FAQ

CouchVox turns an Apple TV Siri Remote into a macOS controller for button actions, cursor control, remote typing, dictation, text refinement, and confirmation-based AI workflows. The remote is optional — keyboard shortcuts cover every feature.

Apple TV Siri Remotes (2nd generation and later) pair over Bluetooth. Older aluminum remotes and third-party remotes aren’t supported.

Yes. It’s a macOS utility that uses Mac-specific permissions, input paths, and menu bar behavior. There is no Windows or iOS version.

CouchVox requires macOS 26, which only runs on Apple silicon, so the app ships as an arm64 build with no Intel (x86_64) version.

Six steps take you from install to control:

1. Grant permissions. Allow Accessibility, audio access, and launch-at-login in macOS.
2. Pair the remote (optional). Connect an Apple TV Siri Remote over Bluetooth — or skip it and use the keyboard.
3. Choose actions. Map buttons, profiles, cursor, keyboard, and voice presets.
4. Connect AI models. Pick a speech-recognition (ASR) engine and an LLM.
5. Add AI automation (optional). Install Open Computer Use or Open Browser Use for hands-free control — every action asks for your confirmation first.
6. Control or speak. Trigger actions from the remote, keyboard, or your voice — nothing to type.

The first three steps get you driving your Mac with a remote or keyboard. The last three add dictation, an LLM, and optional hands-free AI automation.

CouchVox needs a few macOS permissions. Each one powers a specific feature, and nothing is collected without it:

Accessibility — to send synthetic mouse and keyboard events for cursor movement, clicks, drag gestures, remote button mappings, global hotkeys, and AI computer-control actions.

Bluetooth — to connect to the Apple TV Siri Remote and inspect its Bluetooth traffic during pairing and setup.

Microphone — to capture audio from your Mac’s built-in mic or the Siri Remote mic, and route decoded remote audio into the bundled virtual microphone for voice workflows.

Speech Recognition — to transcribe local voice input using Apple Speech.

Screen Recording — only required for AI automation workflows that drive the computer; it lets those actions see what’s on screen before executing.

Inspecting the Siri Remote’s Bluetooth traffic requires a restricted Bluetooth entitlement from Apple. Provisioning profiles that carry a restricted entitlement are capped at a three-day validity window by Apple’s signing system — once that window closes, the profile expires and Bluetooth features pause until you reinstall it. This is a platform-level constraint on restricted entitlements, not a CouchVox choice, and it only affects Siri Remote pairing and Bluetooth control. Keyboard shortcuts, dictation via your Mac’s built-in microphone, text refinement, and AI workflows all keep working without the profile.

CouchVox can capture voice from the Siri Remote microphone, show live voice overlays, route audio through a virtual microphone path, and support local or cloud transcription flows. No Siri Remote paired? You can still dictate using your Mac’s built-in microphone, and trigger every Polish and AI feature from keyboard shortcuts.

Yes for speech recognition: you can download local ASR models and run transcription on your Mac, or use a remote ASR provider with your own key (BYOK). For language models, CouchVox uses remote LLMs you connect yourself — local LLMs aren’t supported yet because smaller on-device models still lag larger cloud models on quality. See the BYOK answer for what Pro includes (and does not include).

Yes for day-to-day use, with a short online setup first. Enable Full Privacy mode in Settings → General (off by default). It keeps work on your Mac by turning off network-facing product features that are not required for local use:

• Analytics and crash reports — no Firebase events or crash uploads.
• Remote (cloud) ASR — only on-device / downloaded local speech models stay available.
• Remote LLM providers — cloud APIs are blocked. Local endpoints such as Ollama or LM Studio on your machine can still be used if you configure them.
• AI Automation — Computer Use, Browser Use, and Script Automation are disabled.

With Full Privacy on and a local ASR model already on disk, remote control, keyboard input, overlays, and on-device dictation work without sending your voice or transcripts to any cloud service. Audio and history stay in ~/Library/Application Support/CouchVox/.

What still needs the network (usually once, before you go air-gapped):

• Download the app and any local ASR models (from a model hub you choose).
• Activate Pro with your license key so the app can store an offline entitlement token (tokens are verified on-device afterward, with a short grace window if revalidation is delayed).

After that, a corporate firewall or air-gapped network can block outbound traffic: Full Privacy will not call cloud AI or analytics. Optional remaining contacts when the network is available include Sparkle app updates (couchvox.com) and, if you open About, an optional other-apps list. IT can block those domains without breaking local dictation and remote control. Full Privacy does not delete existing models or history; turn it off anytime in General settings. See the Privacy Policy for the full feature list.

Pro is available as a recurring subscription or a one-time Lifetime License:

• Monthly ($2.99/mo) — billed every month. Cancel anytime.
• Quarterly ($5.99 every 3 months) — billed every quarter (about $2.00/mo). Cancel anytime.
• Annual ($19.99/yr) — billed yearly (about $1.67/mo). Cancel anytime.
• Lifetime ($39.99 one-time) — pay once, no renewals.

All four options unlock unlimited Siri Remote actions, AI Automation, and speech recognition. Subscriptions include all updates while active and up to 3 devices. Lifetime includes updates for the current major version and up to 5 devices. None of them include cloud AI or ASR usage — see the BYOK answer below. Full details on the pricing page.

Yes. CouchVox is BYOK (Bring Your Own Key). A Free download or Pro purchase unlocks the app’s features and removes daily usage limits — it does not include hosted cloud AI models or cloud speech-recognition (ASR) models, and we do not sell model tokens or API credits.

For cloud AI (LLM) features such as Polish, refinement, and AI Automation, you connect a provider you already use and enter your own API key in Settings. Your Mac talks to that provider directly; we never see or proxy your key.

For speech recognition you can either:

• use a local ASR model downloaded to your Mac (no cloud key required), or
• connect a cloud ASR provider with your own API key.

You are responsible for any fees your cloud providers charge for API usage. If you stay on local ASR only, no third-party speech API costs apply.

Open the serial recovery page, enter the purchase email (and order reference if you have it), and we’ll email your serial if we find a match. The page doesn’t reveal whether an email has a purchase on file.

Use Manage billing on the support page, or the customer portal link in your purchase receipt, to update payment methods, cancel a subscription, or download invoices.

The app and this website are both available in 10 languages: English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, Deutsch, Español, Français, Norsk Bokmål, Nederlands, and Português. The app follows your macOS system language automatically; on the website, use the language selector in the top-right corner to switch.