Security & privacy

Security & local processing

FFmix is local-first: your media is processed on your own Mac through the bundled, open-source ffmpeg engine. Files are never uploaded. The only thing that can leave your device is the text sentence you type into the AI box — and only when you ask it to parse a compound request.

Where your data goes

What Where it happens / what is sent
Your video, audio & image files Stay on your Mac. They are never uploaded to any server.
Compress, convert, extract audio, GIF, trim, crop, watermark, merge Run locally via the bundled ffmpeg engine. No upload, works offline.
Subtitle transcription (Whisper) Runs on-device. The model is downloaded once on first use; your audio is never uploaded.
Simple AI requests (e.g. “make a GIF”, “extract audio”) Parsed locally by built-in rules. Nothing is sent to any server, and it isn’t metered.
Compound AI requests (e.g. “compress to 50 MB, then add a watermark”) Only the text sentence you type is sent to the parser. A media file is never sent.
What the server stores about an AI request An anonymous device id, the month, and the length of your sentence — never the sentence itself.
Account None required. All local tasks work without signing in.
Network connection Not needed for processing. Only optional cloud AI parsing and the one-time Whisper model download use the network.

The AI request boundary

FFmix tries to understand a request locally first. A single, simple intent (“compress”, “make a GIF”, “extract audio”) is matched on-device by built-in rules — instant, free, and nothing is sent anywhere. Only a compound sentence (several steps in one instruction) is sent to the cloud parser, and even then only the text you typed crosses the network — never a file. The parser returns a step-by-step plan, which FFmix shows you for review; nothing runs until you confirm.

Usage is counted against an anonymous device identifier so the monthly free allowance can be enforced. What is stored is limited to that device id, the month, and the length of your sentence — never its contents. High-value endpoints are additionally protected by Apple’s App Attest, so quota can’t be spoofed by forging a device id.

The engine

Processing runs on the open-source ffmpeg engine, built into the app. Hardware encoding uses Apple’s VideoToolbox where it makes sense, so exports are fast and battery-friendly. Local subtitle transcription uses an on-device Whisper model. None of these phone home with your media.

The command you see is the command that runs

There’s no hidden behaviour: expand Advanced on any task to read the exact ffmpeg command before it runs, copy it, or edit it in manual mode. Output is written next to your original file and never overwrites it.

Private by default

Interviews, internal footage, client work — it all stays on your Mac.

Download FFmix free

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