# Echoes

> Echoes (https://callechoes.com) is a cross-platform real-time voice translation calling app for family, friends, guests, and customers who speak another language. Two people each pick the language they speak, then join a voice call with optional video. OpenAI's realtime translation model translates the conversation into each listener's language and Echoes shows on-screen captions.

Echoes is browser-based and needs no account, sign-up, or app-store install (though it can be installed as a Progressive Web App). Each $5 purchase adds 20 translated minutes to a browser-bound balance that carries across calls; only actual translated call time is deducted, and the invited person joins free. A one-time 10-second AI demo with "Echo" is available before purchase. Built by Hunter Technologies.

## Product
- [Echoes overview](https://callechoes.com/): Visible product overview, FAQs, and links to every public page.
- [Echoes call app](https://callechoes.com/app): Pick your language and start or join a translated call.
- [Install Echoes](https://callechoes.com/install): PWA installation steps for iPhone, Android, and desktop, plus saved-contact and call-alert behavior.
- [Live call translator](https://callechoes.com/live-call-translator): Voice, video, captions, and product limitations.
- [iPhone to Android translator](https://callechoes.com/iphone-android-call-translator): The cross-platform use case.
- [Echoes for hotels](https://callechoes.com/for-hotels): Proposed design-partner workflow for independent hotels.
- [Pricing](https://callechoes.com/pricing): Active $5 personal translation credit, the free 10-second demo, and the manually onboarded hospitality pilot.
- [Privacy](https://callechoes.com/privacy): Plain-language data-handling details.
- [Full reference for LLMs](https://callechoes.com/llms-full.txt): Features, supported languages, privacy model, and how Echoes works.

## How it works
- Each person chooses only the one language they speak and hear.
- The caller shares an invite link or QR code; when the other person joins, the two devices connect peer-to-peer.
- Each device sends its owner's microphone to the other over WebRTC; the receiving device translates that audio into its own language and plays it back locally, with live captions.
- Optional video shows the other person with live subtitles.
- After a call you can generate an AI recap/summary, save lines to a phrasebook, and save the person as a one-tap contact.
- Installing the optional PWA adds a home-screen/app-launcher entry. Saved contacts can be rung again from Recents, and supported devices can receive opt-in Web Push call alerts. Invitees never need to install it.
- The PWA is not an offline translator: calls, presence, translation, and alerts require an internet connection. Contacts and history stay in that browser or installed-app profile and do not automatically sync across devices.

## Languages
- 15 languages are selectable. Thirteen are fully supported: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. Turkish and Arabic are available as previews, and voice quality is not guaranteed.

## Privacy
- No account, sign-up, or email is required to make a call.
- Contacts, call history, and saved phrases are stored only in your browser (localStorage).
- The server keeps a minimal presence record so saved contacts can ring you: a random device id, an optional self-chosen name, and your language. It stores no IP addresses or transcripts.
- Call audio is processed by OpenAI's realtime translation and transcription models to produce translated speech, captions, and an on-device transcript. Selected participant display names may be sent to OpenAI as transcription keyword hints. Transcript text is sent back to OpenAI for summarization only when you request a recap; Echoes does not store it server-side.
- Public-site analytics stores the landing path, referrer hostname or UTM attribution, event type, device class, and a keyed hash of the network address. It does not accept call text, contact names, audio, or full referrer URLs.
- Stripe hosts checkout and processes payment details. Echoes stores a random browser billing id, remaining translation seconds, Stripe Checkout session id, purchase amount/currency/product/grant time, demo-used time, and keyed network hashes for demo abuse prevention. It does not store full card numbers or raw network addresses in the billing ledger. Clearing site data can remove access to unused browser-bound credit.
- A hospitality pilot inquiry stores only the business and contact details the applicant explicitly submits so Hunter Technologies can reply.

## Personal calls, hospitality pilot, and pricing
- Each $5 personal purchase adds 20 translated minutes. The balance can be used across multiple calls and only actual translated call time is deducted. There is no subscription or account. The invited participant joins free.
- The free trial is one short AI demo with Echo, capped at about 10 seconds and one sample exchange. It is not a free person-to-person call.
- Independent hotels, hostels, vacation rentals, and tour operators can apply for one of five manually onboarded design-partner pilots.
- The proposed business pilot is $49 per location each month for 200 translated minutes, with a permanent branded guest QR, up to three staff devices, and usage visibility. Pricing begins only after the workflow is ready for that partner.
- Guests and call invitees join free. Echoes does not advertise inside calls.
- The proposed workflow is for everyday guest service, never emergencies or communication requiring a certified interpreter.

## Optional
- [Hunter Technologies](https://huntertechhq.com): The company behind Echoes.