About this app

A hearing buddy is the patient, understanding person who helps you hear. When they can't be there, Hearing Buddy is your backup. Built by someone who is hard of hearing, every feature comes from lived experience. 2026 Apple Design Award Finalist (Inclusivity) UNLIMITED FREE LIVE CAPTIONS Most captioning apps charge by the minute, turning accessibility into a metered service. Hearing Buddy gives you unlimited live captions for free. Speech becomes clear text on your iPhone or iPad, even in noisy rooms or fast conversations. Captioning happens on your device. Your conversations are not sent to a cloud transcription service. SHARE CAPTIONS FOR FREE One iPhone captions the room. Everyone nearby reads along. Share your live captions and people around you can follow from their own iPhone or iPad. Put a phone where the sound is and read from wherever you are. Your hearing buddy can set their phone next to the speaker while you follow from the back of the room. In meetings, classes, and group conversations, more people can turn on their mic, and every voice flows into one shared transcript. Everyone chooses the language they want to read. Hearing Buddy translates captions as people speak, so the same conversation can be read in several languages at once, free for everyone. Sharing works directly between devices. No internet, no account, no server. Captions stay in the room. NAME AND QUESTION ALERTS When someone says your name, your Apple Watch taps your wrist. The same tap tells you when someone asks a question. No more anxious waiting at the pharmacy or the coffee counter. The moment your name is spoken, you'll feel it. Alerts on your iPhone and Lock Screen show what needs your attention, so you don't have to keep watching your phone. TRANSLATE WHAT YOU HEAR When you're listening on your own, Buddy+ lets you choose the language being spoken and the language you want to read. Hearing Buddy translates captions as people speak. Alerts, summaries, and session titles can appear in your reading language too. BOOST AUDIO Boost Audio turns AirPods, Bluetooth, or wired headphones into a real time sound amplifier. It can lift quiet voices by up to +39 dB and shape sound to your hearing test from Apple Health. CONVERSATION SUMMARIES Review key points without rereading every caption. Your buddy gives you a short recap of meetings, appointments, classes, and group conversations. MAKE BUDDY YOURS Name your buddy and choose their personality, colors, character, and tone. FREE FEATURES • Unlimited live captions • Share Captions with people nearby • Live translation for everyone in shared captions • Background listening • Saved transcripts • Copy and share transcripts • Adjustable text size BUDDY+ FEATURES • Live translation when you caption on your own • Boost Audio for any headphones • Name and question alerts on Apple Watch, iPhone, and Lock Screen • Conversation summaries • Live Activity and Widget support • Live captions on Mac and Apple Vision Pro • Premium buddy personalities and app icons No one should have to miss what matters or apologize for how they hear. LANGUAGE SUPPORT The full app is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Live captions support 18 language and regional options across English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Requires iOS 26.0 or later. Apple Watch features require watchOS 10.0 or later. Buddy+ Annual: $59.99 per year Buddy+ Monthly: $9.99 per month Buddy+ Weekly: $7.99 per week Terms: Privacy: Hearing Buddy is a supportive tool, not a replacement for medical devices or professional medical advice.