Private voice typing app. Right on your phone.
LocalType is a private voice typing app for Android, built into a complete keyboard. It is speech to text that runs on your device. Your voice stays on your phone. No account. No cloud transcription.
For Android Now on Google Play. Try everything free for 14 days.
How it works
Typing through voice happens inside the keyboard, not in a separate app you have to switch to.
Install LocalType
To activate voice typing, add LocalType as a keyboard in your Android settings and select it. That is the whole setup.
Tap the microphone
While you are typing, in any app, tap the microphone key on the keyboard.
Speak
Your speech is turned into text on the device and appears straight into the field you were typing in.
Your voice is private by design
Most voice typing works by sending your audio to a transcription service over the internet. LocalType does not need to. The speech model sits on your Android device and does the work there.
With LocalType
Cloud voice typing
This is about where the processing happens. It is a difference in architecture, not a claim about any particular product.
What that means in practice
On-device transcription
Speech recognition runs locally on your Android device.
No account
There is no sign-up and nothing to log in to.
No tracking
No behavioural tracking inside the product.
No ads
There is no advertising in LocalType.
No cloud backup
LocalType app data is deliberately excluded from cloud backup.
Private model storage
The speech model the app uses sits in its own private storage.
Protected password fields
Voice input is automatically disabled in password fields.
Offline after download
Downloading a model needs a connection. Transcribing afterwards does not.
Why does LocalType need internet access?
For one thing: downloading the speech model you choose. Once that model is on your device, transcription runs locally and no longer needs a connection. We would rather explain the permission than leave you guessing about it.
Voice typing, built into your keyboard
Going from voice to type does not require a separate voice to text app that you have to open, dictate into, and copy the result out of. With LocalType, the microphone sits on the keyboard you are already typing on.
Wherever you can type, you can dictate
Works without a connection
Processing speech locally has a practical side effect. Once a model is on your phone, voice typing carries on working with no connection at all.
More about offline use- On a plane, on the underground, or anywhere the signal drops
- While travelling, without roaming data
- In buildings and areas with no usable connection
- Or simply because you would rather keep the processing on your own device
Downloading a speech model does need an internet connection the first time. After that the model stays on your device.
Eighteen languages
LocalType transcribes speech in the languages below.
Automatic language recognition
You do not have to tell LocalType which language you are about to speak. It recognises which of the supported languages you are using while you talk.
One model, several languages
A single multilingual speech model handles the supported languages, so you do not need a separate download for each one.
The language setting can drive the keyboard layout, the dictionary and the dictation language together.
All languagesChoose how it should run
LocalType offers several local speech models. They strike a different balance, and the app can suggest one that suits your phone.
Speed
How quickly the text appears after you stop speaking.
Accuracy
How well the model handles accents, names and background noise.
Storage and memory
How much space the model takes up and how much your phone has to hold in memory.
A keyboard first
With the microphone or without it, LocalType is a keyboard you can use all day. Nothing about it is unusual, and that is the point.
Try everything free for 14 days
14 days free
After that, voice typing requires a yearly payment. Typing stays free, so the keyboard itself keeps working.
The trial and the payment that follows are managed through Google Play.
Questions people ask
Does my voice get sent anywhere?
Speech recognition runs on your device, so your audio does not need to be sent to a transcription service to be turned into text.
Does LocalType need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, and there is nothing to log in to.
Does LocalType work without internet?
Yes, once you have downloaded a speech model. That first download needs a connection; transcription afterwards does not.
Why does LocalType request internet access?
To download the speech model you choose. Once the model is installed, transcription runs locally and no longer needs a connection.
Can I use LocalType in other Android apps?
Yes. LocalType is a keyboard, so it works wherever a keyboard opens: messaging, email, notes, your browser, forms. Wherever you can type, you can dictate.
What happens in password fields?
Voice input is automatically disabled there, so you cannot accidentally dictate a password.
Which languages are supported?
Eighteen, including Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. LocalType can also recognise which of them you are speaking without you switching first.
Does LocalType use AI or cloud services?
LocalType uses a speech recognition model, and that model runs on your own device. It is not an assistant or a chatbot, and it does not send your speech to a service to be processed.
Go deeper into voice typing
Use the guides for practical answers, or compare LocalType with the voice typing option you already know.
Voice typing guides
Practical help with setup, accuracy, privacy, offline use and everyday dictation.
Read moreVoice typing alternatives
Clear comparisons with other keyboards, dictation tools and transcription products.
Read moreBest voice typing apps for Android
Compare keyboards, offline voice input, dictation notepads and meeting transcription.
Read moreA private Android keyboard
How to judge what a keyboard can see, where data goes and what stays on your phone.
Read moreGet LocalType for Android
Private voice typing that runs on your phone, with speech recognition on the device itself. No account, no cloud.
Get it on Google Play