Glossary
Voice Access (Android)
Voice Access (Android) is a Google feature that lets you operate an Android phone or tablet by speaking commands, such as opening an app or tapping a labelled item. Google built it for people who have difficulty using a touch screen. It is a control tool that can also enter text, and it is separate from Windows Voice Access on PCs.
Updated October 17, 20264 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Android Voice Access.
Voice Access on Android is a Google feature that lets you control the whole phone or tablet with spoken commands. Instead of touching the screen, you say what you want, such as opening an app, scrolling or tapping a labelled item. Google describes it as helping people who have difficulty using a touch screen, for example from paralysis, tremor or a temporary injury, use their Android device by voice 1.
Do not confuse it with dictation. Dictation turns your speech into text in a text field. Voice Access also controls the device, so it can open the messaging app, move to a field and act on what is on screen. Its name is also shared with a separate Windows feature, which Microsoft calls Voice Access on PCs. The Android feature is the subject of this entry.
How you start Voice Access by voice
If you turn on Hey Google detection, you can start the feature by saying "Hey Google, Voice Access" 2. Once it is listening, you can ask for the list of commands. Google says you can say Help at any time in Voice Access to see a short list of commands 3.
Example: sending a message without touching the screen
A person with a temporary wrist injury wants to reply to a message. They start Voice Access, say the command that opens the messaging app, then say what they want to reply. Each step is a spoken command, so the hand with the injury does not need to tap or swipe. The exact commands depend on the app on screen and on your Android version, so check the help list on your phone.
Which Android versions it supports
Google said in 2020 that the updated Voice Access was available globally on devices running Android 6.0 and above 4. That statement is from 2020. Newer Android versions may change the steps to turn the feature on, so use the current help page on your phone.
Why it matters for dictation
Voice Access is the phone counterpart of the idea behind hands-free computing: you do not have to use your hands to act on the device. That is useful for people with motor disabilities, and the same skill set helps anyone whose hands are busy. For writing alone, voice typing on the keyboard is usually faster to start. Our guide on how to control an Android phone with your voice explains when to use control commands and when to dictate instead.
Keep the two apart when you choose a tool. A dictation app turns speech into words. Voice Access turns speech into actions on the screen, and it can also type text when you ask it to. Google's own help list is the reference for which commands it accepts.
Related terms
- Voice control: using the voice to operate a device, of which Voice Access is one example.
- Voice command: a spoken instruction that performs an action rather than writing text.
- Assistive technology: tools that help people with a disability use a device.
- Dictation: speaking so that your own words are written into a text field.
Guides and questions that cover it
- How do you control an Android phone with your voice?: the steps and commands for controlling an Android device by voice.
- Voice typing on Android: how to use talk to text: voice typing on the keyboard, for writing rather than controlling.
- Dictation on phones and tablets: our overview of speaking to text on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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Related terms
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidThe topic this term belongs to
- Allow Full AccessAllow Full Access is an iPhone setting that you switch on for a third-party keyboard before it can have open access, such as network access. Apple warns that a keyboard with this setting on is permitted to collect and transmit the text you type.
- GboardGboard is Google's keyboard app for Android and iPhone, and its microphone key turns speech into text in any app where you can type. On Android it can run speech recognition on the phone, while on iPhone the voice input is handled inside the Gboard app and sent to Google.
- Google voice typingGoogle voice typing is the speech-to-text input that Google provides on Android, so you can speak words into a text field. Its name and location vary by phone: Gboard shows a microphone key, while Samsung Galaxy phones list Google Voice Typing next to their own voice input.
- Live CaptionsLive Captions is a feature that shows text for speech and audio as it happens, using the phone's own processing. Google calls it Live Caption on Pixel phones, and Apple calls it Live Captions on iPhone. It reads what others say, so it is the reverse of dictation.
- Live TranscribeLive Transcribe is a Google app for Android phones that turns the speech of people around you into captions as they talk. It helps you follow a conversation. It does not type your own words into a text field, which is what dictation does.
- Real-time text (RTT)Real-time text (RTT) is a way of sending text as it is typed, so the other person can read each word before the sender finishes. It is used in conversation by many deaf and hard of hearing people, and it has no send step like an ordinary text message. It is a typing channel, not a speech technology.
- Samsung voice inputSamsung voice input is the voice-to-text feature built into the Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones and tablets. It works only with that keyboard, so it is a separate choice from Google Voice Typing.
- Speech Services by GoogleSpeech Services by Google is the Android speech engine from Google that turns speech into text for other apps and reads on-screen text aloud. Google's Play Store listing now uses the title Speech Recognition & Synthesis, and reviews on that listing still call the app by the older name.
- Third-party keyboardA third-party keyboard is a keyboard app from a developer other than the phone's maker, which you install and switch to in place of the built-in keyboard. Apple calls the iPhone version a custom keyboard, and Apple's rules limit what it can do, such as network access and microphone use.
- Transcript Assist (Galaxy AI)Transcript Assist is a Samsung Galaxy AI feature that converts a saved recording in the Voice Recorder app into text. It works on select Galaxy models and needs a working internet connection. It transcribes recordings you already made, so it is not live dictation into a text field.
- Voice message transcriptsA voice message transcript is written text of the words in an audio message, produced by the messaging app so you can read instead of listen. Apple, Google and WhatsApp each offer one, with different defaults and different privacy arrangements. It turns audio into text, the reverse of dictation.