Use your own voice assistant on your phone: Dicio

Official links:

• Dicio official GitHub repository
• Dicio versions and download options
• F-Droid application registration

You don't have to touch the screen every time you want to perform a simple operation on your phone. Moreover, you may not necessarily need a large cloud-based assistant for this. Dicio is an open source voice assistant developed for Android. With supported commands, it can start a timer, make calculations, open applications and perform operations such as media control.

After installation, I recommend you check the spoken language first. If you are going to use Turkish commands, pay particular attention to the version; because Turkish support is included in the release notes of the newer version. Then you can start with a simple timer command.

There is an important detail here: Not all Dicio features work offline. Some skills are tied to external services. That's why it's important to check permissions and only enable features you use. If you want to manage your phone with more voice commands, Dicio is worth checking out.

What does the application do?

Dicio is an open source assistant that can process voice commands or text requests on Android phones.

Let's start with a simple example: You want to start a timer, perform a calculation, open an app, or control your flashlight without touching your phone.

Dicio can perform such operations using supported commands. It also has functions such as weather forecast, web search, media control and translation.

The important difference of Dicio is that it can interpret many requests on the device, instead of sending all transactions to a single cloud-based artificial intelligence service. However, there are also features that rely on external services. GitHub

Platform, version and license

Important detail: It is stated in the release notes of the v4.1 version on GitHub that Turkish support has been added. The 4.0 record that appears in F-Droid contains the older language list. If Turkish commands are important to you, make sure you choose the right version. GitHub

What problems does it solve in daily life?

• Starting a timer without picking up the phone.
• Performing simple calculations with voice command.
• Opening supported applications.
• Play, pause or skip music.
• Controlling the flashlight.
• Perform supported actions such as listening to notifications.

The scope of the commands depends on the selected skill and the installed version. Like any voice assistant, we should not expect it to understand every natural sentence perfectly.

Why is it worth trying?

Dicio is an interesting alternative for users who like to perform simple operations on the phone with voice commands and want more control over their own device.

In addition, the fact that the source code can be examined is an advantage for technical users who want to evaluate the privacy approach.

Disadvantage: Some capabilities connect to third-party services on the Internet. For example, features such as search, weather and song lyrics may use different external services. Therefore, it would not be correct to say that the application works completely offline under all circumstances. F-Droid

What should you do after installation?

1. Open the official GitHub repository and check out the download options for v4.1.
2. Select official GitHub version or F-Droid as the install source. Note that package versions from two sources may not be the same.
3. Open the app and check the spoken language.
4. Use a simple skill like calculation or timer on the first try.
5. When microphone permission is required, grant it only to use the voice input feature.
6. If you do not want to use the continuous listening feature, keep the relevant setting off. Evaluate permissions such as contacts, phone call or notification access according to your needs.

Permissions, privacy and trust

Dicio's permissions include microphone, network access, contacts in some versions, and phone call-related permissions. Not all of these are necessary for every user.

Although it is possible to examine the application's source code, this does not automatically verify all the behavior of the package you have installed. You should consider what data is being sent, especially for skills that use third-party services. F-Droid