Three prompts, one purpose.
macOS asks before any app can listen or type on your behalf. Acousmos needs just enough access to hear you and place the finished text where your cursor is — here's what each prompt does, and how to fix one that won't stick.
What each permission does
Microphone — so Acousmos can hear you
Required for recording your voice. Grant it when macOS prompts, or in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone: turn on the switch next to Acousmos. Without it, dictation can't start at all.
Accessibility — so the text can be typed for you
This is the one that surprises people. Acousmos types the finished text into the focused editor, browser, chat, or notes app — and macOS routes that synthetic typing through the Accessibility permission. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If Acousmos transcribes but nothing appears at your cursor, this is almost always the missing piece.
Input Monitoring — only if macOS asks
Needed only for bare-key hotkeys: if you use Fn, Right Command, or Right Option on its own as a tap or push-to-talk trigger, macOS may ask for Input Monitoring so the app can notice that single key. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring. With ordinary key combinations you may never see this prompt.
The permission is on, but nothing happens.
The 30-second fix
Toggle the permission off and back on in System Settings, then quit Acousmos completely and relaunch it. macOS applies some permission changes only after the app restarts.
The stubborn case
If an enabled toggle is still being ignored, select Acousmos in the permission list, remove it with the minus button, add it back with the plus button (it lives in /Applications), and relaunch. This clears a stale permission entry — a long-standing macOS quirk that affects apps after some updates.
Verify everything at once
Open Preferences and check Setup Check: it shows Microphone, Accessibility, the speech and AI engines, and your enabled hotkeys in one view. If something is still off, Preferences → Run Setup Again walks through the whole flow from the start.
Questions.
Why does Acousmos need Accessibility access?
That's how the finished text gets typed into the focused app. macOS routes synthetic typing through the Accessibility permission, so without it Acousmos can transcribe your speech but has no way to deliver the words to your cursor.
Is Input Monitoring required?
Only when macOS asks for it. That typically happens when you use a bare modifier key — Fn, Right Command, or Right Option — as a tap or push-to-talk hotkey. If you stick to regular key combinations, you may never see the prompt.
I granted a permission but it still doesn't work. What now?
Toggle the permission off and back on in System Settings, then quit and relaunch Acousmos. If macOS keeps ignoring an enabled toggle, remove Acousmos from the permission list with the minus button, add it back, and relaunch. Then open Preferences and check Setup Check — it verifies Microphone, Accessibility, the engines, and your hotkeys in one place.
When does Acousmos record?
Recording starts when you press a style's hotkey and stops when you finish dictating. Each dictation is saved — audio and text — to your local archive on your Mac.
Still stuck? See the troubleshooting guide, go back to the setup guide, or write to support@acousmos.com.
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