Questions, answered straight
What people ask before installing Pocketsay. If yours isn't here, ask.
Last updated 1 October 2026 · For version 0.3.0
39 answers
The basics
Pocketsay is a voice assistant for Android. It tells you what you missed across WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS and email (Gmail), writes your replies in your voice, and sends drafted replies after you approve them. It's in early testing, version 0.3.0.
Pocketsay is the app. Proto is the assistant inside it, the one you talk to. You say "Hey Proto", and Proto answers.
Things like "What did I miss?", "What WhatsApp messages did I get?", "What emails did I get today?", "Tell a friend I'm coming at 8 on WhatsApp", "SMS Ravi I'll call you later" and "Email Priya asking about the meeting time". Phone tasks (beta) cover requests such as "Search iPhone 18 on Flipkart and tell me the price".
Yes, for asking. "Hey Proto, what did I miss?" works with the screen off and the phone in your pocket. Sending is different: Pocketsay opens the app and taps Send, so the phone needs to be unlocked.
Yes. Asking works with the screen off, but sending needs the phone unlocked. Pocketsay opens the app and taps Send for you, after you approve the draft by voice or tap Send.
While the "Hey Proto" switch on Home is on, your phone listens for that one phrase. The detection runs on the phone, with no account and no audio sent to the cloud. After you say it, Android's speech service turns your question into text (see "Does Pocketsay record my voice?").
To hear its name, the microphone has to be in use. On Android 12 and newer, your phone shows its own microphone indicator when that happens. You can switch the wake word off on Home at any time and tap the mic instead.
Privacy and your data
In an encrypted database (SQLCipher) in Pocketsay's private storage on your phone. The key is held by the Android Keystore. Android backup is switched off for Pocketsay, so the database isn't copied to your Google backup.
Only when you ask, and these three things. Your API key travels with each request, as proof that the request is yours.
- A question. Saved message context goes to Groq or Google Gemini, whichever you chose, using your own API key. If no app, chat or sender matches your question, recent saved items may be included up to a size limit. Previous exchanges can be included too.
- A phone task. The text on the current screen goes to the same provider so it can decide the next step. It isn't stored.
- A message you approve. It is sent through WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS or Gmail, like any message you'd send yourself.
Separately, Android's speech service turns your voice into text. That service is part of your phone, may process audio online, and handles it according to Android and your settings. The trust page follows one question through every step.
Your saved messages live on your phone, in the encrypted database. The saved context sent with a question is seen by the provider you chose, Groq or Google Gemini, and that provider's own terms apply to what it receives.
This matters most with a free Gemini key. As of 1 October 2026, Google's Gemini API terms say that on the free tier Google uses what you submit to improve its products, and human reviewers may read it. On paid plans, the same terms say Google doesn't use your prompts or responses to improve its products. Groq's documentation says Groq doesn't retain inference data by default, with limited exceptions. Terms change, so read them before you switch on chats that matter to you: Google's Gemini API terms and Groq's "Your Data in GroqCloud". The privacy and security page has the summary.
No. "Hey Proto" detection runs on your phone, and the audio isn't stored. After that, Android's speech service turns your question into text. That service may process audio online according to Android and your phone's settings, not Pocketsay's wake detector. Pocketsay doesn't keep the audio.
No cookies, and nothing is loaded from third parties. The site does count visits: a small first-party counter notes the page, the site you came from, a screen-size class and your country, and adds one to a daily total. It stores no IP address and no identifier, and it switches itself off if your browser sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track. Fonts are served from this site. See What this website collects.
Only those you switch on in Privacy. Only switched-on chats are saved, and the notifications of apps you leave on. Banking and payment apps start switched off.
One thing about how Android works: notification access is all-or-nothing, so Android will tell you that Pocketsay can see all notifications. What Pocketsay saves is decided by your switches in Privacy.
Banking and payment apps start switched off in Privacy, and we suggest you leave them that way. Phone tasks block recognised banking, UPI, wallet and broker apps. If a one-time code or card number does turn up in a notification you've switched on, it's masked before saving.
Open More, then Settings, and tap Delete all saved data under "Your data". It removes every saved message, alert and chat choice from the phone, in one tap. App notifications older than 30 days are also cleared when the notification listener reconnects. To remove everything the app holds, uninstall Pocketsay: Android deletes an app's private storage with it.
One thing deleting on your phone can't reach: messages already sent to Groq or Google Gemini with a question. Those sit under that provider's terms.
Control and safety
The reply-draft workflow shows the draft, reads it back, and waits for your approval by voice or a tap. Say "cancel" to drop it. Beta phone tasks are different: once started, they can tap and type without approval at each step. Review those tasks as they run.
No. It can search and read what's on screen, such as a price. It is designed to stop before purchase or payment actions and avoid sensitive fields. Phone tasks are beta; review each step. You finish and pay yourself.
The reply-draft workflow waits for your approval. Beta phone tasks have different safeguards:
- purchase and payment actions are designed to be blocked;
- screen-label checks help avoid passwords, PINs, one-time codes and card details;
- recognised financial apps are blocked;
- a task stops after 25 steps or when you stop it.
These checks may not cover every app or layout. A task you start can perform steps without asking you to approve each one, so watch it as it runs. Chat text is saved only for chats you switch on. Android backup is disabled, but questions and saved context still go to your chosen model provider.
The full list is on the privacy page.
A phone task is a request to do something inside another app, such as "Search iPhone 18 on Flipkart and tell me the price". Pocketsay opens the app, searches, reads the screen and tells you the answer.
It's beta: it can perform steps after you start it without individual approval, so it needs care, and free API plans can cut a long task short. A Phone task card on Home shows each step and has a Stop button. Saying "Hey Proto" stops it too. It stops after 25 steps, and it blocks recognised banking, UPI, wallet and broker apps.
