Set up Pocketsay
Eight steps, about 10 minutes. Health has a Fix button for most of them.
Last updated 1 October 2026 · For version 0.3.0
One step closer.
Mark steps yourself. This page cannot inspect your phone; checks reset on reload.
0 of 8 steps marked complete.
Before you start
- Pocketsay 0.3.0 is installed. If not, download it first. If Android blocked the install, the download page has a route over USB.
- You have a free API key from Groq (console.groq.com) or Google Gemini (aistudio.google.com). Keep that page open so you can copy the key.
- You have about 10 minutes.
- If your phone is a Xiaomi, Redmi or Poco, steps 3 and 5 matter most.
- Keep your key private. Don't screenshot it or paste it into chats.
Step 1. Open Pocketsay and find Health
Open Pocketsay. Tap More, then Health. This page lists what Pocketsay needs. A green tick means done. Amber means it needs you. A Fix button sits beside each amber item, and you'll use it for most of the steps below.
See the Health screen
Step 2. Let Pocketsay read notifications
In Health, tap Fix beside "Reading notifications", then switch Pocketsay on. This is how Pocketsay learns what arrived.
Because the app comes from outside Google Play, Android may grey out the switch. Open Settings, then Apps, then Pocketsay. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right and choose Allow restricted settings. Go back and switch Pocketsay on. Menu names vary a little between phones.
Step 3. Stop the phone from putting Pocketsay to sleep
Several phone makers stop background apps to save battery. If that happens to Pocketsay, "Hey Proto" goes quiet and nothing is captured.
- In Health, tap Fix beside "Battery unrestricted", and set Pocketsay to no restrictions.
- Turn on Autostart for Pocketsay. On Xiaomi phones this is usually in Settings, then Apps, then Permissions, then Autostart.
- Lock Pocketsay in Recents so the phone doesn't clear it. On Xiaomi phones, open Recents, press and hold the Pocketsay card, and tap the lock.
Autostart always shows amber in Health, because Android can't check it. That is expected.
Step 4. Allow the microphone, contacts and SMS
In Health, tap Fix beside Microphone, Contacts and SMS sending, and allow each one.
The microphone is for "Hey Proto" and your questions. Contacts is for finding "a friend" by name. SMS is for sending a text after you say "send" or tap Send.
Step 5. Switch on Phone control
Tap Fix beside Phone control. Android opens its Accessibility settings. Find Pocketsay, open it, and switch it on.
Android will warn you that this service can see and tap the screen. That warning is accurate, so here is the promise. Pocketsay uses it only to tap Send after you say "send" or tap Send in Pocketsay, and to run phone tasks you start. It is designed to stop before purchase and payment actions. It is designed to avoid passwords, PINs, one-time codes and card details. These safeguards use screen labels and may not cover every app or layout; review beta tasks as they run. You can switch it off at any time in Accessibility settings. If you do, messages still open ready to send, and you tap Send yourself.
If apps will not open from the background
If apps don't open when you ask by voice while Pocketsay is in the background, tap Fix beside "Display over other apps" and allow it. On Xiaomi phones you may also need the pop-up permission in Pocketsay's app permissions, usually named "Display pop-up windows while running in the background".
Step 6. Add your API key
Get a free key from Groq (console.groq.com) or Google Gemini (aistudio.google.com). In Pocketsay, tap More, then Settings. Choose Groq or Gemini, paste your key, and tap Save.
Your key is stored encrypted on your phone. Keep it out of screenshots, chats and bug reports.
Your provider's rules apply to what you send it. On Google's free Gemini tier, Google's terms let it use what you send to improve its products, and let human reviewers read it. If you save chats you wouldn't want a person at the provider to read, don't use a free Gemini key. The privacy and security page has the details.
Model and voice language options
The Model field comes filled in. Leave it unless you know you want another. Voice language lets you pick en-IN, hi-IN or te-IN, but replies are in English for now.
See Settings and optional fields
Step 7. Turn on "Hey Proto"
On Home, switch on Hey Proto. The line under it reads "Listening for the wake word". Now say it: "Hey Proto, what did I miss?"
Pocketsay learns from notifications as they arrive. On day one it knows only what has come in since you switched it on, so give it a little time.
Step 8. Choose which chats are saved
Open Privacy. The screen reads "Chats Pocketsay can read. Only these are saved." It lists your chats and apps, with a switch beside each. Switch on the ones you want Pocketsay to save. Only switched-on chats are saved. Banking and payment apps start switched off, and we suggest you leave them that way.
See the Privacy screen
You're ready. Try these.
- "What emails did I get today?"
- "What WhatsApp messages did I get?"
- "Tell a friend I'm coming today at 8 pm on WhatsApp."
- "SMS Ravi I'll call you later."
- "Email Priya asking about the meeting time."
- "Search iPhone 18 on Flipkart and tell me the price." beta
Use your own contacts' names. Saying "Hey Proto" while Proto is talking stops it and listens to you.
Using Pocketsay
Home. Tap the big mic to talk, or type in the box. Tap again to stop listening. Two tiles show Alerts today and Messages today. The example chips under the box fill in common questions.
