How it works
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1
Turn it on
Off until you switch it on in Settings › Voice. It asks for the mic, Accessibility and Input Monitoring.
-
2
Hold ⌃ and speak
Or Option, Command, Shift or fn if you’d rather. The notch shows the words as they come.
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3
Let go
Typed at the cursor in any app, with the “um”s taken out and the punctuation fixed.
Try it
Press and hold. Let go to type.
To: Sam
Subject: Lunch
Hi Sam, can we move lunch to one?
The fillers come out and the punctuation is fixed. Tidying up needs Apple Intelligence; without it, the words are typed just as you said them.
The details
- Typed, not pasted
- The words go in as typing, so they don’t fill up your clipboard history.
- Never lost
- If there’s nowhere to type, the words go to your clipboard instead.
- Nothing in the wrong place
- Click or press a key while you talk, and the words go to your clipboard instead.
- Tidy up what I said
- On to start with: it takes out fillers and fixes punctuation. It needs Apple Intelligence.
- Two languages
- Your Mac’s own, plus one more under Also listen for.
- Any microphone
- The system’s microphone, or another one you pick in Settings › Voice.
- Up to two minutes
- Per hold. Everything you said before that is typed.
Privacy
What stays on your Mac
Apple’s speech recognition turns your voice into words on your Mac, and the tidy-up runs there too. The privacy page lists every request Airlock makes.
Stays on your Mac
- Your voice: the audio isn’t uploaded or kept
- The words, typed straight into your app
Leaves your Mac
- Nothing.
Settings
It starts out like this. Everything is in Settings › Voice.
- Hold to talk, let go to type
- ⌃
- Or pick another key
- ⌥ ⌘ ⇧ fn
Dictation stops at two minutes. Everything before that is typed.
- DictationOff until you turn it on
- Hold to dictate⌃ ControlControl, Option, Command, Shift or fn
- LanguageFollow the systemPlus one more, under Also listen for
- Tidy up what I saidTakes out fillers, fixes punctuation. Needs Apple Intelligence.
- Pause music while I talkYour music stops while you hold the key
Which plan
In every plan, Free included. All of dictation, with no card and no account. Plus and Pro are for longer calls, better notes and more agents.
It asks for: The microphone, Accessibility to type the words, and Input Monitoring to notice the key.
Compare the plans →Questions
Does it work in every app?
Anywhere you can type: the words go in at the cursor. If there’s no text field to type into, they land on your clipboard so you can paste them.
Is my voice sent anywhere?
No. Apple’s speech recognition turns it into words on your Mac, and the audio isn’t stored.
Why does it need Input Monitoring?
To notice you holding the key while you’re in another app. Accessibility is what lets it type the words.
Do I need Apple Intelligence?
Only for “Tidy up what I said”. Without it, you get the words just as you said them.
Which languages does it understand?
The ones Apple’s speech recognition offers on your Mac. Pick one, and add a second under Also listen for.
More in the notch
- Call notesOne tap as a call starts. The notes are ready when it ends.
- Clipboard historyEverything you copied, searchable.
- Media & soundNow playing, and a level per app if you turn it on.
- TodayYour next meetings, one click to join.
- This MacHow hard it’s working, and who’s to blame.
- Drop shelfPark a file mid-drag. Drag it back out.
- Keep awakeNo sleep while you need it.
- Coding agentsClaude Code’s questions, answered from the notch.