Is CroppickVoice really free?
Yes. Unlimited dictation on your device, the full on-device model catalog, voice modes and core Crop & Speak are free — no word caps, no account, no trial clock. A one-time €39 Pro upgrade adds power features on top; nothing that is free today ever moves behind the paywall.
Does my voice or screen ever leave my computer?
Not unless you deliberately send it to a cloud service you chose. By default speech becomes text on your device, screenshots stay in a local folder, and the app tracks nothing about you. The network is used only to download the models you pick (once each), for an optional signed update check, for a one-time activation if you buy Pro — and by the opt-in AI features: text polish, which can stay fully local via the built-in model or your own Ollama server, and Pro’s optional cloud transcription through your own account. Everything cloud is off until you set it up.
What is Crop & Speak?
Press Alt+`, drag over any region of your screen, mark it up with arrows, boxes or a pen while you talk, and CroppickVoice delivers the annotated image plus your transcribed words into the focused app — image and text for chats, docs and editors, text and file path for terminals. Saying it and showing it becomes one gesture instead of two apps.
Why did I sometimes get a file path instead of the image?
Because Crop & Speak adapts to the app you paste into, and apps differ in what they can accept. Apps that understand pictures — chats, documents, email, editors — receive your words and the annotated image together. Text-only places like terminals can’t show a picture, so they get your words plus the image’s file location, which is usually what you want there. Got a path where you wanted the picture? Hover the button, open History, and click the entry — that second delivery often lands the image + text in apps where the first paste couldn’t. You can also set a fixed preference in Settings → Crop & Speak → Delivery.
Which languages does it support?
The built-in model catalog covers the majority of languages across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Pick a model in Settings — lighter ones for speed on modest hardware, larger ones for maximum accuracy — and your language is auto-detected, or pin it explicitly.
Windows says "Windows protected your PC" — why?
The installer is new and doesn’t carry its Windows publisher certificate yet, so SmartScreen plays it safe. Click "More info" → "Run anyway". Updates themselves are digitally signed and verified before they install, and every download’s checksum is published so you can verify what you got.
When do macOS and Linux ship?
The app is built cross-platform and both ports already run from source; polished packaged builds are being validated. Windows 10/11 is ready today — the macOS and Linux builds will appear on the download page the moment they’re ready.
Is Pro a subscription?
No. Pro is €39 once — buy it once and every 1.x update is included. Your key activates with one quick online check, then works fully offline — no account, no subscription, never a recurring check.
Do I need a powerful computer?
No. The standard model keeps up with your speech on an ordinary computer. If you do have a graphics card — NVIDIA, AMD, Intel or Apple — the app uses it for extra speed.
Why is it using a lot of memory (RAM)?
That’s the price of working offline: the speech model is held in memory while the app runs, which is exactly what makes transcription instant and private. How much depends on your choice in Settings — light models keep the footprint small, the big high-accuracy ones take considerably more room. And if you turn on the built-in local AI polish, that second model loads into memory too — running both at once is when usage looks large. Want it leaner? Pick a lighter speech model, or run polish through your own Ollama server instead of the built-in one. Memory is released when you quit the app.