# Talk For Me - Text to Speech — Communication Made Simple > Text-to-speech communication app for individuals with speech impairments. (iPhone/iPad app by Darrin Altman.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talk-for-me-text-to-speech/id975096888 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Darrin Altman](https://appshunter.io/developer/483634416) - Category: Utilities - Price: $1.99 - Rating: 4.30/5 from 120 App Store ratings · 78 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16 · 5 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2015-03-23 - Data updated: 2026-09-01 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talk-for-me-text-to-speech/id975096888/reviews.md ## What is Talk For Me? Your voice deserves to be heard clearly and effortlessly. Built from the ground up by a developer who lost the ability to speak, Talk For Me is engineered with a deep, personal understanding of what truly matters when connecting with others. Whether you are navigating ALS, recovering from a stroke, managing other medical conditions, or simply need a daily tool to assist with communication, Talk For Me bridges the gap. KEY FEATURES: • Speech to Call: Seamlessly sends your text-to-speech audio directly into phone calls, FaceTime, Zoom and Google Meet. • Siri Shortcuts Integration: Trigger your most frequently used everyday phrases directly through Siri without even opening the app. • Personal Voice Support (iOS 17+): Create a digital copy of your own voice and use it within the app. • Visual "Karaoke" Tracking: See exactly what is being spoken in real-time. Words are highlighted as they are said. • Rebuilt Speech Engine: Combine sentences, questions, exclamations, and ellipses (...) in one paragraph and it will all be spoken naturally with human-like emphasis. • Smarter Number Pronunciation: No awkward commas needed in long sequences like phone numbers, zip codes, or IDs. Just type the numbers naturally, and the voice engine will automatically insert human-sounding pauses! • Customizable Quick Buttons: Store your most common phrases in 12 main buttons, or swipe up to access four additional pages. Long-press any button to instantly drag, drop, edit, choose a custom button color, pick the perfect icon, copy/paste or clear its content—giving you a perfectly tailored speech board. • Hardware Keyboard Support: Navigate the app at lightning speed. Magic Keyboard or external BT keyboard users can utilize native shortcuts (Cmd + F, Cmd + 1, etc.) to search, navigate, and speak without touching the screen. • Library Database: Save unlimited phrases or partial sentences. On the Library page, you can swipe left on an entry to delete, swipe right to pin, tap the blue (i) info icon to edit, or tap Edit to rearrange all entries. • Custom Library Categories: Save phrases and filter them using custom category chips and easily rename up to four of them in Settings (Default: All, General, Personal, Phone Calls, Smart Home, Temp). • iCloud Sync & Restore: Upload your custom buttons, library phrases, and settings to iCloud. Download them instantly to a new iPhone or iPad to keep your devices perfectly in sync. • Local Backup Snapshots: Create instant local backups of your setup. • Data Control Center: Easily manage your Local Backups, iCloud Sync, Appearance, Library Categories and Custom Button Page Titles all in one place. • Offline & Private: Works completely offline. No ads, no tracking. Internet is only required when you choose to sync with iCloud. ADDITIONAL TOOLS: • Secure Privacy Wipe: Shake your device (or use a two-finger tap) to permanently wipe the text window. • Seamless Audio Ducking: The voice engine will automatically lower your background media volume while your phrase is spoken. • Library Search: Find your phrases lightning fast with the search field in the library. • Dynamic Type: Fully supports iOS large text settings for maximum readability. SUPPORTED LANGUAGES: English (US, UK, AU, IE, ZA), Arabic, Chinese (CN, HK, TW), Czech, Danish, Dutch (BE, NL), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Portuguese (BR, PT), Romanian, Spanish (AR, CL, CO, MX, ES), and Swedish. A NOTE ON VOICES: This app uses Apple’s Enhanced and Premium voices for the best quality. To ensure you have the best experience, go to your iPhone Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak > Voices to download high-quality voices. SUPPORT: User manual available at MobileTouchTech.com/TalkForMe-manual Questions? I am an independent developer dedicated to this community. If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me ## Key features - Speech to Call integration - iCloud Sync & Restore - Local Backup Snapshots - Personal Voice Support - Visual "Karaoke" Tracking - Customizable Quick Buttons - Offline & Private operation ## Chart rankings - #187 in Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store) ## What do users think of Talk For Me? