Speaking a comment means a microphone, a recognizer and some audio, and each of those could live in several places. In Commentware the permission is the extension’s, Chrome does the recognizing, and no audio reaches a Commentware server on any path.
Whose microphone it is
The permission belongs to the extension rather than to whatever site you happen to be commenting on. Grant it once and it holds everywhere, it survives reinstalling the extension, and a site cannot switch it off with a header the way it can for its own page.
Where your voice is recognized
Chrome does the recognizing, not Commentware, and Chrome offers two modes:
- Cloud or local — Chrome recognizes on this computer when it has the voice model for your language, and sends the audio to Google’s servers when it does not. It never says which it did.
- Only on this computer — the voice model is downloaded to your machine, and Chrome refuses to listen rather than falling back. This is the only one of the two that is a guarantee, which is the whole reason it is offered.
Not every language has a model, and the setup’s list of languages says which do and what the download costs.
Nobody is defaulted into either. A browser that has not been asked is asked on the first press, and a browser that has answered is never quietly moved. Choosing “only on this computer” and then losing the model gets you a refusal naming what is missing — not a silent trip to Google.
No audio reaches a Commentware server on either path. This is between your browser and Chrome. Your server only ever sees the text you send.
When the microphone is open
Chrome takes over a second to start hearing you after the microphone opens. So, by default, Commentware opens it as soon as an overlay opens, and your first word after pressing the button is heard straight away.
- It stays open while any overlay is open, in any tab, and for five minutes after the last one closes. Your computer may show the microphone as in use for that time.
- Nothing is recognized and nothing is sent while it is only open. Chrome’s recognizer starts when you press the button, and not before.
The other choice is “Only when I press the microphone”. The microphone then opens on the press and closes when you stop, and you wait a second or so before you are heard.
Next steps
- Dictate a comment: set dictation up, and change it later.