Lockdown Mode

What Lockdown Mode changes#

Lockdown Mode limits AI cleanup to Local, makes cloud providers and Ollama unavailable, and can protect saved history with a password.

It does not control the app receiving inserted text. While Lockdown is effective, Whisperstream suspends Agent Speak processing; it does not stop the connected coding agents themselves.

It is off by default. Open Home, find Lockdown Mode, and turn it on to begin.

Turn on Lockdown Mode#

1. If the acknowledgment screen appears, review the setup summary, select the acknowledgment, and choose Continue.
2. Choose Keep encrypted history or Don't save transcripts.

Keep encrypted history#

1. Choose whether Save audio is on.
2. Under Keep for, select 1 day, 7 days, 30 days, or Forever.
3. Create and confirm a transcript password. Use at least 12 characters. Very common passwords are not accepted.
4. Save the recovery key with Copy, Print, or Download.
5. Select I've saved my recovery key somewhere other than this computer, then choose Finish setup.

Whisperstream shows the recovery key once. Keep it somewhere other than this computer. Your password or current recovery key can reopen locked history.

Passwords created before the 12-character rule still unlock history. The rule applies when you set or change a password.

Don't save transcripts#

This stops saving new records without creating a password or recovery key. Existing records are not deleted.

If you change your mind, open Home > Lockdown Mode > Manage, choose Start saving transcripts, and complete the password and recovery key steps.

Lock and unlock transcript history#

Password-backed history locks after inactivity. The default is 5 min. To change it, open Home > Lockdown Mode > Manage and set Lock transcripts after idle to Never, 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, or 1 hour. This locks history, not the app.

Enter your password to unlock history, or choose Use recovery key instead. After unlocking with the recovery key, you set a new password.

Manage also offers Change password and View recovery key. View recovery key asks for your password, then Generate a new key replaces the current key, which stops working. Save the new key and select the checkbox before choosing Done.

Use Local enhancement#

While Lockdown Mode is on, Local is the only available enhancement provider. Entering Lockdown from another provider selects Local and turns enhancement off. An enabled, ready Local setup can remain enabled.

To use cleanup under Lockdown, complete the Local setup and then turn on AI Enhancement. See Enhancement providers for the Local download and speed-check steps.

If your organization manages Lockdown#

Home may show Managed by your organization. This removes turn-off and destructive-reset actions. Unless your organization also disables history, you can still manage transcript saving, your password, recovery key, and idle lock. When history is disabled, transcript and audio saving stay off and password setup is unavailable. You can still dictate. Contact your administrator if the device should no longer be managed.

For enterprise capabilities and deployment guidance, see Managed Lockdown for organizations. Managed Lockdown is available on Windows only. On a Mac, you turn Lockdown Mode on and off yourself.

Export safe diagnostics#

Safe local diagnostics remain available in voluntary and managed Lockdown. Export logs creates a local ZIP only when requested and never uploads it. It excludes transcript and audio content, credentials, recovery keys, and the access log. See Settings and data locations for steps.

Turn off Lockdown Mode#

1. Open Home > Lockdown Mode > Manage.
2. Choose Turn off Lockdown Mode.
3. Enter the transcript password if you chose Keep encrypted history.
4. Choose Turn off.

If you chose Don't save transcripts, no password is required. Turning Lockdown off makes cloud providers and Ollama available again. Existing transcripts remain on this device and no longer need the Lockdown password. Your Lockdown recovery key and password stay set up as recovery methods for standard history. See Transcript history to change them. Local stays selected and AI Enhancement stays off until you choose otherwise.

Reset when recovery is impossible#

If you cannot use either the transcript password or recovery key, open the turn-off dialog and choose I forgot my password. This is a destructive reset.

Type DELETE, then choose Delete history and turn off Lockdown. The reset deletes saved transcripts and audio, turns off Lockdown Mode, and the old records cannot be restored in Whisperstream.