SCM (Screen Memories) is a macOS app that searches photos and videos in local folders using image meaning, video scenes, visible text, or spoken words. The project says its models download when first needed and that subsequent processing happens offline; that privacy claim has not been independently audited.
What SCM searches—and how
SCM offers five distinct ways to look through a media library. They use different evidence, so choosing the mode that matches what you remember matters.
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- Files: Search photos and video files with a plain-language description. The README says this mode first checks filename keywords, then ranks with image embeddings, phrase and filename boosts, and duplicate-diversity filtering. Results include an explanation badge.
- Scenes: Search sampled video frames for a visual moment. A hit can point to a poster and timecode within a video, rather than just returning the whole file. Sampling density is configurable.
- OCR: Find visible text in images or video frames using Tesseract. This is a text-recognition workflow, distinct from semantic image search.
- Dialogue: Find spoken words using Whisper transcripts. The project describes exact-line, exact-word, and words-spoken matching tiers; this is separate from searching for a visual concept.
- Ask: Optionally chat with a local model about text SCM has extracted from OCR, dialogue, and filenames. The README says answers include citations to that evidence.
In practical terms, try Files or Scenes when you remember what something looked like; choose OCR for a sign, label, or slide you can read; and use Dialogue when you remember a line that was said.
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What “offline” means here
The SCM README says models or language packs are downloaded when first needed, after which use is offline. It also states, “Your media never leaves the machine,” and “No telemetry, no accounts, no uploads.” Those are statements from the SCM project, not findings from an independent security audit. The available evidence does not establish that the app’s privacy behavior has been externally verified.
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SCM’s default local data directory is ~/Library/Application Support/scm. According to the README, it can contain the index, embedding data, scene and transcript sidecars, thumbnails, and posters; the data directory can be overridden. Local processing therefore still creates local derived data, which may matter when choosing where the library and its index reside or how they are backed up.
Model choices and reported resource trade-offs
The README lists four vision models. The figures below are SCM maintainer-published specifications in its 2026 README review, not independent benchmark results. CPU time per image will vary with the Mac, media, settings, and workload; the cited material does not provide a controlled comparison.
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| Vision model | Maintainer-reported CPU time per image | Download size |
|---|---|---|
| CLIP ViT-L/14@336 (default) | Approximately 480–570 ms | Approximately 435 MB |
| SigLIP-2-B/16 | Approximately 50–100 ms | Approximately 412 MB |
| SigLIP-2-L/16@256 | Approximately 200 ms | Approximately 850 MB |
| SigLIP-B/16@384 | Approximately 480 ms | Approximately 214 MB |
These are trade-offs as presented by the project, not a guarantee that a particular model will feel faster or return better matches on a specific library. The README notes that changing the vision model re-embeds the library, so a model switch entails rebuilding its image representations.
Optional local chat and text-recognition downloads
The README lists Qwen3 1.7B at approximately 1.1 GB and says it fits Macs with 8 GB of memory. It lists Llama 3.2 3B at approximately 2 GB and says it needs headroom. These figures describe model downloads, not total app storage or guaranteed performance. Whisper tiny.en is listed at approximately 150 MB and Whisper base.en at approximately 300 MB. OCR language packs are listed at approximately 2.4–5 MB each, with approximately 17 MB for the default set.
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- MADE FOR THE MAKERS: Create; Explore; Store; The T7 Portable SSD delivers fast speeds and durable features to back up any endeavor; Build your video editing empire, file your photographs or back up your blogs all in an instant
- SHARE IDEAS IN A FLASH: Don’t waste a second waiting and spend more time doing; The T7 is embedded with PCIe NVMe technology that brings fast read and write speeds up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s¹, making it almost twice as fast as the T5
- ALWAYS MAKE THE SAVE: Compact design with massive capacity; With capacities up to 4TB, save exactly what you need to your drive – from large working files to game data and everything in between
- ADAPTS TO EVERY NEED: Whether using a PC or mobile phone, count on the T7 for extensive compatibility²; It’s a true team player when it comes to heavy-duty application usage or file-saving
- HI RESOLUTION VIDEO RECORDING: Record Ultra High Resolution (4K 60fs) videos directly onto the T7 Portable SSD with your favorite camera or mobile devices; Supports iPhone 15 Pro Res 4K at 60fps video and more³
Mac requirements and installation
SCM is macOS software, distributed as a DMG or ZIP and through a Homebrew cask. The README’s Homebrew instructions specify Apple Silicon and macOS 12 or later; the project website also presents the app as designed for Apple Silicon. Do not assume those stated requirements establish support for every Mac or macOS configuration.
For installation commands and current package details, use the project’s official GitHub repository or project website. The repository identifies the project as public and MIT-licensed. Menu-bar and tray features are described as macOS-only.
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Is SCM a fit for your library?
SCM is most relevant if your files are already organized locally and you want to search by a remembered scene, phrase on screen, or spoken line instead of manually scrubbing through media. Its modes are not interchangeable: semantic search relies on image embeddings, while OCR and Dialogue depend on extracted literal text. The project describes how each workflow is implemented, but the cited material does not establish independent accuracy, indexing-speed, or security results.
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