Dictate in any app · Browser

Voice typing in Firefox

Firefox users get left out of features Google builds only for Chrome. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Firefox accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

Disclosure: Typally is our product. We have tried to describe what Firefox already does without talking you out of using it.
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In short

  • Firefox's own dictation: None. Notably, Google's voice typing in Docs does not run here — it is Chrome-only.
  • What Typally does instead: sends keystrokes to whichever window is in front, so Firefox needs no plugin or setup.
  • Best used for: any web form

Does Firefox have built-in dictation?

None. Notably, Google's voice typing in Docs does not run here — it is Chrome-only.

Why dictate in Firefox at all?

Choosing Firefox on privacy or independence grounds means periodically discovering a web feature that assumes Chrome. Voice typing in Google Docs is one of the more annoying examples.

In practice people use it for: Any web form, Google Docs where the built-in tool refuses to run, webmail, CMS editors, and web applications.

How to dictate in Firefox

You do not configure anything in Firefox. The hotkey works wherever your cursor happens to be:

1

Get Typally running

Install, sign in, and it waits in the tray.

2

Focus the Firefox field you want the words in

Text goes wherever Firefox has focus. One click first saves undoing a paragraph in the wrong box.

3

Hold, say it, release

Nothing truncates part-way through.

4

Read it before you move on

Web apps with their own keyboard shortcuts behave the same in Firefox — click the field first.

What Typally adds in Firefox

Typally closes the Chrome-only gap. Google's voice typing never shipped for Firefox, so Docs has no dictation here at all — but Typally types into the focused window regardless of browser, which means Docs, webmail and every web app behave the same as they would in Chrome. Some people uninstall their second browser afterwards.

What this looks like in practice

A Firefox user who had been keeping Chrome installed purely for voice typing in Docs stops needing it. The system-level hotkey works in Firefox, and the second browser gets uninstalled.

One habit that makes it work better

System-level dictation is what closes the Chrome-only gap. It does not care which browser is in front, so Docs behaves the same as it would in Chrome.

What to watch out for in Firefox

Web apps with their own keyboard shortcuts behave the same in Firefox — click the field first.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Google Docs voice typing not work in Firefox?

It is a Chrome-only feature. Google has never shipped it for other browsers.

Can I dictate in Firefox at all?

Yes, with a tool that types at the system level rather than relying on the page.

Does it work with Firefox's privacy settings?

Yes — the tool types into the window and is unaffected by browser privacy settings.

Try it in Firefox

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Also dictate in: Chrome · Safari · Microsoft Edge · see all apps