Frequently Asked Questions

ListenUp is an AI-powered dictation app for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. On your Mac you press a hotkey and speak. On iPhone and iPad you dictate through the ListenUp keyboard. Either way, your words appear as clean, punctuated text in any app including email, notes, documents, and more.

Just press your assigned hotkey and start talking. ListenUp listens, transcribes, and stops when you hit the key again.

On Mac, download the app from our website and follow the setup steps. On iPhone and iPad, get ListenUp Dictation from the App Store. No technical skills required.

Launch the app, press the hotkey, and speak. Your text will appear wherever your cursor is.

No. ListenUp works out of the box with no training or calibration needed.

Simply sign up via our website and download the app. Setup takes less than a minute.

ListenUp will notify you with a pop-up when an update is available. You can also manually check for updates via the menu: ListenUp > Check for Updates.

Smart mode lets you request content creation by starting with "listen up," then describing what you want. For example, say "listen up, write an email thanking the client for their business" and ListenUp will draft the content in the same tone and style as the surrounding text.

Place your cursor in any text field, press your hotkey, then start speaking with "listen up," followed by your request. Be specific about what you want: "listen up, draft a two-sentence summary for busy executives" or "listen up, write a professional reply declining this meeting." The app will create content that matches the tone and style of nearby text.

Not unless you want to. ListenUp adds punctuation automatically, but spoken commands like "comma" or "new line" also work.

Very accurate, especially in quiet environments and with a good mic. The system is trained on natural speech and adapts to everyday language.

Yes. Simply select the text you want to change, then speak your correction. ListenUp replaces the selected text with your new input. You can also edit manually like normal typing.

Yes! Many writers use ListenUp for articles, reports, blog posts, and even books.

Partially. Once triggered with the hotkey, you can speak hands-free.

ListenUp supports macOS 14 (Sonoma) and above. We recommend keeping your system up to date for best performance.

No, ListenUp only works on Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4, and future M-series chips). Older Intel-based Macs are not supported.

ListenUp is available for macOS, iPhone, and iPad. Windows is planned for the future.

Yes, you can use ListenUp on multiple devices. Each license is limited to one user, but you can install it on all your Macs.

No, dictation itself works offline. However, certain smart features, like automatic formatting, editing commands, or AI-enhanced suggestions, do require an internet connection.

Absolutely. ListenUp works with any input device recognized by macOS, however, we recommend using the built-in microphone for the best results.

Anywhere you can type, Gmail, Word, Notion, Google Docs, Slack, your browser, or even your code editor.

Yes. You can start and stop dictation using either the fn (function) key or Option + Space, depending on your settings.

Yes. ListenUp Dictation is on the App Store and runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 17.6 or later. It works as a keyboard, so you dictate straight into Mail, Messages, WhatsApp, and almost any other app.

Honestly, Apple's dictation is just not very good for anything longer than a quick sentence. It types what it hears, so the "ums", the run-ons, and the "no, wait, make that" corrections all end up in your text. ListenUp turns what you say into finished text: punctuated, filler words removed, and self-corrections understood. Smart Mode can draft a whole email from a spoken instruction. You can also add your own names and jargon to a custom dictionary, and dictate in 90+ languages.

The keyboard needs Full Access for one thing: the first time you tap Start, it opens the ListenUp app in the background to get recording ready. From then on, Start works as a mic right inside the keyboard. The keyboard itself cannot record audio. Recording happens in the main app, and only when you choose to dictate.

It works wherever iOS allows third-party keyboards, which covers Mail, Messages, WhatsApp, Slack, and almost anywhere else you can type. For your security, iOS blocks all third-party keyboards in password and other secure fields, so the built-in keyboard appears there instead.

ListenUp supports 97 languages including Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Assamese, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Faroese, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Malagasy, Malayalam, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Mongolian, Myanmar, Nepali, Norwegian, Norwegian Nynorsk, Occitan, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Shona, Sindhi, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Sundanese, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish, and Yoruba. You can browse the full list and select your preferred language in the app's settings.

Yes, you can add and switch between multiple languages directly in the app. Just go to Settings > Language, choose the one you need, and start dictating. Switching takes seconds, and there's no limit to how often you change.

No. ListenUp is designed for live, real-time dictation, not audio transcription.

Definitely. Voice-based writing reduces physical and cognitive strain. Many neurodiverse users say it helps them focus and write more comfortably.

Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and make sure ListenUp Dictation is enabled. Quit and reopen ListenUp if the permission was just changed. Also make sure you clicked into a text field before starting dictation.

Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and make sure ListenUp Dictation is enabled. Then open ListenUp Settings > Sound, choose the correct microphone or enable Use System Default Microphone, and try again in a quiet environment.

Open ListenUp from the menu bar, choose Setup, and confirm a recording hotkey is selected. If you use the fn / globe key, open System Settings > Keyboard and set Press fn/globe key to Do Nothing. Also confirm Accessibility permission is enabled. You can always start recording from the menu bar with Dictate.

Open Settings > Languages on Mac, or ListenUp Settings > Language on iPhone or iPad, then add or reselect your language. ListenUp will download the model again.

Open iOS Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards and make sure ListenUp Dictation is listed and enabled. If it is missing, add it again from Add New Keyboard.

Open iOS Settings > ListenUp Dictation and make sure Microphone is enabled. If you previously denied microphone access, you can grant it from this screen.

Make sure your instruction starts with "listen up". For better results, include what you want, the audience, and the length - for example, "listen up, write a friendly three-bullet update for my manager".

Select the text you want to change before recording, press your hotkey, speak the edit instruction, then press the hotkey again to stop. If no text is selected, ListenUp uses regular Dictation instead.

Yes, we offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on all plans, including Pro Lifetime. If you're not satisfied, contact us within 7 days of your purchase for a full refund.

Yes. You can cancel your monthly or annual subscription at any time from your billing portal, no emails needed. You'll keep access until the end of the current billing period.

Yes, you can upgrade anytime. We'll credit the unused portion of your current subscription toward the upgrade.

Yes. You can move between Lite, Smart, and Pro at any time. Upgrades pro-rate immediately, and downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period. Manage it all in your billing portal.

Yes! Download the app and get 15 free dictation minutes to try all features. No credit card required.

Yes, your remaining trial time is shown in the app.

Both plans include the same features. The annual plan saves you up to 20% compared to paying monthly.

Pay once and use ListenUp forever. Includes all future updates and features with no recurring fees.

No hidden fees. The price you see is what you pay. Taxes may apply based on your location.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL, and other regional methods through Stripe.

Yes, all payments are processed securely through Stripe. We never store your payment information.

Your audio is processed on your device by default. When the local model is still preparing, ListenUp can use a secure cloud fallback that processes audio in real time and deletes it the moment your text is returned. Audio is never stored, used to train models, or shared.

We occasionally offer special promotions. Contact us to discuss options for educational use.

No. Your voice input is processed in real time and never stored or reused.

Only what's needed to manage your account, email, plan status, and usage data.

Never. Your dictation remains private. We don't use it for training, analysis, or resale.