feat(voice): add privacy and compliance UX warning for Gemini Live backend (#26454)

packages/cli/src/ui/components/VoiceModelDialog.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+/**
+ * @license
+ * Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { renderWithProviders } from '../../test-utils/render.js';
+import { createMockSettings } from '../../test-utils/settings.js';
+import { VoiceModelDialog } from './VoiceModelDialog.js';
+import { act } from 'react';
+import { waitFor } from '../../test-utils/async.js';
+import { SettingScope } from '../../config/settings.js';
+
+vi.mock('@google/gemini-cli-core', async () => {
+  const actual = await vi.importActual('@google/gemini-cli-core');
+  return {
+    ...actual,
+    isBinaryAvailable: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+    WhisperModelManager: vi.fn().mockImplementation(() => ({
+      isModelInstalled: vi.fn().mockReturnValue(false),
+      on: vi.fn(),
+      off: vi.fn(),
+      downloadModel: vi.fn(),
+    })),
+  };
+});
+
+describe('VoiceModelDialog', () => {
+  it('should display a privacy warning when Gemini Live API (Cloud) is selected', async () => {
+    const onClose = vi.fn();
+    const { lastFrame, waitUntilReady } = await renderWithProviders(
+      <VoiceModelDialog onClose={onClose} />,
+    );
+
+    await waitUntilReady();
+
+    const frame = lastFrame();
+    expect(frame).toContain('Gemini Live API (Cloud)');
+    expect(frame).toContain('When using the Gemini Live backend');
+  });
+
+  it('should NOT display a privacy warning when Whisper (Local) is highlighted', async () => {
+    const onClose = vi.fn();
+    const { lastFrame, waitUntilReady, stdin } = await renderWithProviders(
+      <VoiceModelDialog onClose={onClose} />,
+    );
+
+    await waitUntilReady();
+
+    // Verify warning is present for default (Gemini Live)
+    expect(lastFrame()).toContain('When using the Gemini Live backend');
+
+    // Arrow Down to highlight Whisper
+    await act(async () => {
+      stdin.write('\u001b[B');
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      const frame = lastFrame();
+      expect(frame).toContain('Whisper (Local)');
+      expect(frame).not.toContain('When using the Gemini Live backend');
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('should update settings and close dialog when a backend is selected', async () => {
+    const onClose = vi.fn();
+    const settings = createMockSettings();
+    const setValueSpy = vi.spyOn(settings, 'setValue');
+
+    const { waitUntilReady, stdin } = await renderWithProviders(
+      <VoiceModelDialog onClose={onClose} />,
+      { settings },
+    );
+
+    await waitUntilReady();
+
+    // Select Gemini Live (it's already highlighted, just press Enter)
+    await act(async () => {
+      stdin.write('\r');
+    });
+
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(setValueSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        SettingScope.User,
+        'experimental.voice.backend',
+        'gemini-live',
+      );
+      expect(onClose).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+  });
+});

packages/cli/src/ui/components/VoiceModelDialog.tsx

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import {
   type WhisperModelProgress,
 } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
 import { CliSpinner } from './CliSpinner.js';
+import { WarningMessage } from './messages/WarningMessage.js';
 
 interface VoiceModelDialogProps {
   onClose: () => void;
@@ -68,6 +69,9 @@ export function VoiceModelDialog({
   const currentWhisperModel =
     settings.merged.experimental.voice?.whisperModel ?? 'ggml-base.en.bin';
 
+  const [highlightedBackend, setHighlightedBackend] =
+    useState<string>(currentBackend);
+
   const handleKeypress = useCallback(
     (key: Key) => {
       if (key.name === 'escape') {
@@ -101,6 +105,10 @@ export function VoiceModelDialog({
     [setSetting, onClose],
   );
 
+  const handleBackendHighlight = useCallback((value: string) => {
+    setHighlightedBackend(value);
+  }, []);
+
   const handleWhisperModelSelect = useCallback(
     async (modelName: string) => {
       if (modelManager.isModelInstalled(modelName)) {
@@ -203,14 +211,22 @@ export function VoiceModelDialog({
           </Box>
         </Box>
       ) : (
-        <Box marginTop={1}>
+        <Box marginTop={1} flexDirection="column">
           {view === 'backend' ? (
-            <DescriptiveRadioButtonSelect
-              items={backendOptions}
-              onSelect={handleBackendSelect}
-              initialIndex={currentBackend === 'whisper' ? 1 : 0}
-              showNumbers={true}
-            />
+            <>
+              <DescriptiveRadioButtonSelect
+                items={backendOptions}
+                onSelect={handleBackendSelect}
+                onHighlight={handleBackendHighlight}
+                initialIndex={currentBackend === 'whisper' ? 1 : 0}
+                showNumbers={true}
+              />
+              {highlightedBackend === 'gemini-live' && (
+                <Box marginTop={1}>
+                  <WarningMessage text="When using the Gemini Live backend, voice recordings are sent to Google Cloud for transcription. Enterprise users should verify this aligns with their data privacy and compliance requirements." />
+                </Box>
+              )}
+            </>
           ) : (
             <DescriptiveRadioButtonSelect
               items={whisperOptions}