Works at the sound layer
Not a browser extension, not a meeting bot. Happy Ears listens to your Mac's own audio — every app, every player, every call — plus the microphone for rooms you're in.
On-device live captions for macOSCatch every word.
Catch every word.
Keep every conversation.
Happy Ears captions whatever your Mac can hear — video calls, lectures, live streams, any app — and turns it into a private, replayable transcript. Built on Apple's on-device speech AI: no bots joining your calls, no audio ever uploaded.
- Captions any app's audio
- Local recording & replay
- Dual-language subtitles
- No audio ever uploaded
Any appIf your Mac can play it, it can be captioned
PrivateRecognition and translation stay on your device
YoursEvery session becomes a local, exportable record
Captions you get to keep
System captions vanish the moment they scroll away. Happy Ears keeps a sentence-by-sentence record you can replay, search and export as audio, HTML or PDF.
Private by design
Speech recognition and translation run on Apple silicon, on your Mac. We never collect, store or analyze your audio, captions or transcripts.
Accessibility
Real-time captions for the parts of life that don't have them.
Designed with Deaf and hard-of-hearing users in mind: an always-on-top caption window you can restyle, resize and read at your own pace — for calls, classrooms, streams and movie nights. And unlike captions that disappear, every session can become a record you go back to.
Video callsLectures & classroomsLive news & sportsStreaming & movie nightsPodcasts & radioTalks & panels
ImageCaptions across macOSScreenshot / 1440 x 900
Use cases
One caption layer, many rooms.
Happy Ears isn't a plug-in for one website. It works wherever your Mac has sound.
Accessible captions everywhere
Follow calls, classes, streams and movie nights with live captions that stay on top and restyle to your eyes — and keep a replayable record instead of watching words vanish.
Meetings & interviews
Caption fast talkers in real time and keep private, local minutes — audio, transcript and notes. With screen-share protection on, the captions stay visible only to you.
Lectures, talks & webinars
Capture a seminar from the room mic or a webinar from system audio, then replay it sentence by sentence and export HTML or PDF for your notes.
Video & live streams
Launches, sports, breaking news and live channels rarely ship reliable captions. Happy Ears captions the stream as it happens.
A second language, on screen
Watch in English while reading Spanish, Japanese, French — 18+ languages. Made for multilingual households, and a gentle way to absorb a language you're learning.
A private media archive
Downloaded courses, interviews and recordings become a searchable local library: transcripts, sentence-level replay and exports, all on your Mac.
Coverage
If your Mac can play it, Happy Ears can caption it.
Browsers, meeting apps, players, live streams and local files — anything with sound becomes live captions and a private, replayable record.
- System audio in
- Microphone in
- No plug-ins required
- Local files too
Icons illustrate compatible scenarios; trademarks belong to their owners.
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AI-native, local-first
Apple-native AI. Zero audio collection.
Happy Ears is built on Apple's on-device speech recognition and translation. Our servers handle licenses, updates and the crash reports you choose to send — they never see your meetings, your classes, your captions or your transcripts.
- No audio collection
- No caption or transcript storage
- Recognition & translation on device
- Replay, export and delete locally
Live captions
Instant captions for anything your Mac plays
Capture system audio or switch to the microphone. Calls, lectures, streams and local media all land in a floating caption window that stays on top, moves and resizes.
- System-audio capture
- Microphone input
- No browser extension
- Floating, resizable caption window
ImageLive caption windowScreenshot / 1440 x 900
Dual-language subtitles
Two languages, one caption window
The original English stays visible while an on-device translation follows sentence by sentence — for family members who read another language, or for the one you're learning.
- English + your language
- Sentence-by-sentence pairing
- On-device translation
- 18+ target languages
VideoDual-language captionsDetail video / 960 x 540
Local records
Minutes that never leave your Mac
Turn any session into a local record: replay it by sentence, tidy up notes, and export audio, HTML or PDF — no cloud account, no bot in your call.
- Local M4A recording
- Sentence timeline replay
- Bilingual transcripts
- HTML / PDF / audio export
ImageHistory & exportScreenshot / 960 x 600
Replay & study
Go back to the parts you missed
Every record includes speech-rate and vocabulary stats. Replay single sentences, loop the hard ones, and look words up in Oxford, Collins or Longman with one click.
- Sentence-level replay
- Speech-rate & word stats
- One-click dictionary lookup
- Favorites & mastered words
ImageReplay & vocabularyScreenshot / 960 x 600
Made for real desks
Captions that fit your screen — and your privacy
Layouts, fonts, colors, opacity and toolbar behavior are all adjustable. Screen-share protection keeps the caption window out of screenshots and shared screens.
- Multiple caption layouts
- Font, color & background
- Screen-share protection
- One-click copy
ImageAppearance & privacyScreenshot / 960 x 600
Three steps from sound to record
Play or join
Open a video, join a call, start a stream — or switch to the microphone for the room you're in.
Follow in real time
Captions appear as people speak, with a translation underneath if you want one.
Keep what matters
Replay by sentence, export audio, HTML or PDF, and keep the record on your Mac.
Privacy
Your conversations are yours. Full stop.
Happy Ears never collects, stores or analyzes your audio, captions or transcripts. The network is used for licensing, automatic updates, privacy-friendly site analytics and the diagnostics you choose to send.
- On-device Apple AI
- Recordings & transcripts stay local
- Network services never touch audio
- No accounts, no tracking on this site
Simple licensing
Start with the free trial. A license unlocks long-term use, device management and updates.
Trial
Free7 days, full features
No commitment — try it on one meeting, one lecture or one stream.
- Live captions
- Dual-language subtitles
- Local recording & replay
- No credit card
3 Months
$192 Macs
A focused season for classes, projects, interviews or one serious workflow.
- 2 Macs
- Full features for 3 months
- Deactivate to switch machines
- Email support
1 YearRecommended
$392 Macs
For ongoing work, classes and everything you keep going back to.
- 2 Macs
- Full features for a year
- Deactivate to switch machines
- Email support
Lifetime
$993 Macs
Buy once, keep your captions and your archive for good.
- 3 Macs
- Works offline long-term
- Future version updates
- Great for course & meeting archives
The license center runs on this same domain: view your license, copy it, manage devices and deactivate at /license.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from macOS Live Captions?
System Live Captions are great for a quick glance, but the words vanish as they scroll and nothing is kept. Happy Ears adds dual-language subtitles, local recording, sentence-by-sentence replay and export — a record you own.
What Mac do I need?
macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon (M-series). Speech recognition and translation use the system's on-device AI — no extra model downloads.
Does my audio ever leave my Mac?
No. Recognition and translation run on device. We never collect, store or analyze your audio, captions or transcripts; our servers only handle licensing, updates and privacy-friendly site analytics.
Can people see my captions when I share my screen?
Turn on screen-share protection and the caption window stays out of screenshots and shared screens — visible only to you.
Which languages can captions be translated into?
18+ target languages, including Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic and Hindi. Availability follows macOS on-device language support.
Is it OK to record meetings?
Recording is always opt-in and stored only on your Mac. Follow your local laws and meeting policies, and let participants know when you record.
Where do I find my license?
Click “License” in the navigation to open /license on this domain, enter your purchase email, and view your license and devices.
Catch every word. Keep every conversation.
Live captions, dual-language subtitles and private local records — for everything your Mac can hear.