Signal Voice Dictation

Say it, send it. Nothing leaves the conversation.

Hold a key. Speak your thoughts. Keep your flow.

Write where you work

Aqua is a system-wide dictation layer for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. On a Mac or Windows PC, hold a key with Signal open and speak, and your message appears in the box, formatted and ready to send, in any chat, group, or note-to-self.

Signal

Say it once, send it as text

I got the documents. I’ll read them this evening and send you my notes tomorrow morning. Thanks for putting everything together.

Illustrative dictation. Review the text before you use it.

How to dictate in Signal with Aqua

Start in the message box in Signal Desktop. Aqua puts your words into the field you have focused.

Download Aqua for Mac or Windows and grant microphone access, plus Accessibility access on macOS.
Pick your hold-to-talk key in Aqua's settings.
Open Signal Desktop and click into any conversation.
Hold your key, speak, and release. The text lands in the message box.
Add names and the shorthand you use with specific people to your custom dictionary.

Tips for dictating in Signal

Send text rather than a voice note when the other person is likely to be somewhere they cannot listen. Text is faster to read than audio is to play.
Aqua adapts to the conversation, so a group thread comes out clearer and a one-to-one stays casual.
Note-to-self is a good place to start: it is the lowest-stakes way to get used to the key.
Aqua has a SOC 2 Type II audit report and is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR and HIPAA compliant, and turning on Privacy Mode means no transcript is stored on our servers.

Does Signal have built-in voice dictation?

No. Signal has voice messages, which record audio for the other person to play, but there is no dictation that types your speech into the message box, and no transcription feature. That is a design consequence rather than an oversight: Signal's whole architecture is built so the service never sees your messages, and server-side transcription would cut against that. On mobile you can tap the mic on your phone keyboard, which is iOS doing the work. On desktop there is nothing, which is exactly the gap Aqua fills.

Built for the way you work

97.4% key-term accuracy on AISpeak-10, a SOC 2 Type II audit report, and 49 languages, on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. Start free with 1,000 lifetime words. Pro is $10 a month billed annually.

Explore the Product Guides

Aqua refining dictated text in real time

Your words, perfected by AI

Aqua’s model trained on real workflows to understand natural speech, correct grammar, and preserve every word while refining your text in real time.

Custom dictionary

Teach Aqua the words you use most, like names, brands, or technical terms, and watch accuracy improve instantly.

Writing style, your way

Set your tone and rules. From lowercase Slack messages to structured docs, Aqua adapts to your preferences automatically.

Aqua multilingual speech model globe graphic

Speaks your language

Understands 49 languages with clarity and precision, adapting naturally to how you speak.

Aqua private transcript history interface

Secure transcript history

Access your past transcripts any time. Turn on Privacy Mode and nothing is stored on our servers at all.

Avalon: 97.4%
Whisper Large v3: 65.1%

AISpeak-10 · English technical-term recognition. Method and Results

Our Model in your hands

Avalon scored 97.4% key-term accuracy on AISpeak-10, our English technical-speech benchmark. Learn How Avalon Works.

What Aqua Voice customers say

Used by people at

@0xferruccio

For coding prompting with voice nothing beats @aquavoice All the other transcription apps don't work well with code like tailwind class names

@chiggyAI

just tried out @aquavoice and by far the most accurate voice to text tool i've used!!

@TheNathanRuff

Been using @aquavoice for a few months. Unbelievably better than the other companies that do this

@jamesfong

3 products that have broken into my forever home. And that's not an easy feat for me: @circlebackai, @aquavoice, and @superset_sh

@tzmartin

tbh @aquavoice is a vibe coder's delight.. lowest latency, highest quality STT I've used so far

@juanbuis

this is why @aquavoice is better than all other AI transcription apps it actually writes like you talk

@heyvyner

Mapping @aquavoice to this button on my mouse is a whole different level of productivity.

@nozmen

Aqua Voice: I barely type long prompts now, just talk. Saved ~5 hrs typing in 2 weeks. Much more accurate than macOS dictation.

@gkossakowski

Aqua is a true power tool: quick, reliable and understands your context - they were early at appreciating the value of context engineering.

@jackson_felty

@aquavoice is a prime example of how much better a product can be when the team focuses on making one simple use case incredible

@ArtemR

Aqua Voice @aquavoice is the voice-based text editor I think all of us have always wanted, but no company has been able to deliver so far. The demo is extremely impressive

@jaymehoffman

@aquavoice has saved me over 2 days of typing

@thebuildguy

@aquavoice is probably one of my most used tool that has saved me quite literally a day of time!

@Memetic_Theory

If you're not using @aquavoice you're moving 15% slower than you could

@rickmanelius

Impressed with @aquavoice accuracy in a noisy airport.

@utkusays

just subscribed to aqua voice and wow you guys are cooking, best dictation app i've tried so far

@turboblitzzz

Started using @aquavoice a few weeks ago and now I barely type anything. My housemates want to kick me out because i keep talking to my computer. Life is good.

@curious_vii

Claude Code agents (new CLI view) + Ghostty + @aquavoice is actual calm computing

Frequently asked questions

Does Signal have built-in voice-to-text?

No. Signal supports voice messages, which send audio, but it has no dictation that types your speech into the message box and no transcription feature.

Is dictating into Signal private?

Aqua has a SOC 2 Type II audit report and is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR and HIPAA compliant, and with Privacy Mode enabled no transcript data is stored on our servers. Your Signal messages themselves stay end-to-end encrypted as always.

Does it work in groups and note-to-self?

Yes. Aqua types into whatever field has focus, so every conversation type works the same way.

Does it work on Windows?

Yes. Aqua runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android.

How much does it cost?

Free includes 1,000 words. With annual billing, Pro is $10 per month, Max is $19 per month, and Business is $19 per seat per month with a minimum of 2 seats.