Common questions about using HearFlow, your subscription, your data, and what to do when something doesn't work the way you expected. Search the page, or browse by topic below.
HearFlow runs on any Mac with macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later. The app is built natively for Apple silicon and runs on Intel Macs as well.
Download the app from the link in your welcome email after you start the free trial. Drag it to your Applications folder and open it once. The first launch walks you through a couple of system permissions so it can read your selections.
HearFlow asks for Accessibility permission so it can read text you've highlighted in another app. It may also request clipboard access as a fallback for apps that don't expose their text the usual way.
HearFlow never uses your microphone, never watches your screen, and never reads anything outside the moment you press the shortcut.
Open any app — a webpage, a PDF, a doc, an email. Highlight a paragraph. Press ⌥ + Space. The voice picks up on the first sentence. Tap the shortcut again to pause; double-tap to stop.
Any Mac app you can highlight text in. That includes Safari, Chrome, Mail, Messages, Notes, Notion, Slack, Linear, GitHub, ChatGPT, Claude, Preview, the macOS PDF viewer, and many more. If you can select it, HearFlow can read it.
Yes. Choose from a small set of curated voices in Settings. We add new voices over time and share notes in the changelog when they land.
Yes. Speed is adjustable in Settings, with a quick keyboard shortcut to nudge it up or down during playback.
Yes. HearFlow plays through whichever audio device your Mac is currently using. Switch outputs in the macOS sound menu and HearFlow follows.
HearFlow focuses on English today. We're working on additional languages — write to hello@hearflow.ai and tell us which language you'd like to hear next.
Yes. Select all the text you'd like read — even thousands of words — and HearFlow queues it as a continuous read. Pause, skip ahead, or stop at any time.
HearFlow tunes its cadence to suit what it's reading. Long-form prose gets an audiobook calm. A research paper gets measured beats. A Slack thread gets crisper rhythm. The voice is the same — the pacing follows the page.
$14.99 per month, billed monthly. An annual plan saves you 30% off the monthly rate.
Yes — 7 days, no credit card required to start. At the end of the trial, your subscription only begins if you've added a payment method. We don't bill you by surprise.
From your account page on hearflow.ai, click Cancel. Your access continues until the end of the current billing period — you don't lose the days you've already paid for.
For monthly subscriptions, you keep access through the period you've paid for, so we don't refund partial months. For annual plans, you can request a pro-rated refund within 30 days of the most recent renewal. If something went wrong, write to hello@hearflow.ai and we'll make it right.
Not yet — it's on our roadmap. Write to hello@hearflow.ai if you'd like to be notified when it's available.
If we change the price, we'll email you at least 30 days before the new rate applies to your account. You'll always have the chance to cancel before it takes effect.
No. The text you highlight is processed only to produce the audio you hear, and is not retained after your session ends. We don't archive transcripts of what you've read.
No. HearFlow only acts on text you've explicitly highlighted, at the moment you press the shortcut. The microphone is never used. Nothing on your screen is captured or monitored.
No. Not to advertisers, not to brokers, not to anyone. Full stop.
The minimum needed to run your subscription — your email, your subscription status, billing metadata (last four digits of your card, issuing country), and optional anonymous diagnostics you can turn off. Full breakdown in the Privacy Policy.
Three things to check, in order:
1. Confirm you've granted Accessibility permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. HearFlow should be in the list and toggled on.
2. Make sure text is actually selected — highlighted, not just clicked.
3. If it's an app HearFlow hasn't seen before, try copying the text first and then pressing ⌥ + Space. The clipboard fallback should pick it up.
Usually a CPU contention issue. Quit heavy background work (a build, a render, a large download) and try again. If the choppiness keeps happening, email hello@hearflow.ai with a sentence about when it occurs and we'll take a look.
We're constantly improving how HearFlow handles names. If you spot one that's wrong, tell us at hello@hearflow.ai — every correction makes the next read better for everyone using HearFlow.
This usually means a macOS permission grant didn't stick — most often after an OS update. Remove HearFlow from System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, then re-add it. If the loop continues, email hello@hearflow.ai and we'll help you sort it out.
hello@hearflow.ai for anything not covered above. We aim to reply within one business day.
From your account page on hearflow.ai. We'll send a verification link to the new address before the change takes effect.
From your account page. Payments are handled by Stripe, and the update happens through their secure form — we never see or store your full card.
Yes — install it on the Macs you personally use. One subscription covers your devices. Please don't share account credentials with others.
Write to privacy@hearflow.ai and tell us which one you'd like (or both). We'll respond within 30 days.
Tell us what's going on and we'll get on it. We try to reply within one business day — usually faster.