required, an announcement, an automatic email before the meeting, or a notice in the meeting chat. Notey shows a recording indicator only to you; telling people is up to you.

Does jamie run on Windows?

Yes. jamie has desktop apps for Mac (macOS 14.4 or later) and Windows, and a phone app. Notey runs only on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 26 or later.