VoiceCards
← Home

Frequently asked questions

Short answers about what VoiceCards does, how it compares, and where data lives.

What is VoiceCards?
VoiceCards is a mobile flashcard app for memorization. Users put question-answer pairs into a Google Sheet, then study them on iOS or Android. The app reads cards aloud (TTS) and grades spoken answers (STT). It supports Speak mode for active recall and Listen mode for passive review, and can generate cards from a prompt, photos, or a PDF via AI.
How is VoiceCards different from Anki?
Anki stores cards in its own database; VoiceCards stores them in the user's own Google Sheet, so editing on a laptop is just opening Google Sheets — no third-party desktop app, no sync conflicts. VoiceCards also defaults to a voice-first study loop (speak the answer, hear the card) rather than typed or tapped recall, which suits language learning and verbal recall better than text-heavy SRS.
How is VoiceCards different from Quizlet?
Quizlet is study-set marketplace + multi-mode learning; VoiceCards is opinionated about one workflow (your deck, your cards, voice in/out) and adds AI card generation from prompts, photos, or PDFs. There is no marketplace and no social/share-set feature — content is private to the owner's Drive unless they share the deck themselves.
Is it free?
Core features (importing a deck, Speak mode, Listen mode with the device's built-in TTS, statistics, study reminders) are free, and new users get a starter grant of credits at signup. A free account holds up to three decks; buying credits once lifts that limit for good. Premium TTS voices, AI card generation, and AI grading consume credits: packs start at $9.99 for 1,000 credits (one credit ≈ one premium-voice playback or one AI-generated card), with regionally adjusted prices in 20+ countries. There is no subscription — you only buy credits when you want more. When your balance hits zero, listening continues with your device's built-in voice instead of stopping.
Which languages are supported?
VoiceCards supports 29 languages for TTS/STT, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Greek, Hebrew, Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Malay. The app UI itself is localized to 13 languages (English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Italian, Vietnamese, and Ukrainian).
Where is my data stored?
Cards stay in the user's own Google Drive — VoiceCards does not keep a duplicate copy on its server. Decks kept on the device only (see below) never reach Drive at all; they live in the app's own storage. Learning statistics (attempts, accuracy, per-deck goals) and per-card metadata live on Supabase, scoped to the signed-in user.
Does it work offline?
Yes, for studying. Decks opened while online stay on the device for 30 days, so cards and previously synthesized audio keep working with no connection — including after restarting the app. Decks created offline are held on the device and uploaded to Drive by themselves once a connection returns. What does need a connection: AI card generation, premium voice synthesis for cards not heard before, and importing a new deck.
Can I use VoiceCards without Google Drive?
Yes, in two ways. Before signing in at all (from app version 1.1.119), decks you make are held on the device and never touch Drive. After signing in, turning on "Keep decks on this device" in the profile (from 1.1.113) stops new decks from being uploaded — they stay in the app's storage until you back them up yourself, and can still be edited, renamed and deleted like any other deck. An account is still what credits and learning history attach to. The trade-off either way is that a device-only deck exists in one place: deleting the app or losing the phone loses it with them.
Can questions and answers use different voices?
Yes. Each side of a card can have its own voice — even within the same language, so an English exam deck can ask in one voice and answer in another. Set it from the question/answer settings in the learning screen; a per-language default voice remains as the shared fallback.
Does Listen mode keep playing in the background?
Yes. Listen mode keeps playing with the screen off or while you use other apps, and you can control playback from the lock screen. Background playback is available while your account has credits. Premium-voice audio is cached, so repeated passes over the same deck do not consume additional credits while your balance is above zero; at zero, playback switches to your device's built-in voice.
What is Auto memorize mode?
A second play button in Listen mode, since app version 1.1.114. Press it and the deck learns with you: a brand-new card plays question and answer back to back, like a song chorus; as you hear a card again and again, a silence grows before the answer — room for your memory to get there first. Once you know a card well, the answer's voice steps back and quietly confirms, and after a few days away it steps forward again, exactly as much as forgetting requires. From 1.1.119 it no longer starts everything from zero: cards you have already answered correctly in speaking practice skip the introduction phase, and an Auto-Memorize Level in the card settings menu sets a starting point for a whole deck — or resets its progress. No grading, no taps mid-listen. Available with credits, like background listening.
Who is it for?
Language learners, students prepping for exams, professionals studying certifications (e.g. medical, civil service, licensing exams), and anyone who memorizes question-answer pairs as part of their routine.
Do I need a Google account to use VoiceCards?
