Najva

Najva is an AI-driven speech assistant built specifically for Mac. It turns your speech into text using local, offline-first recognition, and it can also work with AI models such as Anthropic Claude or OpenAI GPT if you add your own API key. The app is a native, lightweight Swift application with zero tracking, which the product frames as a privacy-focused workflow. It is aimed at people whose thoughts move faster than their typing, including writers, developers, and healthcare professionals, and it is described as completely free to use.

- Dictate text and have it transcribed on your Mac

- Record code, notes, or documentation by voice

- Transcribe audio files and route text through an AI model

Writers who want to draft by speaking rather than typing are the core audience, since long-form text is often faster to say than to type. Developers can capture code snippets, commit messages, and documentation hands-free while they keep working. Healthcare professionals can dictate notes and records while keeping the recognition local to the machine, which matters for privacy. Students and anyone who spends hours typing long passages will also find it useful, as long as they are on a Mac.

It is Mac only, so Windows and Linux users are not covered by this app and would need a different tool. The optional AI features require your own provider API key, which adds setup steps and possible usage cost on the provider side, separate from the free app itself. Because it relies on local recognition, accuracy can depend on your microphone, accent, and room noise, so a quiet setup and a decent mic help a lot. The app is described as free now, but that could change, so check the current listing before you depend on it.