FAQ
Questions, answered.
Everything people ask before they try Foniks, from setup to billing.
How it works
- Does the other person need Foniks?
- No. Only you run Foniks. The people on the other side hear your translated voice through the call app as usual, and you hear them in your language.
- Does a bot join the meeting?
- No. Foniks reaches your call app through a virtual audio cable on your own computer. Nothing extra shows up in the participant list.
- How fast is the translation?
- In Live mode, the default, translated speech plays while the person is still talking, usually one to two seconds behind, and keeps their tone of voice. Terms mode translates each sentence a second or two after each pause.
- Can Foniks use our own terminology?
- Yes, in Terms mode. It follows your workspace glossary and the recent conversation, and speaks with a voice you choose. Live mode is faster but does not use custom terms.
- Which call apps does it work with?
- Any desktop app that lets you choose a microphone and speaker: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet in the browser, Webex, Slack huddles and most others.
- Which languages are supported?
- English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Russian, Ukrainian, Swedish and Greek, in any pair.
Setup
- What is a virtual audio cable and why do I need one?
- A free utility that passes sound from one app to another. Foniks plays your translated voice into it, and your call app uses it as the microphone. BlackHole (macOS) and VB-CABLE (Windows) both work.
- Do I need headphones?
- Yes. Without them, the translated voice from your speakers can reach your microphone again. Foniks also refuses audio setups where that could happen.
- Why does my computer warn me when I open the app?
- Early access builds are not code-signed yet. On macOS right-click the app and choose Open the first time; on Windows choose More info › Run anyway. Signed releases come before general availability.
Privacy and security
- Is our conversation recorded?
- No. Audio, transcripts and translations are not stored. We keep durations and language codes for billing, never what was said.
- Who processes the audio?
- Speech recognition, translation and voice run on Google’s Gemini API, under paid API terms that do not allow Google to use your data to train its models.
- Can I use Foniks for medical or legal calls?
- No. Machine translation can be wrong, so Foniks is not a substitute for a certified interpreter in medical, legal or emergency settings.
Plans and billing
- What counts as translation time?
- Time while Foniks is actively translating in either direction. Pausing or stopping a session stops the clock. Hours are pooled across your workspace.
- What happens if we run out of hours?
- Admins choose: keep going at $5 per extra hour, or stop at the cap. We email admins at 80% and 100%.
- Is there a free trial?
- Yes. 14 days for up to 3 people, with no card required.
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