Not to start. From app version 1.1.119 you can type cards, copy a ready-made deck, or import a file and study it immediately — the deck saves to the device and no sign-in is asked for. Signing in with Google is what turns that into a backup: every deck already on the device is copied into your own Drive, and the account is also what credits and learning history attach to. So no account to try it, an account to keep it. The app requests Drive access scoped to its own folder of decks; it does not see other files in the Drive.
How should I format my Google Sheet?
Column A is the question side, column B is the answer side. Each row is one card. Optional columns are used by the app for per-card learning stats. Any extra columns are ignored, so the same Google Sheet stays human-editable in Google Sheets.
Can I import a deck from Anki or Quizlet?
There is no one-click importer, but you can export an Anki or Quizlet deck to CSV, paste the question/answer columns into a new Google Sheet, and VoiceCards will pick it up like any other deck. The AI generator also accepts photos of a textbook page or a PDF, which often beats copy-pasting from a third-party export.
Are there ready-made decks I can use?
Yes, around 200 of them, free and copyright-free: a deck for every book of the Bible (KJV) and every surah of the Quran, the official U.S. naturalization civics questions, the three California CDL knowledge tests, the German naturalisation test (Einbürgerungstest), and beginner German vocabulary. Copying one puts your own Sheet in your Drive, so you can add or cut cards without affecting anyone else. Browse them at voicecards.quest/templates.
Can VoiceCards create flashcards from a PDF?
Yes. In AI card generation, attach a PDF (one file, up to 40 MB — enough for a whole textbook chapter or a scanned manual) — lecture notes, a manual chapter, a vocabulary list — and the AI extracts question-answer pairs from it, preserving existing pairings like term-definition tables. Scanned PDFs work too; the model reads them like images. You choose how many cards to generate, and pricing is the same per-card credit rate as text or photo input.
How accurate is the speech recognition?
VoiceCards uses the device's built-in speech-to-text — the same engine your phone uses for dictation. Accuracy depends on the language model your OS ships and the speaker's accent. For partial matches, the app accepts a configurable similarity threshold instead of requiring an exact transcript.
What TTS voices are available?
Two tiers: the device's built-in TTS (free, included with iOS/Android) and Google Cloud premium voices (per-credit, higher fidelity). Premium plays whenever your account has credits, and the app continues in the device voice once they run out. Premium audio is cached per text-and-voice combo, so replaying the same card costs no additional credits while your balance is above zero.
How much does AI card generation cost?
AI generation is priced in credits, scaled to the number of cards generated. Photo input (up to 10 images per request) and PDF input (one file, up to 40 MB) cost the same as text input. From app version 1.1.119 the generator first writes three real cards from your prompt, so you can see what the deck will actually look like before choosing how many to make. New users get a starter grant of credits so the first AI deck is essentially free; refills are purchased in-app.
Can I share my decks with other people?
Yes — because cards live in a Google Sheet, sharing the deck with another Google account gives them the same cards. The app also generates a short URL (e.g. vcrd.quest/swift-fox-7) for jumping from phone to desktop without copy-pasting the long Sheets URL.
Can I edit cards on my phone, or only in Google Sheets?
Both. Cards can be added or edited from the app, and changes are written back to the underlying Google Sheet so the two stay in sync. Bulk edits are usually faster in Google Sheets on a laptop.
Does VoiceCards use spaced repetition?
VoiceCards uses a "smart shuffle" that biases toward less-practiced and recently-missed cards, but it does not yet implement a full SRS scheduler like SM-2 or FSRS. A formal SRS mode is on the roadmap.
Is there an iPad, Android tablet, or web version?
VoiceCards runs on iOS and Android phones today. Tablet layouts are usable but not specifically optimized. There is no native web app; editing on desktop is done by opening the underlying Google Sheet.
Can I delete my account and learning history?
Yes. Account deletion in the app removes the Supabase-side user record and all learning statistics. The Google Sheet itself stays in the user's Drive — it was never duplicated server-side — so the user retains their cards if they want them.
Are there ads in VoiceCards?
No. VoiceCards has no ads. The monetization model is credits for AI generation and premium TTS, plus a planned subscription tier as the user base grows.
What permissions does the app need?
Microphone access (for Speak mode), Google Drive read/write scoped to the app's own folder (for cards), and notifications (optional, only if study reminders are turned on). No location, no contacts, no other Drive folders.
How do study reminders and goals work?
Pick a time of day and the app sends a local notification. For motivation, set a per-deck speaking goal — "speak it N times," counted whether you get it right or wrong — and the app fills a progress bar and estimates when you'll reach it at your current pace. There are no streaks to break. Stats are in the Analytics tab — daily and weekly attempt counts, cumulative cards practiced, and accuracy.
How does the short-URL feature work?
When viewing a deck on mobile, the app can mint a memorable short link (three words + digit, like vcrd.quest/swift-fox-7) that redirects to the underlying Google Sheet. Type it on a laptop browser and the Google Sheet opens — useful for bulk editing without copy-pasting a 50-character URL.