Live translation and answer drafts for Zoom calls
Subtl sits above the Zoom window and reads the audio your Mac is already playing. Zoom does not know it is there: no bot joins the participant list, no app is installed into Zoom, and nobody receives a recording notification from us. What you see is the other person's words, your translation of them, and a draft answer in their language.
It works the same in a Zoom webinar, a breakout room, and a one-to-one call, because Subtl captures the system audio device rather than anything inside Zoom.
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Setting it up with Zoom
- 01
Grant screen and system audio access once
macOS asks for Screen & System Audio Recording the first time you start a session — this is the permission ScreenCaptureKit needs to read what your speakers play. Subtl never records the video of your screen.
- 02
Set the meeting context two minutes before the call
Name the goal, your role, and who you are talking to, and attach the deck or the price list you will be asked about. Answer drafts then quote your numbers instead of generic phrases.
- 03
Open the Zoom call and press ⌥⌘S
The overlay appears in the corner you last left it. ⌥⌘Space asks for an answer at any moment; ⌥⌘L hides and shows the overlay.
What works
- Zoom desktop client on macOS, including meetings you join from a browser link that opens the client.
- Participants who dial in over the phone — their audio still reaches your speakers, so it is transcribed like any other channel.
- Zoom's own live transcript can stay on at the same time; the two do not interfere.
- Screen sharing: the overlay is marked as protected content, so a shared window or full screen does not contain it.
What it does not do
- Zoom's cloud recording records the meeting audio, not your screen — but if a host records a shared screen, treat the overlay's exclusion as a best-effort OS flag, not a guarantee.
- Subtl does not read the Zoom chat, the participant list, or shared files. Only audio.
- Use headphones. Subtl reads the speaker channel and your microphone separately, and without headphones your microphone picks up the other person through the speakers, which blurs the two channels.
Questions about Zoom
Does anyone in the Zoom call see that I use Subtl?
Nothing is added to Zoom itself — no bot in the participant list, no app, no banner. The overlay is a separate window on your own machine and is flagged so that screen sharing excludes it. That is an operating-system flag, so treat it as strong but not absolute: a phone pointed at your monitor still sees everything.
Do I need to be the host, or install a Zoom app?
No. Subtl never touches your Zoom account. It reads the audio your Mac plays and your microphone, which works whether you host, join, or sit in a webinar as an attendee.
Does it work with Zoom in a browser?
Yes. Because capture happens at the system-audio level, it does not matter whether Zoom runs as the desktop client, in Chrome, or in Safari.
Is translating a Zoom call legal?
It depends on where you and the other participants are. Subtl does not save the audio, but several jurisdictions treat live interception like recording. Read the jurisdiction notes on our law page and tell the other side when your local rules ask for it.
How much delay is there between a sentence and its translation?
Our target is under 2.5 seconds at the 95th percentile from the end of a sentence to the translation on screen. Longer sentences and a weak connection push it up.