Building Panora: Your recordings start on your phone

A recording is rarely just audio. It is a client's budget, a vendor's quote, a
conversation you would not want forwarded. The worry is rarely the recording
itself; it is what happens to it afterward. Panora's starting point is the
simplest answer to that: your recordings start, and can stay, on your phone.

Your phone first

Panora starts with the simplest privacy choice: your recording content stays on
your phone. Audio and transcripts are processed locally by default, and Panora
does not quietly sync your conversations to the cloud in the background. If you
never turn on a cloud feature, your recording content does not leave the device.

Cloud only when you choose it

Cloud processing is available when you want more capable features, such as
higher-quality processing, summaries, search, or Ask Panora. Turning those
features on is a choice. Panora ties cloud work to the recording and the task
being requested, rather than treating one choice as blanket permission for
everything.

You can set a default and change it per recording. A sensitive conversation can
stay on your phone while a routine call uses the cloud.

A record of what was authorized

For cloud processing, Panora uses a short-lived, signed authorization tied to
the recording and the work requested. That authorization is what lets the
processing path run; without it, the normal cloud workflow does not proceed. It
also leaves a record of what was authorized, so the decision stays reviewable
rather than invisible.

When you use cloud features, Panora processes your recording content to do the
work you asked for: transcription, summary, search, or answers. The important
part is that this is a choice tied to a feature, not a blanket permission.

That is what we mean by intent-first: your recordings start on your phone, and
cloud processing happens only when you choose the extra capability.