Ubuntu 26.10 will feature Myna, an AI-powered private & local speech-to-text solution

Canonical has announced Myna, a new speech-to-text dictation initiative for Ubuntu desktop that prioritizes privacy and local processing. Designed to feel seamlessly integrated, Myna ensures all voice input stays on your device, aligning with privacy-conscious workflows.

For the initial Ubuntu 26.10 release, Canonical is focusing on the core user experience: users can press a keyboard shortcut, dictate naturally, and see text appear directly in their applications, with clear visual cues indicating when dictation is active. This approach highlights reliability over added complexity in the first iteration.

These privacy controls extend beneath the surface. All speech recognition runs on local hardware without requiring an internet connection after installation. Myna only accesses the microphone when dictation is enabled, processes audio strictly in memory, and never uploads audio recordings to external services.

While the first version targets Ubuntu desktop environments running Wayland and validates support on GNOME, the architectural foundations will allow inclusion of other Linux desktop environments as Myna evolves. Canonical stresses that features such as voice assistants, desktop control, translation, automatic language detection, and extended voice commands will be added only after establishing reliable base functionality.

Myna’s modular design will enable the platform to gain new capabilities in future updates.