Accessibility is the Android feature that lets an app see the screen and tap it for you. Pocketsay uses it for two jobs: tapping Send in WhatsApp, Telegram or Gmail after you've approved a message, and running phone tasks you ask for. It acts only when you ask.
Android warns you that this service can see and tap the screen. The warning is accurate, which is why the safeguards are designed to stop before purchase or payment actions and avoid sensitive fields. These checks depend on screen labels; review beta tasks as they run. If you leave it off, messages still open ready to send, and you tap Send yourself.
We can't promise it won't. WhatsApp can restrict accounts that behave like bots. The reply-draft workflow sends messages you've approved, one at a time. If the risk matters to you, use Pocketsay to read your messages, and send by SMS or email.
No. Pocketsay learns what Android shows it as notifications. If a notification doesn't arrive, because of App Lock, battery limits or a restart, Pocketsay never learns about that message. The Health page checks the usual causes, but don't rely on Pocketsay for anything urgent.
Cost and keys
Pocketsay is free to try while it's in early testing. The other cost is the model: you use your own Groq or Google Gemini API key. Both providers offer free keys, with rate limits. If you need more, a paid key from the provider is the option. Check their pricing, which we don't control. Free and paid plans can also come with different data rules: see "Which provider should I choose, Groq or Gemini?" below.
So cost, limits and the account stay with you. Pocketsay uses your key only to send your requests to the provider you chose. It's stored encrypted on your phone. You can delete it in Settings, or revoke it at the provider, at any time.
Either works. For privacy, the difference that matters is what each provider does with what you send. As of 1 October 2026, Google's terms for the free Gemini tier let it use submitted content to improve its products and let human reviewers read it, and its paid terms don't. Groq's documentation says it doesn't retain inference data by default. If you save chats you wouldn't want a person at the provider to read, don't use a free Gemini key. See Your provider's rules for the sources.
Free API plans have rate limits, so a long phone task may stop partway. Pocketsay shows an error that names the provider and the model. A 429 means a rate limit: wait a little and try again, or use a paid key.
Phones, languages and limits
You need Android 10 or newer on an arm64 phone, which nearly every phone sold since about 2018 is. We've tested on one phone, a Poco F4 with Android 14 and HyperOS, so we can't promise how it behaves on others.
The Health page is built around Xiaomi and HyperOS habits, so Xiaomi, Redmi and Poco phones are the closest match. Other makers have their own battery rules, and we haven't tested them. If you try one, tell us what happened.
Hindi and Telugu are in progress. Proto's voice can speak both, and both voices are installed and confirmed on our test phone. Replies that follow the language you speak aren't tested yet, so plan on English for now. In Settings you can pick the voice language (en-IN, hi-IN or te-IN); for now that changes only the voice, and replies stay in English.
We haven't measured it, and we won't quote a number we can't back. So far we've tested "Hey Proto" in English, on one phone. Noisy rooms, other accents and other phones are what early testers help us learn. If it misses you, tell us your phone model and where you were.
Listening for "Hey Proto" and capturing notifications means Pocketsay runs in the background, and that uses battery. We haven't measured it carefully enough to give you a figure.
It's also why the Health page asks for "Battery unrestricted" and Autostart: without them, some phones shut Pocketsay down. If battery matters more to you than the wake word, switch "Hey Proto" off on Home and tap the mic instead.
Group chats open the app, not one person's chat. We're telling you now so it doesn't surprise you later.
No. Pocketsay sees email subjects and previews from Gmail's notifications, not full messages. Opening an email from the dashboard works best while its notification is still there. Reading mail through Gmail's own interface (the Gmail API) is planned. See What's next.
After a restart, open Pocketsay once so "Hey Proto" can start listening again. That's an Android 14 rule.
Installing
Pocketsay uses Android's accessibility service and SMS sending, and Google Play has strict rules for apps that do either. Rather than cut features before we've learned what testers need, we're sharing the full early version as an app file you install yourself. A lighter, Play-safe edition is planned. We won't give a date.
We can't ask you to take our word for it, so here is what you can check yourself.
- Download only from pocketflow.bhanuavadutha.in.
- Compare the file's SHA-256 checksum with the one on the download page. If you can, also check the signing certificate's fingerprint. Every release is signed with the same certificate.
- Read the permissions Pocketsay asks for, and why, on the privacy and security page.
- Expect Android to warn you. Apps from outside Google Play always get warnings.
Pocketsay is early software. It hasn't had an independent security audit, and it holds no security certifications. Android may also block the install on some phones: see the next question.
That's Google Play Protect, and it isn't a verdict on Pocketsay. Some phones can block web-installed apps requesting sensitive access, including notification or accessibility access. Pocketsay requests both. The exact decision depends on your device and its security rules; a warning may leave no way to continue.
There are two ways forward. Install from a computer over USB, which isn't one of those sources: the steps are on the download page. Or email avaduthabhanuprakash1@gmail.com and we'll help you through it. We won't ask you to switch Play Protect off.
About 10 minutes. It's eight steps, and the Health page has a Fix button for most of them. The setup guide walks through each one.
Each version is listed in the changelog with its checksum. Download the new file and install it over the old one, the same way. Because every release is signed with the same certificate, Android treats it as an update and keeps the app's data. Early testers also get an email when a new version is out.
No. Pocketsay is an Android app. There's no iPhone version, and one isn't on the roadmap.
Help
Use the template on the Contact page, or email avaduthabhanuprakash1@gmail.com. Tell us your phone model, your Android version, what you said, what happened and what you expected. Blur names and numbers in screenshots, and never send API keys, passwords, one-time codes or card numbers. A person reads every message.
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