webkitSpeechRecognition disabled and no way of detection

[bsclifton]

Description

Carried over from brave/browser-laptop#15312

In our application, we use a Speech to Text Recognition. Depending on whether or not a service is available in a given browser, we'll go in the following order for the used service.

Web Speech API
Watson API
Google Speech
Web Speech API is available in Chrome, which makes it available in Brave. However, it is disabled in Brave from returning data results, and we have no way of telling which speech service to use.

We need a way of detecting whether the Browser is a Brave browser so we know to ignore the disabled API, or for the API to be removed since it is not functional.

Steps to Reproduce

        navigator.getUserMedia({ audio: true },
          (stream) => {
             let recognition = new Recognition()

             // API Options
             recognition.lang = 'en-US';
             recognition.maxAlternatives = 1
             recognition.interimResults = true;

             // Results callback
             recognition.onresult = (event) => console.log(event)

             recognition.start()
          }

What version of Brave are you using?

5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_13_4) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/70.0.3538.77 Safari/537.36

[bsclifton]

+1 from #3618

I found an extension I really need ( https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/speech-recognition-anywhe/kdnnmhpmcakdilnofmllgcigkibjonof ) but looks like it's not going to work in Brave due to lack of support for speechSyntesis which seems to be supported by Chromium but not Brave.

Is that correct? If yes, why?
I truly believe speech-to-text API support is necessary in a modern browser, taking into account for example people like me with RSI / shoulder pain which make it difficult to type for long time.

You can see the answer by the extension's developer going to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/speech-recognition-anywhe/kdnnmhpmcakdilnofmllgcigkibjonof -> Support tab. The question was asked with title Not working In Brave

Thanks in advance

[uc-asv]

Hi, I have also the same issue. Speech synthesis API is not working on the brave browser and working in all the other browser is there any solution for this?

[jasonhargrove]

• Not enabled on Brave despite interface prompting to enable microphone
• After granting access it did not work, misleading me to believe my mic is the problem
• Ability to detect this issue for user would be helpful
• working API would be excellent

Re #3618

Test https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/demos/speech.html

[Hri7566]

any news on this? it's been mad quiet here and this seems like a feature that should have been implemented and working a long time ago

[Manas-E]

I'm also trying to use speech recognition in the brave browser but it isn't working, btw I'm using win 10

[Hri7566]

from that issue that mentions this thread, it elaborates on the issue: JamesBrill/react-speech-recognition#127 (comment)

My browser is Brave Version 1.31.91 Chromium: 95.0.4638.69 (Official Build) (x86_64) btw

I suspect this is the problem (your code looks fine). Although Chrome offers speech recognition, it is disabled in browsers like Brave that use Chromium. This is because Google owns the servers that provide that functionality - they can afford to provide it for free in their own browser, but other browser vendors would have to pay them to add that feature themselves. You can see discussions from unhappy Brave developers here and here.

Out of interest, what value does browserSupportsSpeechRecognition have on Brave? Ideally, it would be false. Given that you saw the red dot appear, I've got a feeling we're not detecting Brave's lack of speech recognition support correctly.

[mfkrause]

+1 on this. We're also using Speech Recognition through the Web Speech API in a project and have no way of detecting that it's unsupported when someone uses Brave. The API exists but is not functional.
Simply disabling the webkitSpeechRecognition API would already help for now where no function to the API can be provided, since it can then be detected and polyfilled.

[achojoao]

+1 Please, it's a MUST for accessibility

[SreeVathsan32]

+1 Please support speech recognition. Its really useful for accessibility, especially visually impaired folks

[neutr0nStar]

+1 if chromium supports it, brave should too.

[paperbenni]

+1 Here as well. All the chromium browsers are basically the same so you might as well use the one that is open source and causes the least amount of bullshit. I don't need brave to do a lot, just be chromium and replace the things that it is missing compared to chrome. Taking arbitrary things away is kind of a deal breaker :(

[igorcafe]

+1
And please don't close the issue

[Pengalu]

+1 on this, all I need from brave is just a working chrome alternative...

[jhony75]

+1 I'm not familiarized with web browser development, but if someone can give me something to start, I would be more than happy in helping.

[dareosK]

+1 here as well. Would be nice to get support on this

[RicardoViteriR]

+1

[joeelmahallawy]

+50

[SlayTheVirus]

+1

[rocket-pig]

i, too, came in hopes of speechrecognition in brave. but you never listen

[kamaalsultan]

too

[fawzibazari]

+1

[Arkmind]

+1

[kamaalsultan]

In my case, I needed to compare voice, not lang.

const voice = speechSynthesis
.getVoices()
.find(
(voice) =>
voice.lang === lang ||
(lang === "zh-CN" && voice.name === "Tian-Tian") ||
(lang === "en-US" && voice.name === "Daniel"),
) as SpeechSynthesisVoice;

[utopictown]

+1

[giuliano-macedo]

Babbel speech recognition appears to not work in brave because of this :(

[grigio]

I'd like this API to be mapped on VOSK on Linux, on Android it works very well offline
https://github.com/alphacep/vosk-android-service

[zerosonesfun]

Hello? Why isn't this a no. 1 priority for the Brave browser? Or at least a priority of some sort. Many people like speech-to-text.

[LePhenix47]

I noticed that only the desktop browser has this issue, the mobile version works perfectly

[spidy0x0]

I think it’s in their top 5 priorities. Currently running some tests.

…

On Sun, 14 Apr 2024 at 5:17 PM, Billy Wilcosky ***@***.***> wrote: Hello? Why isn't this a no. 1 priority for the Brave browser? Or at least a priority of some sort. Many people like speech-to-text. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2802 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJVIRDMQI2UDBAEH35PSFXLY5K2Y3AVCNFSM4GNBPD22U5DIOJSWCZC7NNSXTN2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQ5TEMBVGQYTENJWGM3Q> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>