Installation and first setup

Before you install#

• Android 10 or newer.
• A phone or tablet with a 64-bit ARM processor (arm64).
• About 670 MB of free storage for Parakeet, the recommended on-device speech model. Other models need their own space.
• Internet access to download models and to use a cloud service, if you choose one.
• Android speech recognition as an engine needs Android 13 or newer. Parakeet and the other on-device models work from Android 10.

How the guided setup works#

When you open TypeWhisper for the first time, the setup starts by itself. It has seven steps. The top of the screen shows where you are, for example “Step 3 of 7 · Speech recognition”.

Use Continue and Back to move between steps. Later ends the setup right away. You can go through every step again at any time under Settings → Setup assistant. Nothing is deleted when you do.

The seven setup steps#

1. 1. Welcome

   A short overview: on-device speech recognition keeps recordings on your phone, profiles turn dictations into messages and emails, and the TypeWhisper keyboard dictates into any text field. Tap Get started.

2. 2. Language

   Under “Choose how you speak”, pick the language you dictate in, or Automatic. This setting is for speech recognition only, not for the app language. You can change it later in Settings → Speech recognition.

3. 3. Speech recognition

   Pick one of three options. Fast & offline is recommended: Parakeet runs on your phone after a one-time download of about 670 MB. Tap Download model; the download continues in the background while you go on. Android speech recognition uses the recognizer built into Android and needs no download. Cloud service uses Groq, OpenAI, ElevenLabs or another provider with your own API key, which you add later in Settings → Cloud providers.

4. 4. Access

   Tap Allow next to Microphone. TypeWhisper needs it for every recording. On Android 13 and newer you can also allow Notifications. They are optional and show recording controls and finished files. If you denied the microphone before, the button reads Open app settings instead.

5. 5. Keyboard

   Tap Enable TypeWhisper Keyboard. Android opens its input settings, where you turn on TypeWhisper Keyboard. Android warns that keyboards can read what you type; TypeWhisper only sends audio to a cloud service when you choose one. Back in the setup, tap Switch keyboard to make TypeWhisper the active keyboard.

6. 6. Bubble (optional)

   The dictation bubble lets you keep your usual keyboard: a small bubble appears next to text fields in other apps, and you tap it to dictate. Tap Set up dictation bubble to read the disclosure described below, or skip this step and turn the bubble on later in Settings → Dictation bubble.

7. 7. Try it

   Tap the microphone, say the example sentence and tap again. The text appears below and is saved to History. If the speech model is not downloaded yet, this step shows the download instead of the microphone. Tap Finish to close the setup.

Turning on the dictation bubble#

The bubble uses Android's accessibility service. Before anything is turned on, TypeWhisper shows the dialog “Dictation bubble: accessibility access”. It explains what the bubble reads: the name of the app you are using, in web browsers the domain of the open page, the text field you are typing in (its text, cursor position and field type) and where windows such as the keyboard are on the screen.

This data is only used on your phone. It is not stored and not sent to TypeWhisper or anyone else. The microphone only starts when you tap the bubble.

1. Read the disclosure

   Tap Agree and enable to continue, or No thanks to leave the bubble off.

2. Turn on the service in Android

   Android's accessibility settings open. Turn on Dictation bubble there and confirm Android's prompt.

3. Check the status

   Back in TypeWhisper, the setup shows “The dictation bubble is on.” If the service is still off, tap Open accessibility settings.

Optional after setup#

• Add the Dictate tile to Quick Settings or the TypeWhisper widget to your home screen to start a dictation from anywhere.
• Touch and hold the app icon for the shortcuts Dictate, Copy last and Transcribe file.
• Open Settings → Assist gesture and choose TypeWhisper as the digital assistant app to dictate with the assist gesture, for example by holding the power button.
• Add names and jargon in the Dictionary tab so they are recognized correctly.
• Open Settings → AI writing and tap Set up step by step if you want profiles to turn dictations into messages, emails or translations.
• Choose another engine or download more on-device models in Settings → Speech recognition.