Talking is faster than typing, and messier. That is the point. Two ways to do it, and the second one always works.
Talk it out uses your browser's own listening. One tap, no keyboard, best for long rambling.
Dictation is your phone's keyboard microphone. It works in any app on your phone, including this one, and it's the reliable fallback when the first won't cooperate.
If Talk it out gives you trouble, skip to dictation. Nothing is lost either way.
On iPhone, only Safari can hear you. Chrome, Firefox, and the browser inside apps like Instagram or Gmail cannot, no matter what you tap. Arrived from a link in an app? Tap the ••• or share icon and choose Open in Safari.
Nothing listens until you ask it to. No page can start on its own.
Safari may ask two short questions the first time: one for the microphone, one for speech recognition. Say yes to both. The button then reads Stop listening, and you won't be asked again on this device.
Words appear as you go and the counter climbs. Long silences are fine. It keeps listening until you tap Stop listening.
Chrome, Edge and Samsung Internet all work. Firefox on Android can't do speech to text yet, so it'll offer you Type it instead.
A strip drops down from the top asking to use your microphone. Choose While using the app.
A red dot in the status bar means it's hearing you. It keeps going through pauses until you tap Stop listening.
Firefox on desktop can't do speech-to-text. Everything else on the page works there. You'll just type.
A small panel appears under the address bar. If you have more than one microphone, a headset and a webcam say, pick the one you're actually near.
Hardware mute on a headset or external mic is the usual culprit: the browser thinks it's listening and hears silence.
Nothing is broken and you haven't ruined anything. The browser is just holding onto your answer. Take it back:
Open Settings → Apps → Safari → Microphone and set letsunload.com to Ask or Allow. On older iOS this lives at Settings → Safari → Microphone.
Then check Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and make sure Safari is switched on there too. Close the tab completely and reopen it.
Tap the ⋮ menu → Settings → Site settings → Microphone, find letsunload.com under Blocked, and switch it to Allow. Or tap the padlock beside the address and change it there.
Click the padlock (Chrome, Edge) or the address bar (Safari) beside letsunload.com and set Microphone to Allow, then reload.
On a Mac, also check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and confirm your browser is switched on.
Home-screen apps keep their own permissions, separate from Safari's. Open the home-screen icon, tap Talk it out, and allow the mic again there. Same one-time question, asked once more in a new place.
Something else is usually holding the microphone: a phone call, a voice memo, a video meeting, or AirPods connected to another device. Close it and tap Talk it out again.
Speech-to-text also needs a connection. On a weak signal it stalls quietly rather than warning you.
Your phone has its own microphone built into the keyboard. It works in every app, needs no permission from us, and is the dependable way in if Talk it out is being difficult.
Go to Settings → General → Keyboard and switch on Enable Dictation. Tap Enable if it asks. You only ever do this once.
Tap inside the big box so the keyboard appears.
It sits beside the space bar, in the bottom row. On some phones it's in the bottom-right corner instead.
Say "period" or "new line" for punctuation if you want it, or don't bother. Messy is genuinely fine here.
The keyboard comes up.
Usually top-right of the keyboard, or beside the space bar, depending on your phone.
This permission belongs to your keyboard, not to us. Grant it once and it works everywhere on your phone.
Tap the microphone again to stop.
Typing works everywhere, and the rest of the app doesn't care how the words arrived. Nobody should lose a session to a permissions dialog.