FileNest's two OCR modes have different data flows
Local Privacy mode keeps the source image on the device and runs OCR in the browser. High Accuracy mode uses transient cloud recognition, so it should not be described as a no-upload workflow.
Start with the sensitivity of the source. If it contains identity material, an unpublished contract or private communications and local recognition is already sufficient, privacy-first processing may be the better tradeoff.
Accuracy is not determined only by local versus cloud
Sharpness, skew, glare, typeface, language and layout complexity can matter more than where the model runs. A clean screenshot may work well locally, while a heavily blurred image or complex table can still require review even after cloud recognition.
- Crop irrelevant background first.
- Correct skew and glare where possible.
- Review amounts, dates, names and account fields character by character.
- Do not treat complex-table OCR as final structured data without checking it.
When local fits and when cloud is worth considering
Local mode is attractive when privacy matters, the network is unreliable or the source image is already clear. If the device is constrained, the image is more difficult or the first local result is clearly inadequate, High Accuracy mode can be considered with its transient cloud data flow understood.
This is a selectable tradeoff rather than one mode universally replacing the other.
Human review still matters in both modes
OCR reduces manual typing; it does not remove verification. For legal, financial, identity or medical text, recognized output should be treated as text to verify rather than a replacement for the source or professional review.