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 👍 Easy to use - 💰 Free and ad-free - 🗣️ Clear speech output - ✍️ Customizable phrases - 📱 Intuitive interface - 🧑‍⚕️ Helpful for medical needs - ♿ Great for accessibility - 👨‍💻 Works on M1 Mac - 💡 Punctuation awareness - 🔊 Adjustable volume - 🚀 Fast setup - 🧑‍⚕️ Speech pathologist recommended - 👍 Large buttons - ✨ Simple design - 🗣️ Natural sounding voices - 💯 Highly recommended **Cons** - ❓ Lack of tutorials - 🗣️ Voice issues (lost, changed) - 🖥️ Mac speech loss - 🚫 No background audio - 📱 Phone call limitations - 🎨 Limited customization (icons, colors) - 🗣️ Voice options limited - 🔊 Volume could be louder - 🤔 Unintuitive archive feature - ❓ Unclear update usage **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes when speaking - Invisible text when typing - Text box remains white in dark mode - App stopped using audio - Custom button text not visible - Semi-automatic speech issues - Labels do not translate - No male voice after update **Most requested features** - More natural sounding voices - Additional voice options - Ability to export audio files - Pitch adjustment for voices - More variety of voices (male/female from each accent) - Ability to share custom commands - Add Daniel voice - Emotion settings for voices - Different tones for moods - Different languages - UK female speaker ## Recent user reviews (10 of 78) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talk-for-me-text-to-speech/id975096888/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Very practical. *2026-06-29, version 3.2* This app is very practical. Especially when on the phone. This is useful at times when my speech is affected by a sore throat. Though, there is something that users should do on a regular basis: backup your saved buttons. During the most recent update, it lost my buttons that I forgot to backup. One suggestion for the developers is to add an option to do auto backup if the user desires. ### 1/5 — So disappointing!! *2026-06-16, version 3.1* Great layout, with all the potential. But, go to the voice selector and no option can be used! Even if they are already installed on my phone! ### 5/5 — I gave it 5 stars on Mac 3 years ago… *2026-04-07, version 2.3* Everything looks OK but at some point it lost the ability to speak on Mac. I have not evaluated the ability to do set up on the Mac and then backup and get that to an iPhone or iPad (and yes I know it is not certified for Mac but this is still kind of sad). There are other apps for Mac but this was at one time a great option for people like my son. ### 5/5 — Excellent for autistics *2026-01-18, version 1.16.1* I’m autistic and sometimes can’t speak. This app is simpler and easier to use than symbol based alternatives. This is my favorite speech app by far. ### 2/5 — I had great hopes… *2024-01-31, version 1.14* I absolutely despise apps that don’t have tutorials or instructions. so uninstalled it is ### 1/5 — App crashes *2023-11-05, version 1.14* The app often crashes when I press the button to let it talk. They should fix whatever causes it. ### 5/5 — The only app like this *2023-11-03, version 1.14* I suffer with intermittent muteness, lasting months. This is such a fantastic app if you want to have conversations with people. It’s the only one of its kind. I have searched for alternatives but they do not allow for predictive text, or stock phrases. I can only use Samantha as a voice- I would happily pay to have alternatives, but that’s a minor thing. Thank you so much. ### 5/5 — Thank you so much *2023-04-23, version 1.13.01* After gaining a moderate speech impediment from oral cancer I needed something to help me communicate. Particularly while speaking on the phone which was a nightmare. This app is a godsend. And it's free. It's not ad-supported, it's completely free. Thank you! ### 5/5 — Works so well *2023-02-13, version 1.13.01* The app is great. Easy to use, good choice of accents. I wish the people “listening” would stop talking over it though. ### 1/5 — I'm sorry, but it's really bad. *2023-01-27, version 1.13.01* I really don't like to rate apps badly, but this one is really rough. I'd keep looking. ## Frequently asked questions about Talk For Me ### What does Talk For Me do? Talk For Me is a text-to-speech application designed to help individuals communicate when they have difficulty speaking. It converts typed text into spoken audio, offering features like direct integration with phone calls and customizable phrases for efficient communication. ### What are the key features of Talk For Me? Key features include Speech to Call for direct audio into phone calls, iCloud Sync for data backup and transfer, Local Backup Snapshots for experimentation, Personal Voice Support (iOS 17+), Visual "Karaoke" Tracking, and customizable quick buttons for common phrases. ### How much does Talk For Me cost? The application is a paid app. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, indicating a one-time purchase for full functionality. ### What devices is Talk For Me compatible with? The app is available on iPhone and iPad, with iCloud Sync supporting seamless data transfer between these devices. Personal Voice Support requires iOS 17 or later. ### Who would benefit from using Talk For Me? This app is beneficial for individuals navigating conditions like ALS, recovering from a stroke, managing other medical conditions that affect speech, or anyone needing a reliable daily tool to assist with communication. