Research faster.
Sources stay protected.
A local AI assistant for journalists who cannot afford to have source identities, sensitive documents, or draft stories processed by external servers.
The reality
Investigative journalism depends on trust. When a source speaks to you in confidence, they are taking a risk. Using cloud AI tools to process notes, transcripts, or documents that reference those sources puts that trust at risk - even if unintentionally.
Journalists also face the practical problem of information overload: dozens of documents, transcripts, background reading, and interview notes that need to be synthesised quickly and accurately under deadline pressure.
How Skales helps journalists
Research, drafting, and translation - locally, privately, fast.
Deep research assistant
Ask Skales to synthesise background research from documents, notes, and web content you provide. Get structured summaries with key facts, dates, and people - ready to cross-reference.
Source protection built in
Notes about confidential sources never leave your device. Skales runs locally - there are no server logs, no third-party data processing, and no cloud backup of your sensitive material.
Story drafting and structure
From interview notes and research to a structured first draft. Skales helps organise your material into a logical narrative - lede, nut graf, body, and closing - that you can refine.
Multilingual content
Translate interview transcripts, foreign-language documents, or press releases. Ask Skales to flag nuances or ambiguities that might affect meaning in a direct translation.
Offline operation with Ollama
Working from a sensitive location or on a story where any internet traffic is a risk? Connect Ollama and run entirely air-gapped. No traffic, no metadata, no trace.
Deadline-driven drafting
Under a deadline? Dictate your notes verbally using Skales voice input, then ask it to turn your rambling brain dump into a clean, structured story outline in under a minute.
Example: Investigating a story
You ask: "I have 3 interview transcripts and 12 pages of leaked documents. Summarise the key claims, identify contradictions, and flag what still needs verification."
Skales: A structured brief with key facts, timeline, named parties, and a list of open questions.
You ask: "Turn these notes into a 600-word news article. Inverted pyramid structure. Neutral, factual tone. Lead with the most significant finding."
Skales: A clean first draft you can edit. No embellishment, no invented quotes.
You ask: "This source document is in German. Translate it and flag any phrases where the English meaning is ambiguous."
Skales: Full translation with translator notes on nuanced terms or idioms.
“My sources trust me. That means their names never leave my machine.”
Free for personal use. Windows and macOS. No account required.
Also see: Privacy & GDPR · AI for Writers · Download