Does it really work on silent mode?
Yes. LoudNow speaks through your phone’s alarm channel, which Android plays even when the ringer is silent. In Do Not Disturb it works as long as alarms are allowed, which is the Android default — including Bedtime and Sleep modes. The one exception is Do Not Disturb set to total silence, which silences alarms and LoudNow with them; allowing alarms, or using ordinary Do Not Disturb instead, keeps the quiet and lets your phrases through. The app tells you when it is in that state, and if your alarm volume is at zero.
Does it drain my battery?
LoudNow runs a small background service so Android doesn’t stop it. It only does work when a notification arrives, so the impact is small. You’ll see a quiet “LoudNow is watching” notification. That’s what keeps it reliable.
Which languages are supported?
Phrases work in any language or script. Ready-made packs come in English. Alerts are read aloud by your phone’s own voice, and Android speaks most of the world’s major languages. If yours is missing, you can add it for free in your phone’s text-to-speech settings.
Will people nearby hear my messages?
Only if you want them to. By default LoudNow says the phrase and who sent it, like “Alert: help me, from Ella on WhatsApp”, but not the message itself. Six switches control what is spoken — the alarm tone, who it is from, the phrase, the message, vibration and the camera light — and any single phrase can have its own, so a private word can sound the alarm and say nothing. The notification on your screen always shows the full message.
Can the same word from someone else set it off?
No. Every phrase belongs to one sender, so “help” from your daughter wakes you and the same word in a news alert or a colleague’s message stays silent. There is no list of exceptions to keep up to date. A group chat is the one case where you may want the opposite — you can add the group itself as a sender, and then its phrases fire whoever in it wrote them.
I hide message previews. Will it still work?
Android’s own hide sensitive content on the lock screen makes no difference — that only changes what the lock screen draws, and LoudNow still receives the full text. A messaging app’s own preview setting is different: if WhatsApp is set not to put the message text in its notification, those words never leave WhatsApp, so LoudNow cannot match them. No app of this kind could.
Is my data private?
Notification text is checked on your phone only. It’s never uploaded or backed up. Only the alerts that matched one of your phrases are kept, and those are deleted after 7 days. Nothing is sent anywhere, because there is nowhere to send it: LoudNow has no server and no account. The only network it uses at all is Google Play’s own check of whether you have Pro.
Does it use AI?
The second opinion is an extra rather than the point of the app, and it is in both plans. A small model on your phone reads notifications from people who are not on your sender list, and posts a quiet notice if one looks urgent. It guesses, it is often wrong, and it never sets off the alarm — only your own phrases do that. It stays off until you switch it on, and nothing it reads leaves the phone.
Does it need internet?
LoudNow itself doesn’t: your phrases are checked and spoken entirely on your phone. But a message has to reach your phone first. Text messages (SMS) arrive over the mobile network without data, while apps like WhatsApp or TradingView need your phone to be online to deliver their notifications.
What happens if Pro ends?
Pro is one payment through Google Play. Nothing renews, nothing lapses, and there is nothing to cancel. Nothing is ever deleted — on Free you keep two phrases, which you choose yourself, speaking at any hour with the standard announcement and LoudNow’s own tone.
Is there an iPhone version?
Not yet. iOS doesn’t let apps read other apps’ notifications, which LoudNow needs. It’s Android only.