Sending a message. Ask. Pocketsay finds the contact and writes the message in your voice. It shows the draft, reads it back and waits. Say "send" or tap Send to send it. Say "cancel" to drop it. If two contacts match a name, Pocketsay asks you to choose.
Dashboard. Two views: By app and Timeline. Each app card shows the latest items and how many arrived today. Tap a message to open that exact chat or email.
Activity. Everything Pocketsay has done. Filter by All, Sent, Tasks or Questions, and by app.
Privacy. The switches from step 8, whenever you want to change them.
Settings. Pick Groq or Gemini, set the model and voice language, and tap Save. Under "Your data", Delete all saved data removes every saved message, alert and chat choice from the phone.
Phone tasks (beta). Ask for something to be done inside an app. The Phone task card on Home shows each step and has a Stop button. Saying "Hey Proto" also stops it.
Don't use Pocketsay while driving or riding. Sending needs your phone unlocked, and no message is worth the risk.
Known limits
We'd rather you read these now than find them later.
- Pocketsay only knows what Android shows it. It builds its memory from notifications. If one doesn't arrive, Pocketsay never learns about that message. Don't rely on it for anything urgent.
- Sending needs your phone unlocked. Pocketsay opens the app and taps Send.
- HyperOS App Lock. If WhatsApp is protected by Xiaomi's App Lock, Android hides its notifications from Pocketsay. Turn App Lock off for WhatsApp if you're comfortable with that; otherwise Pocketsay won't see WhatsApp.
- After a restart, open Pocketsay once so "Hey Proto" can listen again. That is an Android 14 rule.
- Opening apps by voice while Pocketsay is in the background may need "Display over other apps" (Health has a Fix button) and Xiaomi's pop-up permission.
- WhatsApp can restrict accounts that behave like bots. Pocketsay sends only what you approve, one message at a time, but we can't promise how WhatsApp will treat any account.
- Gmail. Pocketsay sees subjects and previews from notifications, not full emails. Opening an email from the dashboard works best while its notification is still there.
- Group chats open the app, not one person's chat.
- Rate limits. Free API plans can stop a long phone task. Try again, or use a paid key.
- Languages. Replies are in English for now. Hindi and Telugu are in progress.
- One phone tested. A Poco F4 with Android 14 and HyperOS. Other phones may differ.
- Not on Google Play. You install the app file yourself.
- Android may block the install. Some phones, including many in India, block apps that ask for notification and accessibility access when they are installed from a browser, a messaging app or a file manager. The download page has a route over USB and explains why.
If something doesn't work
Nothing is being captured.
Open Health. If "Reading notifications" is green, check Battery and Autostart (step 3). On a Xiaomi phone, also check App Lock for WhatsApp.
"Hey Proto" doesn't respond.
Check that the switch on Home is on and that Microphone is green in Health. If the phone restarted, open Pocketsay once.
The message opened but didn't send.
Phone control is off. Switch it on in Health (step 5). The phone also needs to be unlocked.
A question fails with an error code.
The message names the provider and the model. A 429 means a rate limit: wait a little and try again, or use a paid key. For other errors, check that the key in Settings belongs to the provider you picked.
Apps don't open when I ask by voice.
See the optional note in step 5: Display over other apps, and Xiaomi's pop-up permission.
An email won't open from the dashboard.
It works best while its notification is still there.
WhatsApp messages are missing.
Turn off Xiaomi's App Lock for WhatsApp.
A phone task stopped halfway.
You may have hit a rate limit, or the 25-step limit. Try again with a narrower request.
Android said "App blocked to protect you" during install.
See Android may block the install on the download page. It is a rule about the permissions Pocketsay asks for, and the USB route gets round it.
Plain words
Open the glossary
- APK. The file format Android uses for apps. Apps from Google Play are APKs too; you just never see the file.
- API key. A private code that lets an app use a service on your behalf. Pocketsay needs yours from Groq or Google Gemini.
- Model provider. The company whose service writes Proto's answers: Groq or Google Gemini.
- Wake word. The phrase your phone listens for. Ours is "Hey Proto".
- Notification access. An Android permission that lets an app read the notifications other apps show.
- Accessibility service. An Android feature, built for assistive tools, that lets an app see the screen and tap it. Pocketsay uses it to tap Send after you approve a message and to run phone tasks.
- SQLCipher. A way of encrypting a database file so it can't be read without the key.
- Android Keystore. A part of Android that holds encryption keys apart from an app's own files.
- SHA-256 checksum. A fingerprint of a file. If two fingerprints match, the files are identical.
- Rate limit. A cap on how many requests a service accepts in a short time. Free plans have lower caps.
- Autostart. A Xiaomi setting that lets an app start itself in the background.
- App Lock (HyperOS). A Xiaomi feature that locks chosen apps behind a password or fingerprint. It can hide those apps' notifications from other apps.
Tell us what happened.
Early testers are shaping Pocketsay. Note what surprised you, what failed and what you wished it did. Then send a report. A person reads every message.