ThumbFree is a keyboard with a mic. It turns your speech into text on your iPhone, right where you type, without the internet.
1. Open ThumbFree and follow the welcome screens. 2. Allow the microphone when iOS asks. 3. Add the keyboard. Open Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, and choose ThumbFree. Then tap ThumbFree in that list and turn on Allow Full Access. (Or in Settings, tap Apps, then ThumbFree, then Keyboards.) 4. Download the speech model. The welcome screens offer it, and so does the Try tab. The English model is about 465 MB, and you need about 1.5 GB of free space to download it. It downloads on Wi-Fi unless you turn off Download on Wi-Fi only in Settings. 5. Wait for the first start. The first time after the download, ThumbFree takes about half a minute to prepare the model for your iPhone. This happens again after you update ThumbFree or iOS.
Why does ThumbFree need Full Access? iOS asks for Full Access before a keyboard can work with its own app. ThumbFree's keyboard uses it to reach ThumbFree's shared folder on this iPhone, to start the mic in ThumbFree and to get your words back, and so Copy can use this iPhone's clipboard. The keyboard never goes online. Without Full Access you can still type with it, with suggestions and emoji; only dictation, and your Dictionary's words in the suggestions, need Full Access.
The ThumbFree keyboard does not show in some apps. Password fields and phone number fields always use Apple's keyboard: iOS lets no other keyboard type there. Some apps allow only Apple's keyboard too. On a work iPhone, your company may hide other keyboards in work apps.
What is the orange dot? iOS shows an orange dot at the top of the screen whenever an app is using the microphone. After your last take, ThumbFree keeps the microphone on for the time you chose in Settings > Session length (5 minutes unless you change it), so your next tap starts at once. The dot goes away when the session ends. To end it sooner, open ThumbFree and tap End session.
Does ThumbFree take me back to my app after the first tap? No, you go back yourself: swipe right along the bottom edge of the screen, or tap the app's name at the top left. Later taps in the same session start without leaving your app.
Does ThumbFree work offline? Yes. Once the speech model is downloaded, ThumbFree works in Airplane Mode.
Which languages does it understand? The English model is the one we recommend. The Multilingual model understands 25 European languages; download it in Settings > Speech model.
Where are my recordings? In the History tab, on this iPhone only. Nothing is uploaded, and History is left out of backups. Choose how long takes are kept in Settings > History.
The first dictation after an update is slow. After you install or update ThumbFree, or update iOS, ThumbFree prepares the model for your iPhone once. It takes about half a minute. After that, it starts in a moment.
A name comes out wrong. Add it to the Dictionary tab, and ThumbFree spells it your way.
Questions, problems or ideas: thumbfree.app@gmail.com. Please don't send recordings: tell us what you said and what ThumbFree typed.