Which speech engine does VoiceMyThoughts use?
VoiceMyThoughts uses Chrome's on-device Web Speech API (webkitSpeechRecognition). Audio is captured by the browser, transcribed inside the browser, and the resulting text is inserted into the focused field. The extension does not send audio to any cloud speech-to-text API.
Why this matters
Cloud speech-to-text services (the kind you call from a backend over HTTPS) are powerful but come with three trade-offs: privacy (your audio leaves your device), latency (network round-trips), and cost (per-minute pricing that limits free use). On-device recognition removes all three.
Side-by-side comparison
| On-device Web Speech API | Cloud STT API | |
|---|---|---|
| Audio leaves device | No | Yes |
| Latency | Local — sub-second | Network round-trip |
| Cost | Free (built into browser) | Per-minute pricing |
| Accuracy on common speech | Excellent | Excellent |
| Accuracy on heavy accents / specialized vocabulary | Good | Slightly better |
| Browser support | Chrome + Chromium | Any client that can call HTTP |
| Privacy disclosures required | Minimal | Full data-flow disclosure |
When cloud STT does win
- Dedicated transcription products that need consistent accuracy across many languages and accents.
- Server-side workflows that don't have a browser at all.
- Specialized domains (medical, legal) with custom vocabulary models.
Why we picked on-device
VoiceMyThoughts is a browser extension that runs while you browse. Sending your audio to a remote API for every email, chat, and prompt would be a privacy regression for almost zero accuracy gain in everyday use. By staying on-device, the extension can deliver instant transcription, full privacy, and a Free plan that costs us nothing per minute and costs you nothing.
What this means for users
- Your voice is not recorded, stored, or transmitted off-device.
- There is no per-minute meter on dictation; the only limit is the per-session 10-second cap on the Free plan.
- Latency is local — text appears as you speak.
Try VoiceMyThoughts free
Add it to Chrome, click the mic icon next to any text field, and start dictating in under a minute.
Add to Chrome — It's Free