Teleprompter / Guides / Voice follow
Voice follow, explained
Voice follow listens with Apple's speech recognition on the device, matches your last dozen words to the script, and trims the scroll speed four times a second so your line stays on the reading line. You press play and stop yourself. It records nothing, needs no connection, and suits rehearsal and solo reads.
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What voice follow does
You press play. The script scrolls at the speed you set. Voice follow listens to you read, works out where you are in the script, and nudges the speed up or down so that the line you are reading stays on the reading line. If you speed up, it speeds up; if you slow down, it slows down; if you stop talking, it eases down and waits for you.
It never starts the scroll, never stops it and never jumps it. You press play and stop yourself, from the screen, the Apple Watch, a pedal or any remote.
How it works, step by step
- Listening. Apple's speech recognition, running on the device, turns what you say into a running transcript.
- Finding your place. The app takes the last dozen or so words you said and matches them against the script, looking from about 20 words behind your last known place to about 80 ahead. It matches words in order, so a common word on its own does not pull it off course.
- Trimming the speed. Four times a second it compares where you are with where the reading line is, and adjusts the speed around the pace you set. Changes ease in, so the text never jerks.
- Limits. The speed never goes backwards and is capped at a multiple of your reading pace, so a burst of fast talk cannot fling the script ahead.
- When it loses you. Off-script talk, like an aside or a cough, does not match, so the scroll is left alone. If you jump ahead more than about four sentences, move the scroll yourself with a remote, the Watch or your finger, and it picks you up from there.
There is no AI or machine learning model in the app. Voice follow is Apple's on-device speech recognition, a word-matching step and a speed controller.
When to use it, and when not to
| Situation | Voice follow? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rehearsing alone | Yes | It keeps pace while you find yours |
| A solo read to camera at home or in an office | Yes | No operator, and a quiet room |
| A self-tape with a reader | It depends | It follows the voice it hears; a reader's lines can confuse it. Have the reader drive instead |
| A noisy set or a live event | No | Room noise and other voices make it guess. Run the speed by hand or give it to an operator |
| An operator driving a rig | Usually no | The operator is already following the talent |
| A presenter who ad-libs a lot | No | Off-script talk is ignored, and big jumps need a hand |
| During a video call | Only if the call app leaves the microphone free | Some call apps hold the microphone |
| While recording on iPhone or iPad | Yes | It listens to the camera's own audio instead of opening the microphone twice |
The app's own description is the best summary: built for rehearsal and solo reads, on the prompting device only. Press play yourself, and drive the scroll yourself when the room is noisy.
Voice follow and recording
On iPhone and iPad you can read with voice follow while the camera records you. The app does not open the microphone a second time: voice follow listens to the camera's own audio. Voice follow cannot be switched on in the middle of a take; turn it on before you press record. Captions exported after the run still come from the scroll's timing, never from what voice follow heard, so they carry your script's exact words.
Turn it on
- Open a script and start the prompter.
- Open the prompter's Settings, then Voice follow, and turn it on.
- The first time, allow the microphone and speech recognition when your device asks. Nothing is asked for until you turn it on.
- Set the speed close to your natural pace, then press play.
The status reads READY while it waits for play, FOLLOWING while it tracks you, and WAITING when you go quiet. On a Mac with a Contour Shuttle, it shows HELD while the ring owns the speed.
Languages
Voice follow listens in the script's own language, which is separate from the app's language. A script set to English will not follow a read in Spanish. The app fills in a script's language when it is confident and you can always set it yourself, on the prompter's Text page or in the editor.
It needs Apple's on-device speech model for that language on that device. Of the app's 41 languages, 35 have an Apple speech language; voice follow is not available in Slovenian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Bulgarian or Farsi. If your device has no on-device model for the language, the switch says so in words, and nothing is sent anywhere to be recognized. Which languages it understands.
Privacy
- On the device only. Recognition is set to run on the device, with no server to fall back to. That also means it needs no connection.
- Nothing recorded. Voice follow keeps no audio and no transcript.
- Off by default. The microphone and speech recognition are asked for only when you turn it on.
- On the prompting device only. A joined remote or monitor does not listen.
How others do it
| App | Voice feature | What its maker says |
|---|---|---|
| Cutvey Teleprompter | Voice follow | Trims the speed once you press play; on the device; included |
| PromptSmart | VoiceTrack | Starts and stops at your pace and holds your place off script; on the device |
| Teleprompter.com | VoiceGlide | Follows your voice, pauses when you pause, picks up where you left off; on the device or a server is not stated |
| Speakflow | Flow Mode | Voice scrolling; 10 minutes a month on the free plan |
| Elgato Camera Hub | Voice Sync | Needs an NVIDIA RTX 2060 or newer, or Apple M1 or newer; 18 languages |
If you want the scroll to start and stop with your voice alone, PromptSmart, Teleprompter.com and Speakflow all say theirs does. We chose a narrower job because on a shoot the people around the reader need the prompter to be predictable. Compare them all.
When it is not keeping up
Most problems come down to the base speed, the script's language or the room. Set the speed near your natural pace, check the script's language matches what you speak, and get closer to the microphone or somewhere quieter. Voice follow isn't keeping up ยท Voice follow says unavailable.
More guides
- How to read a teleprompter naturally
- Speaking rate: words a minute for every kind of read
- Teleprompter rig setup
- All guides
Questions people ask
Is there a teleprompter that follows your voice?
Yes. Cutvey Teleprompter's voice follow listens on the device and trims the scroll speed to your read once you press play. PromptSmart, Teleprompter.com and Speakflow sell voice features that they say also pause and resume the scroll.
Does voice follow need the internet?
No. Recognition runs on the device with no server to fall back to, so it works offline wherever Apple has an on-device model for the script's language on that device.
Does voice follow record me?
No. It keeps no audio and no transcript, and it is off until you turn it on.