Guide
Transcribe and search interviews on your computer.
Sensitive interviews shouldn’t need an upload. Here’s what runs locally, what doesn’t and what to ask any tool.
In short: Sift transcribes the speech in your video on your computer and searches the words there. Your footage and its speech aren’t uploaded to be searched. Setup downloads search models once, and a few things use the internet: license checks, update checks and footage you choose to share by link.
No editor needed. Sift works on its own as a desktop app on Mac and Windows: search, preview, build Selects and share footage by link without opening an editor. The editor panels are optional.
Why this matters
Documentary subjects, corporate leaders, legal and medical interviews: many agreements say the footage can’t go to a third-party service. Local processing keeps you inside the agreement.
What runs where
| Job | Where it happens |
|---|---|
| Picture analysis, faces, speech to text | On your computer |
| Search | On your computer |
| Model download | Once, from Sift’s own download server (nothing about your footage is sent) |
| License and update checks | Over the internet (see the privacy page) |
| Link sharing | Only footage you share: small 540p copies, removed when the link ends |
| Connect to Claude (optional) | Search results and previews you ask Claude for go to Anthropic |
Details are on the privacy page. If you connect an AI assistant, remember that what it asks for is processed by that provider.
A checklist for any transcription tool
- Does the audio leave your computer?
- Is it used to train anyone’s models?
- Can you delete it, and how fast?
- What does your client contract say?
Limits
Sift finds moments by their words; it doesn’t produce a transcript document today, doesn’t label speakers, and has been tested most on English. If you need a deliverable transcript, use a transcription tool and ask the questions above.
Step by step.
- Install and set up
First setup downloads the search models; after that, indexing is local.
- Add the interview folders
Sift transcribes as it indexes.
- Search the words
Switch to Spoken.
- Control what you share
Don’t share sensitive footage by link, or invite only named people and delete the link when you’re done.
Questions
Does Sift ever upload my footage?
No, not to be searched. Only footage you share by link goes online, as small copies, and it comes down when the link ends.
Can I use it with no internet?
Searching works on your computer. Setup and license checks need internet.
Is it GDPR or HIPAA compliant?
We don’t make compliance claims. Local processing helps, but check your own obligations and contracts.
Updated 2026-10-22
Keep reading.
Try it on your own footage.
Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. Everything in Sift, including the optional editor panels and one free link to share footage.