iPhone
iOS 17+ · 1 GB free- Install Apple's free TestFlight app from the App Store.
- On your iPhone, tap the button below, then Accept and Install.
- Open Akasha, tap Set up everything, then switch on the Akasha keyboard with Allow Full Access.
AKASHA
Speak freely.
Nothing leaves.
Private dictation for your Mac and iPhone. Say what you mean, and clean, punctuated text lands wherever you're typing: email, Slack, Messages, anywhere. Your voice never leaves your device.
A personal project by Colin · free private beta
Get it
Pick your device. About five minutes each.
Mac
Apple silicon (M1+) · macOS 14+- Download the .dmg from the button below.
- Open it and drag Akasha into Applications.
- Open Akasha and click Set up everything. It lives in your menu bar as a small eclipse.
Using it
Hold, talk, let go.
fn
On a Mac
Click where the words should go, hold fn, talk, let go. Tap fn once for hands-free on long emails.
🌐
On iPhone
In any app, hold 🌐 and pick the Akasha keyboard. Tap the mic, talk, tap stop.
esc
Changed your mind?
Press esc while it's listening and nothing gets typed.
While you talk, a small bar shows what it's hearing. It's hidden from screen shares.
What it does
Writes like you meant to type it.
Private by design
Speech becomes text on your own Mac or iPhone. No account, no cloud, no analytics. Audio is never saved.
Cleans up as you go
Drops the ums, and Tuesday, no, Wednesday
comes out as just Wednesday
.
Won't change what you said
Cleanup is refused if it would change a number or drop a not
. You get your words, tidied.
Right tone for each app
Email gets full sentences and its greeting on its own line. Texts stay casual. Code editors get exactly what you said.
Learns your names
Add the names and words it should spell your way. Fix one by hand and it can offer to learn it.
Formats by voice
Say new line
or bullet point
. Dates and amounts come out as numbers. Missing question marks get added.
How it compares
Akasha next to the usual picks.
The fair version: the big apps are polished products with teams behind them. Akasha's edge is privacy and price.
| AKASHA | WISPR FLOW | SUPERWHISPER | APPLE DICTATION | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (beta) | Subscription; capped free tier | Subscription or lifetime; free tier | Free, built in |
| Your voice stays on your device | Always | No, processed in the cloud | With local models | Mostly, for supported languages |
| No account needed | Yes | Account required | Needed for paid plans | Yes |
| Cleans up ums and corrections | Yes | Yes | Yes, with AI modes | No |
| Tone per app | Yes | Yes | Yes, via modes | No |
| Your own names and words | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| iPhone keyboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Where Akasha stands out
Nothing you say is uploaded, there's no account, and its cleanup is checked so it can't quietly change a number or flip a "not".
Where it trails
Mac and iPhone only, so no Windows or Android (Wispr Flow has both). It's a beta built by one person, so expect rough edges, and tell Colin when you hit one.
Competitor details as of October 2026. Their plans and features change often; check their sites for current pricing.
The promise
What stays on your device.
Your voice
Turned into text on the device. Never recorded, never sent.
Your history
Encrypted on your device. Clears itself after 30 days.
Your passwords
Akasha refuses to type into password fields.
One download
The speech model downloads once on Wi-Fi. After that it works offline.
If something's off
Quick fixes.
Mac: I hold fn and nothing types
Open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Accessibility and make sure Akasha is switched on. If it already is, switch it off and on again.
Mac: fn opens Emoji or Apple Dictation
System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ "Press 🌐 key to" ▸ Do Nothing. Or choose a different talk key in Akasha's Setup window.
Mac: "Is this an Apple silicon Mac?"
Apple menu ▸ About This Mac. If it says Chip: Apple M-something, you're set. If it says Intel, use the iPhone version.
iPhone: the keyboard asks for Full Access
Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Akasha ▸ Keyboards ▸ Allow Full Access. The keyboard uses it only to get your words from the Akasha app on the same phone; the keyboard itself has no internet access.
iPhone: the mic button sends me to the Akasha app
iPhone keyboards can't use the mic directly, so the first dictation in a while hops to the app to switch it on. Tap the back arrow at the top-left, talk, and tap stop. For the next 10 minutes it's one tap.
iPhone: TestFlight says the build expired
Beta builds last 90 days. Open TestFlight and tap Update. Your words and settings stay.