ταχύς · swift · a reading-fluency stopwatch
Tachysophe.
Reading aloud is one of the dearest gifts we pass on. Tachysophe is a kind, simple companion for reading practice, made with my son.
Privacy & support · Last updated 28 July 2026.
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the app
A kind, simple stopwatch for reading practice.
about
Reading aloud is one of the dearest gifts we pass on. Tachysophe helps a child grow into it.
Tachysophe is a kind, simple stopwatch for reading practice—whether for kids learning to read or for practicing a foreign language. It times the page, paces the session, and can count words per minute entirely on your device.
That's the ·sophe family's idea here: adding a little wisdom (sophía) to the way we prepare to enjoy reading, the dearest treasure our civilisation hands down.
The same app runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, with widgets to start a session and see the last result. Word counting is optional (Tachysophe is a full timer and stopwatch without it) and reads in many languages: for every language with an on-device model (the vast majority), audio and recognised text never leave your device.
our promise
No tracking. No data collection. No ads. No accounts. No third-party SDKs. No analytics. Just time and words.
The apps store your preferences in Apple's own settings storage on your device, and, only if you sign in to iCloud, sync them to your other devices through Apple's iCloud Key-Value Store. None of that data ever reaches a server we run.
privacy
What Tachysophe does, and does not, do with your data.
Network
none by default. The one exception: a handful of languages without an on-device speech model (e.g. Hebrew) can optionally use Apple's server for recognition instead — off by default, and only ever turned on by you, explicitly, in Settings.
Microphone & speech
The app listens to your reading only while a session is running, to detect your first word and to count words you read. Recognition runs on-device for every language Apple ships an on-device model for; audio and recognised text never leave your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. For the small number of languages without an on-device model, recognition can instead run on Apple's server — never automatically, only if you turn that on in Settings — and in that mode results appear once you finish reading rather than live. Nothing is ever uploaded to servers we run.
Stored on device
Your past sessions (duration, words per minute, the recognised transcript when word counting is on), reader profiles, and timer presets.
iCloud sync(optional)
Presets and preferences (not raw audio, which we never have) mirror to your other Apple devices via Apple's iCloud Key-Value Store.
Siri & Shortcuts(optional)
"Start a reading session" and "What was my last result" run as on-device App Intents against the same local session history the rest of the app uses. Siri's speech processing is Apple's own; nothing is sent to us or anyone else.
email
Bug reports, feature requests, or a kind word,
write to .
Children's privacy
These apps are not directed at children under 13, and we knowingly collect no information from anyone, of any age. If you are a parent and want to use them with your kids, that's exactly how they were built. The apps store their data only on the device.
Changes to this policy
If we change anything, we will update this page and the date at the top. The apps do not "phone home" to fetch a new policy.
Contact
For everything (privacy questions, support, or a hello) write to
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