screenpipe Review 2026: Local AI Memory, Pricing, and Privacy
A research-based screenpipe review covering capabilities, pricing, privacy, limitations, and a fair buyer test.
Bottom line
screenpipe offers unusually controllable local capture, search, MCP, and automation, but continuous recording creates serious consent, exclusion, storage, security, and review obligations.
Editorial accountability
Who checked this guide
- Evaluation type
- Hands-on evaluation
- Last materially checked
- Evidence
- 5 listed sources
Hands-on testing is identified explicitly. Research-based coverage uses cited product documentation and other named sources; it does not imply every paid plan was used. Read the full methodology.
Review evidence
What this guidance is based on
- Editorial basis
- Current first-party product, pricing, help, security, privacy, and terms documentation
- Review type
- Research-based product assessment
- Material review date
- August 24, 2026
- Buyer test
- Controlled workflow test with output, correction, cost, permission, and ownership checks
Important limits
- • DiscoverAI did not complete the proposed long-term paid deployment for this research-based review.
- • Features, prices, limits, security controls, privacy terms, and usage rights can change; verify the linked first-party pages before purchase.
In this guide
Short answer
screenpipe is worth evaluating for technical users who want searchable memory across screen activity and meetings while keeping capture and storage local by default. Its open-source code, REST API, MCP server, filters, and local-model options provide unusual control. Those controls do not make continuous capture inherently safe: exclusions, consent, device security, retention, and every optional cloud path must be configured deliberately.
Best for
- Technical users wanting local activity recall
- Open-source and local-model workflows
- Builders using REST or MCP
Look elsewhere if
- Unmanaged workplace surveillance
- Devices containing unfilterable sensitive data
- Users wanting zero-configuration privacy
What screenpipe verifiably does
screenpipe documents continuous screen and audio capture on macOS, Windows, and Linux; local search; OCR and accessibility text; meeting intelligence; app and window filters; pipes for scheduled automation; a localhost REST API; MCP access; many app connections; local models; and optional cloud services. Connection credentials are stored locally where a secure store is available.
Important limitations
Continuous capture can record passwords, health information, client material, private messages, copyrighted media, and people who have not consented. OCR, accessibility extraction, transcription, and semantic recall can be incomplete. Choosing a cloud model, transcription provider, sync/archive, LAN access, or connected application changes the local-only claim and introduces new permission and retention risks.
Pricing snapshot
Official comparison documentation listed a $400 lifetime desktop price when reviewed. Local or cloud model costs, transcription, storage/sync, and team or enterprise arrangements can change total cost. Verify the checkout and exact included services before purchase. Reviewed August 24, 2026.
A fair buyer test
Use a separate device profile for one approved week. Exclude password managers, banking, personal messages, and sensitive client apps before capture. Measure recall precision, missed context, storage growth, CPU impact, redaction misses, deletion, pause reliability, model data paths, and whether MCP or pipes expose more context than intended.
Final verdict
screenpipe earns a shortlist for technical, privacy-conscious users willing to own configuration and auditing. It is a poor fit for unmanaged corporate deployment or anyone unwilling to map exactly what is captured, retained, searchable, and sent outward.
This is a research-based assessment, not a claim of hands-on product testing. Product, pricing, privacy, security, and usage claims were checked against the first-party sources below on August 24, 2026. Verify current terms and run the proposed test with approved data before adoption.
Sources and verification
Product details and claims were checked against the following primary sources.
Frequently asked questions
Is screenpipe free?
The code is open source, while the packaged desktop product and optional services have commercial terms. Verify the current license and checkout before adoption.
Does screenpipe keep data local?
Local capture and storage are the default, but cloud models, transcription, sync, archive, connections, or LAN access change the data path.
What does screenpipe record?
It can capture screen content, accessibility text, OCR, input-related events where available, and audio transcripts, subject to configured filters and permissions.
Can screenpipe connect to AI assistants?
Yes. It documents MCP and API connections for compatible assistants, but those connections can expose sensitive history and should be tightly scoped.
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