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.2 — 2026-06-20 Version 3.2 is here! We've polished the app and added some great functionality. A Fresh New Look: • You'll notice Talk For Me has a brand new icon on your home screen! We updated our design to perfectly match the premium, highly polished iOS experience you'll find inside the app—including a splash of new color to celebrate your newly customizable speech buttons. Copy/Paste Your Custom Buttons: • You can now copy the contents of any custom button and paste it across any of the five custom button pages. It's your app—set up your communication board exactly how you wish! Improved Custom Button Pages: • No matter which device you are using, from a compact iPhone to a large iPad Pro, your custom buttons are now always large and easily accessible. Just scroll down to reveal rows six and seven. Refined Speech Controls: • We've upgraded the Pause and Continue Play buttons with refined symbols to match the rest of the app. On the main page, when you pause the speech, a Cancel button now appears right above the Pause button. No more vagueness—you can quickly Cancel to type your next phrase, or press Continue Play to finish speaking. Natural Speech Cadence: • The voice engine now intelligently processes ellipses (...), automatically inserting a natural, human-like pause to make complex or casual sentences sound incredibly normalized and lifelike. Under-the-Hood Polish: • We've further enhanced our VoiceOver accessibility labels and functionality so the app works better for users utilizing screen readers. • We added a satisfying subtle "bounce" to all buttons in the app. • We added a keyboard command for power users to do a Privacy Wipe of the main text window with one press (Cmd + K). • Fixed a bug that made the language selector hard to read when in dark mode. User Manual All new features are fully explained at: https://www.mobiletouchtech.com/talkforme-manual Thank You! As always, thank you for letting Talk For Me be your voice. If this update makes your life a little easier, a quick App Store review means the world to me! A huge special thank you to Allison Sheridan of NosillaCast fame. She has taken an interest in the app and provided honest opinions and feedback that have made the app better for all of us. Thank you, Allison! Get in Touch If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me ### 3.1 — 2026-06-05 Version 3.1 is here, and it's all about making Talk For Me look and feel exactly the way you want it to! Thank you to everyone who has reached out with feedback. This update tackles some of our most highly requested features: Choose Your Colors & Icons • You can now fully personalize your custom phrase buttons. Dive into the Edit menu to choose from a beautiful new color palette and assign visual icons to your phrases for lightning-fast recognition. Never Lose a Phrase • We’ve added a safety confirmation alert before clearing a custom button so you never accidentally delete an important phrase. Under-the-Hood Polish • We've smoothed out the Light/Dark mode transitions in the settings menu and done a massive sweep of our VoiceOver accessibility labels so the app works flawlessly for users utilizing screen readers. User Manual All the new features are fully explained at: https://www.mobiletouchtech.com/talkforme-manual Thank You! As always, thank you for letting Talk For Me be your voice. If this update makes your life a little easier, a quick App Store review means the world to me! Get in Touch If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me ### 3.0 — 2026-05-15 A Massive Leap Forward for Talk For Me • We have been hard at work rebuilding Talk For Me from the ground up to make your communication faster, more reliable, and completely customizable. Drag, Drop, and Rearrange • You asked for it, and it's here! You can now tap, hold, and drag your custom buttons to rearrange them exactly how you want them. We also added modern pop-up menus—just long-press any button to instantly Edit or Clear your saved phrases. Double the Instant Phrases • We expanded the main screen grid. You now have 12 custom buttons (up from 6) in a smooth, scrollable area, keeping even more of your essential phrases right at your fingertips. Always Ready to Speak • We completely overhauled our underlying audio engine. If you leave the app running in the background for days while taking phone calls or watching videos, Talk For Me will seamlessly heal its audio connection. It is instantly ready to speak the exact moment you open it back up—no more silent freezes or force-quitting. Continuous Audio Playback • You can now start a phrase and safely navigate away to find your next thought. The audio will continue uninterrupted until the phrase finishes or you trigger a new one! Clearer Visual Feedback • Never guess if a tap registered again. Custom Buttons now feature a subtle, satisfying "bounce" when pressed, giving you immediate visual confirmation while navigating conversations. A Polished Experience • Expanded Keyboard Shortcuts: Power users, rejoice. You can now use your external keyboard to instantly jump to Data & Settings, open the Add to Library menu, and use standard commands like Cmd + S to save or Esc to exit your edits without ever touching the screen. • Modern Interface: A sleek, accessible redesign featuring multiline custom buttons for your longer phrase titles. • Flawless Dark Mode: We squashed a visual