Blog

What WriteAmp Turns On by Default (and How to Turn It Off)

Here's a sentence most app makers won't write, because it sounds bad out of context: WriteAmp turns some things on by default.

I'd rather tell you exactly what those things are, what they do, and how to turn them off, than let you discover them later and wonder what else I didn't mention. Defaults matter, and a default you didn't choose is a decision someone made for you, so let me make the decisions visible.

The defaults, plainly

When you install WriteAmp fresh, three things are on. Each has a job, and each has a switch.

Here's the reasoning, and I think it's the right call even though it's the harder one. These three features are the product. History is what makes suggestions sound like you instead of like a stranger. Clipboard awareness is what makes accepting a suggestion safe. Screen context is what makes autocomplete work in the apps where you actually type. If all three were off by default, WriteAmp would be a much weaker version of itself, and most people would never find the switches to make it good.

The alternative philosophy is "everything off, let the user opt in." It sounds respectful, but in practice it means most people run a crippled app forever, because nobody reads settings screens on day one. So I chose defaults that make the app good immediately, and I made the switches easy to find and honest about what they do. A default you can see and change in two clicks isn't a trap. It's a choice with a sensible starting point.

Where the switches are

Every one of these has a home, and none of them are buried. If you want to change the defaults, here's where to look.

The screen context permission is slightly different, because macOS itself controls it. That one lives in System Settings under Screen Recording, and I wrote the full explainer about what it does and why canvas apps need it. You can exclude individual apps from it inside WriteAmp, or revoke the whole permission at the system level, and WriteAmp will respect that and go quiet in the apps that need it.

The important distinction

Here's the nuance that separates these defaults from a dark pattern. Turning history on doesn't mean the app is secretly sending your data anywhere. It means the app is storing your phrases locally, in an encrypted file, so it can learn from them. Turning clipboard awareness on doesn't mean the app is reading your clipboard to sell anything. It means a suggestion can be pasted in without destroying what you copied. Turning screen context on doesn't mean the app is recording you. It means it can see where your cursor is in canvas apps.

The difference between a feature and a violation is whether you were told, whether you can turn it off, and whether it's genuinely local. All three of these are told, all three have switches, and all three are local. That's the standard I hold the defaults to.

The one-tap reset

And if you ever want to undo the whole learning process, there's a single button. Wipe all personal data. It deletes the history file, forgets the key, and leaves the app running clean, as if you'd just installed it. I wrote about how complete that wipe is, because a delete button that leaves copies behind isn't a delete button.

The defaults are my recommendation for how most people should run the app. They're not my recommendation for how you must run it. The switches are there, they're labeled, and they work. That's the deal, and I think it's a fair one.

The download is free for 30 days, and every default and every switch is available from day one. Open the settings when you install it, look at what's on, and decide for yourself. That's exactly what I want you to do.

---

On macOS 26+ Macs, Apple Intelligence mode stays free even after the trial ends — you always keep a working path to suggestions.

Written by Amit Ashwini, who builds WriteAmp and runs its marketing. More: why the Tab key beats the chat box · mini, midi, and max compared · benchmark methodology.