Yap for Android
A voice typing keyboard that works offline.
Yap is a keyboard you talk to. Tap the microphone, say what you want to write, and Yap types it into whatever app you are in. Speech is recognized on the phone itself, so it works without a connection and nothing you say is uploaded.
Android 10 or later, 3 GB of memory or more. $6.90 USD/month or $69 USD/year. 3 days free with a free account, no card, then a 10-day trial with a card.
Tap, talk, done.
- 01
Switch to Yap.
From the keyboard button, in any app: messages, email, notes, documents, search. Keyboards with a voice key can hand dictation to it too.
- 02
Talk.
Say what you want to write. Punctuation and capital letters are added for you; in English you can also say “comma” or “new line”.
- 03
Tap the check mark.
Your words appear where you were typing. Switch back to your usual keyboard whenever you like.
Works with Wi-Fi and data off.
Yap recognizes speech with NVIDIA’s Parakeet model, running on your phone. The model downloads once during setup; after that you can dictate on a plane, on the train, anywhere.
Your voice stays on your phone.
Recordings and words are never uploaded, so nobody else can listen to them, store them or train on them. Android warns that any keyboard could read what you type: Yap only writes your dictation. Read our privacy policy.
Recognized on the phone
25 languages, no switching.
You never choose a language. Each recording is recognized in the language you speak: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Maltese. The app’s own screens are in English.
Already on your phone
Gboard voice typing or Yap?
Gboard voice typing
- Free and already on most Android phones, with offline voice typing.
- Its advanced voice typing, with automatic language switching, needs a Pixel 6 or later and covers six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.
- Google says advanced voice typing keeps what you say on the device, except when you use its Fix it or detailed edits features.
Yap
- Free for 3 days with a free account and no card, then Yap Pro through Google Play.
- Recognizes 25 languages on the phone, detected per recording, on any phone that meets the requirements, not only Pixels.
- Everything stays on the phone: there is no cloud step to opt out of.
- One subscription also covers Yap on your Mac, your Windows PC and your iPhone.
If you have a recent Pixel and dictate in one of Gboard’s six advanced languages, Gboard may be all you need. Yap is for everyone else, and for people who want the same private dictation on their computer.
Create your free account
3 days free. No card. Type your email. Tap Email me a code. Enter the code from the email.
Allow the microphone
Yap hears you only while you dictate. Tap Allow microphone. Tap While using the app.
Turn on the Yap keyboard
So you can dictate in every app. Turn on the switch next to Yap. Tap OK, then OK again. Tap ← to come back.
Download the speech model
One download, then Yap works offline. Tap Download. Wi-Fi is best: it is about 670 MB.. Keep Yap open until it is ready..
Dictate in any app
Try it here first. Tap the keyboard button at the bottom right. Choose Yap. Tap the microphone and talk. Tap ✓ and your words appear.
Questions.
- Does Yap work offline on Android?
- Yes. The speech model downloads once, and after that Yap recognizes your voice with Wi-Fi and mobile data off. Your recordings and words are never uploaded.
- Which phones does it run on?
- Android 10 or later, 3 GB of memory or more. On-device speech recognition needs that memory to run the model on the phone.
- Does it replace my keyboard?
- No. Keep your usual keyboard and switch to Yap from the keyboard button whenever you want to talk, then switch back. Keyboards with a voice key can also hand dictation to Yap.
- Which languages does it recognize?
- English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, and Maltese. You do not pick one: each recording is recognized in the language you speak.
- What does it cost?
- Yap works for 3 days with a free account (just your email, no card). Then Yap Pro continues through Google Play, with a 10-day free trial for new subscribers, then $6.90 USD a month or $69 USD a year. Cancel any time in Google Play.
- Can I use the same subscription on my computer?
- Yes. The same Yap account works in Yap for Mac, Windows and iPhone.
On a computer instead? Yap also runs on Windows and Mac. In a browser, try free online dictation.
From the library
Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and Android
Every iPhone, iPad, Android phone, Samsung Galaxy and Apple Watch already has free voice typing in its keyboard: turn it on once, tap the microphone key and speak, and in many languages the speech is turned into text on the device itself, even with no internet. Speaking is about three times faster than typing on a phone keyboard, and when voice typing fails the cause is often a setting, a permission, a swapped keyboard or a missing language download, not the microphone.