bug where button titles would momentarily flash or disappear when using Dark Mode. User Manual All the new features are fully explained at: https://www.mobiletouchtech.com/talkforme-manual Thank You! Thank you for using Talk For Me. I hope you're enjoying the app! If you have some time and if it's not too much to ask, please consider leaving a rating or review on the App Store—it helps me out incredibly. Special thanks to fellow user Larry for the great feature requests! Get in Touch If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me Yours truly, Darrin ### 2.5 — 2026-04-29 In our continuous mission to make communication simple and accessible, Version 2.5 brings powerful new tools designed to reduce friction and give you more independence. ・The "Archive" is now the Phrases Library: With recent additions like lightning-fast search and custom organization, your saved sentences aren't just archived away—they are a dynamic, instantly accessible library ready the second you need them. ・Custom Library Categories: Make the app truly yours. You can now rename up to four of your category tabs in the Data & Settings menu to perfectly match your daily routine (e.g., changing a tab to "Medical," "Restaurants," or "Family"). ・Rock-Solid iCloud Sync: We tracked down and resolved a rare server-side bug that caused "Upload Failed" errors for some users. Your cloud backups will now sync flawlessly across your devices. We also smoothed out a minor visual bug when dragging and rearranging items in your Library. USER MANUAL All the new features are fully explained at: https://www.mobiletouchtech.com/talkforme-manual THANK YOU! Thank you for using Talk For Me. I hope you're enjoying the app! If you have some time and if it's not too much to ask, please consider leaving a rating or review on the App Store—it helps me out incredibly. GET IN TOUCH If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me Yours truly, Darrin ### 2.4 — 2026-04-17 Version 2.4 is our biggest update yet, focusing on lightning-fast navigation, true hands-free independence, and a beautifully polished user interface. • Siri Shortcuts Integration: Give yourself a voice, hands-free. You can now trigger your most frequently used phrases directly through Siri for effortless, everyday communication. • Custom Archive Categories: Find the right words exactly when you need them. Organize your saved phrases into custom filter chips (General, Personal, Phone Calls, Smart Home, and Temp) to instantly sort your Archive. • Hardware Keyboard Shortcuts: Power users rejoice! iPad and Magic Keyboard users can now trigger the Archive, jump to custom pages, and speak phrases instantly without ever lifting their hands from the keys. • Seamless Audio Ducking: Don't pause your life to speak! If you are listening to music or a podcast, the app will automatically lower your background audio while your phrase is spoken, and instantly turn it back to full volume when finished. • A Unified Experience: We’ve fine-tuned the core speech engine for seamlessly smooth playback, and completely unified the UI for a beautiful, native look that perfectly respects both Light and Dark Mode. • Squashed Bugs: Fixed a sneaky issue where the "Save" button wouldn't properly activate when using an external Bluetooth or iPad Magic Keyboard. User Manual: All the new features are fully explained at: https://www.mobiletouchtech.com/talkforme-manual Thank You!: Thank you for using Talk For Me. I hope you're enjoying the app! If you have some time and if it's not too much to ask, please consider leaving a rating or review on the App Store—it helps me out incredibly. If you'd like to get in touch, report an issue, or just connect, please visit https://mobiletouchtech.com/contact or email me directly at support@talkfor.me Yours truly, Darrin ## Apps similar to Talk For Me | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Type & Speak - Text to Speech](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/type-and-speak-text-to-speech/id892467156) | 4.4 (864) | $2.99 | Utilities | | [Speak4Me Text to Speech Reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speak4me-text-to-speech-reader/id894460403) | 4.5 (13,521) | Free | Utilities | | [Text to Speech: AI Book Reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-to-speech-ai-book-reader/id739280962) | 4.4 (685) | Free | Utilities | | [Transcribe - Speech to Text](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/transcribe-speech-to-text/id1241342461) | 4.5 (10,708) | Free | Utilities | | [TTS: Text to Speech](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tts-text-to-speech/id1598906203) | 4.7 (1,010) | Free | Utilities | | [Text To Speech With AI.](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-to-speech-with-ai/id1599264994) | 4.4 (696) | Free | Utilities | ## Related topics [darrin altman](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/darrin-altman) · [talk for me](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/talk-for-me) · [text to speak communication](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/text-to-speak-communication) · [aac text communication device](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/aac-text-communication-device) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*