Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
Of the 37 active messengers in our database, 31 have a separate app for Windows or macOS: 30 work on Windows, 31 on macOS. Five are listed with only a web version in the data, and for one there are no platform data. Potok (potok.now) is a desktop app; it inserts dictated text into the message field where the cursor is, in the desktop or web version of a messenger.
A messenger may exist only in a browser, only as a separate computer app, or in both versions at once. This is how it is distributed among the 37 active messengers of our database, according to the field listing the platforms for each.
| Messengers | Messengers | Which |
|---|---|---|
| Has a Windows or macOS app | 31 | Telegram, WhatsApp, MAX, VK Messenger, Discord, Slack, Pachka, Yandex Messenger, Viber, Signal, TamTam, Microsoft Teams, Zoom (chat), Mattermost, Rocket.Chat, Threema, Wire, iMessage, Element (Matrix), TeamSpeak (text chat), TrueConf (chat), Facebook Messenger, LINE, WeChat, KakaoTalk, imo, BOTIM, Zello, Session, Zalo, Tencent QQ |
| Web version only (according to the data) | 5 | Google Chat, Google Messages, Instagram Direct, Snapchat, GroupMe |
| No platform data | 1 | Kik |
| Total active | 37 | — |
What “web only” means in this table
In the table “web only” means one thing: the catalog lists only a browser version for this messenger. This is not the same as “a desktop version does not exist”: the silence of the data is not a denial. A separate column with both desktop versions shows how many messengers have both Windows and macOS at once, not just at least one of the two.
How we counted how many of 37 messengers have a Windows or macOS app
We counted using potok.now's own verified database, by the platforms field of each messenger in the app catalog. First, out of 39 records in the “messenger” category we removed two closed services, which left 37 active ones. Then we looked at whether Windows or macOS is listed in platforms: if yes, the messenger went into the “has desktop” column; if the field says only “Web”, into the “web only in the data” column; if the field is empty, into “no platform data”. Where the voice itself is processed when you dictate into such messengers is covered in a separate analysis in the article on the place where voice is processed in voice input.
Where Potok is not about this table
Potok is not in this table: it is not a messenger but a separate app for voice input. Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia; it does not work without the internet. These data show only whether a messenger has a desktop version, not whether Potok supports dictation into each of them separately. Other cuts of our database are in the general voice input statistics.
Frequently asked questions
The catalog lists only a browser version for the messenger. This reflects the data we found, not a claim that no desktop app exists at all.
30 of 37: they have both desktop versions at once, not just one of the two.
Windows voice input listens to the microphone of the machine where it runs. In an RDP session, your computer's microphone is available to the remote machine only if audio recording redirection is turned on (in the RDP client: Local Resources → Remote audio → Record from this computer). Also, Win+H on the remote machine needs the internet: recognition runs in the Microsoft cloud.
Officially no: the built-in Win+H dictation in Windows 10 supports Simplified Chinese, English (several regions), French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish; Russian is not in this list. For voice input in Russian you need Windows 11.
Win+H (voice typing) is only text dictation into an input field. Voice Access is a separate feature available since Windows 11 22H2: controlling the whole computer by voice (opening an app, clicking, scrolling), not only entering text.
Press Win+H in any text field to open the built-in dictation panel; for controlling the computer by voice there is a separate feature, Windows Speech Recognition (Win+Ctrl+S).
If you want to compare for yourself
Take one of your own tasks and dictate it in Potok. The first 14 days have no limits and need no card. Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows voice typing (Win+H) | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows 11 only | Microsoft cloud, does not work offline |
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |