FAQ

Can I get banned for using Voxpression?

The honest answer: nobody can promise that for any third-party tool, including us. Blizzard's rules on outside software are broad, and Blizzard hasn't said anything about dictation tools either way. What we can do is be clear about what Voxpression does and keep the risk as low as we can.

What it does. You hold a button, speak and let go. Voxpression types that one message into chat, the same as if you had typed it yourself. Players have used Windows dictation and Dragon in WoW chat for years in the same way. Voice commands like whisper, invite, an emote or a raid marker are each one thing you could also type as a chat command. Nothing happens unless you press the button.

What it doesn't do. It doesn't read or change game memory, doesn't modify the game, and doesn't send the same input to more than one game. It doesn't touch combat, movement or anything else that plays the game for you, and it never will. [It doesn't need an addon.]

The chat log. WoW can save your chat to a text file on your own PC. If you allow it, Voxpression reads that file only to learn player names, so "whisper Thrall'kazzar" is spelled right. The names stay on your device. Warcraft Logs has read the same kind of file (the combat log) for about 15 years, and raiders aren't banned for it. Blizzard has never officially approved it either, so it shows tolerance, not permission. Warcraft Logs also uploads and publishes everyone in the log; Voxpression keeps everything on your device.

The risk is real. In 2019 Blizzard suspended a WoW Classic player for six months for "third-party automation software". The player has muscular dystrophy, can't use their hands and played the game with voice-command software. After public attention Blizzard lifted the ban and said "This was on us." That player used voice to play the game itself. Voxpression only does chat and stays out of combat, which we believe keeps it well away from what Blizzard's automation rules are aimed at. But we can't rule out an account action, even a mistaken one.

Why we built it. A Blizzard engineer said of World of Warcraft: Forever: "We value the experience of players talking to each other and manually forming groups." Forever's new controller support makes it great to play from the couch or on a handheld, but typing in chat on a controller is still hard. Voxpression fills that gap so controller and handheld players can talk to strangers, their party and their guild like everyone else.

If Blizzard says no. If Blizzard ever says tools like this aren't allowed, we'll post it on this site and in the app straight away and stop the features they object to.

What Voxpression does and doesn't do

[TEXT FROM TECHNICAL HANDOFF: not received yet]

How do I install it on Steam Deck?

You install it once in Desktop Mode. After that it lives in the Steam menu in Gaming Mode.

1. Switch to Desktop Mode: hold the power button, then choose Switch to Desktop.
2. Open voxpression.com in the browser and click Download for SteamOS.
3. Open the downloaded file "Install Voxpression" (from Downloads, or the browser's download list). If you're asked whether to run or trust it, choose to run it.
4. Follow the window. No password is needed, and installing takes a minute or two.
5. Return to Gaming Mode. Voxpression appears in the Quick Access menu (the "…" button).

Desktop Mode is needed for the install: Gaming Mode can't open the installer file, even from a browser added as a non-Steam game.

The installer switches on Steam's local debugging connection so Voxpression can show its panel in the Steam menu. Only programs already running on your Deck can use it; Decky Loader works the same way.

Source of the Steam screen library (@decky/ui 4.16.4)

Uninstalling

In Desktop Mode, open the application menu and choose "Uninstall Voxpression".

How do I install it on Windows?

1. Click Download for Windows.
2. Run the installer and follow the window.

It installs for your own Windows user and doesn't need administrator rights. If you start WoW as administrator (for example through Steam), Windows asks one extra, optional question. The installer explains it.

Uninstalling

Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps → Voxpression → Uninstall. It asks whether to keep your settings and speech models.

Which devices does it work on?

• Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit), with a keyboard and mouse or a controller, such as an Xbox controller or a Steam Controller. Windows handhelds run the same Windows app.
• Steam Deck.

Mac and desktop Linux aren't supported.

You don't need special hardware. The Fast speech model runs on any processor. The Accurate model needs an NVIDIA graphics card with 10 GB or more of video memory; Voxpression only offers the bigger models when your PC can handle them.

How fast is it?

It depends on your device and the speech model. On Steam Deck, Voxpression uses its fast model: about 1.5 seconds per message. On Windows you choose fast, balanced or accurate. On a standard Windows PC with 4 cores and no graphics card, that's about 1.5 seconds (fast), 5.1 seconds (balanced) and 27.5 seconds (accurate) per message. Accurate is meant for PCs with an NVIDIA graphics card, where it takes about 0.2 seconds. A strong PC can be quicker than a hosted service. A faster hosted option may come later.

Can it help if typing is hard for me?

Yes. If typing hurts, you have RSI, or you play one-handed, hold one button and talk instead. You can pick any button or combination as your push-to-talk.

Why does Windows show the microphone is in use?

While WoW runs, Voxpression keeps the last half second of sound in memory so your first word isn't cut off. It is never saved or sent, and you can switch it off under Settings > Push-to-talk > Pre-roll.

Does it read my chat?

Only if you allow it. If you switch on "Learn names from WoW's chat log", Voxpression turns on WoW's own chat log and reads it on your device to learn the names of players you talk to or play with, so it can spell them right. It notes names, never what people say, and it skips Trade, General and other numbered channels. The chat log never leaves your own devices.

Without it, names are often misspelled. You can change this any time in Settings. The full details are in the privacy notice.

Is it AI?

It uses speech recognition that runs on your own device. It turns your voice into text and generates nothing: what you say is what lands in chat, with the channel and the names put right.

What is Voxpression built on?

Voxpression started as a heavily adapted fork of Decktation, an open-source Steam Deck plugin by silverfoxy. Thank you, silverfoxy! Its licence notice is on the open-source licences page.