Re: [NVDA] google tts for nvda

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Yong Shing

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Jul 5, 2026, 8:37:59 PM (6 hours ago) Jul 5

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Moral of the story,

Don't simply make a statement without evidence and an AI answer is not a source of truth.
In legal principle, the Accuser is the one who is responsible for providing their proof, not the accused.
Simply labelling a new project with a negative claim potentially stifles innovation and discredits the hard work of the contributors.
Moderators should also be accountable for their actions.
Everyone should refrain from attacking one's personality; arguments should focus on issues.

Let's move forward.

On Mon, Jul 6, 2026 at 4:22 AM Obaida Tamimi <altamim...@gmail.com> wrote:

" Thank you for the clarification and reminder regarding the terms of use. Certainly, adherence to company policies and intellectual property rights is fundamental and very important to ensure the stability and development of software plugins. It is always necessary to look for legal and open-source software solutions that respect these controls and serve the user community in a safe and sustainable manner."
في أحد، 5 يوليو، 2026 في 10:32 م، كتب Muhammed 3198Denix <muhamm...@gmail.com>:
Hello Nolia,

Thank you very much for your intervention
!S!Since Rui works in the ttts side of things, and !since he is the one who made the claim, the burden of proof is on him. I would suggest that, if no proof is provided in a day or two, then lock the topic. It would be good if somebody from google actually intervened, but I don't think that'll happen.
Best regards,
Muhammad .

Sent from my iPhone

On 5 Jul 2026, at 20:00, Noelia <nrm...@gmail.com> wrote:
For any reason, seems that this conversation is not locked.
Rui thinks that this add-on is not legal. I don't see nobody proving that the add-on is legal.
So, let's stop this discussion on this list, until this can be clarified. I'll try to lock this topic again.
Noelia (moderator)
El dom, 5 jul 2026 a las 20:53, <blind...@gmail.com> escribió:
Oh boy,

This is what I was afraid of.

Using AI to answer a question a simple google search and a little old fashioned leg work would find, if you dug deep enough.

This does not definitively prove the legality of the thing one way or the other.

We have a saying in the radio industry especially when it comes to commentary that could lead to sub judisy. And, it can also apply in this case.

If in doubt, leave it out.

In short, if you have any doubts what so ever, about the legality of this particular add-on and when asked for proof people are using chat GPT to provide it, then give it a wide birth.

Shaun Oliver

VK5ESE

Adaptive technology consultant

Mobile: +61 477 83-6199

From: nvda-...@nvaccess.org <nvda-...@nvaccess.org> On Behalf Of Arnaud de Bonald
Sent: Monday, 6 July 2026 02:13
To: nvda-...@nvaccess.org; Alex Chapman <alchap...@gmail.com>; Rui Fontes <tiflote...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NVDA] google tts for nvda

Hello,

Here is chat GPT analysis on this subject.

This certainly do not close the matter, but it's interesting nevertheless.

I've seen several people state that the Google TTS add-on for NVDA is "illegal" because it supposedly redistributes Google's offline TTS engine. I wanted to investigate this claim, so I analyzed the current release of the add-on.
Here is what I found.
First, the add-on does not appear to contain the Android Google Speech Services engine (formerly Google Text-to-Speech). I found no Android APKs, no .so libraries, no Android voice packages, and nothing that resembles the proprietary offline TTS engine shipped with Android devices.
Instead, the package contains files such as:
bindings_main.wasm
bindings_main.js
background_compiled.js
offscreen_compiled.js
streaming_worklet_processor.js
voices.json
The add-on's own manifest states:
"Use Google's Chrome WASM text-to-speech voices as an NVDA synthesizer."
Its README also explains that it uses:
"the Chrome WASM TTS engine through a managed headless Chrome process."
I then compared those filenames with the Chromium source tree.
Chromium includes an official component called the WASM TTS Engine, whose installer expects exactly those files (bindings_main.wasm, bindings_main.js, voices.json, etc.). Chromium also contains a README.chromium describing these files as the "Chrome built-in TTS extension WASM bindings" and lists their license as BSD-3-Clause.
This strongly suggests that the add-on is built around Chromium's newer WebAssembly TTS engine rather than the Android Google Speech Services engine.
Another interesting point is that Chromium's own implementation downloads language resources separately when needed. In other words, the engine bindings themselves are distinct from the language/voice data.
Based on all of this, I think there is an important distinction that is often missed in discussions:
Google Cloud Text-to-Speech
Android Google Speech Services
Chromium's WASM TTS Engine
These are three different technologies, with different licensing situations.
That said, I would also avoid claiming that the add-on is unquestionably "100% legal." One important question remains:
Where does the included bindings_main.wasm actually come from?
If it is the same binary distributed through the Chromium project, then I don't immediately see a licensing issue with those bindings themselves.
If, however, it was extracted from a proprietary Google Chrome installation rather than obtained from Chromium's distributable components, then the licensing question becomes more complicated.
So, after looking at the add-on itself, I don't think it is accurate to simply say "this add-on redistributes Google's offline Android TTS engine." I found no evidence supporting that claim.
A more precise discussion should instead focus on the provenance and licensing of the Chromium/Chrome WASM TTS components included in the package, rather than assuming it is based on Android Google Speech Services.
---
 
Arnaud de Bonald - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJllMYSs6rkFA37oeJGHY_A
Le 05/07/2026 à 01:15, Alex Chapman a écrit :
Actually, it is legal, because there's no illegal activity such as cracking/modifying existing paid software, this is all through the WebAssembly TTS framework, so before making claims like this is not legal, please do your research.
On 04/07/2026 20:07, Rui Fontes wrote:
Hello all!

Please, do not answer this message!

The use of Google TTS in NVDA is not legal!

Rui Fontes
Moderator
Às 19:48 de 04/07/2026, Fettah Pınar escreveu:
Hello.
The following text is quoted.
Hi everyone,
Like many of you, I’ve always wanted to use Google's natural-sounding TTS voices directly within NVDA. While there have been a few workarounds in the past, I couldn’t find a completely standalone, user-friendly solution that was fit for daily use.
Recently, I managed to figure out how to extract Google’s WASM speech synthesis engine and built a basic add-on around it. Later, Dao Duc Trung joined the project and helped rewrite the core logic while optimizing the audio processing to make the voices run smoothly. We are now actively developing it together.
We use this add-on ourselves every day and are excited to share its first public release with you today. The project is still in its early stages, but we’d love for you to try it out and share your feedback.
How to try it:
1.
Download the .nvda-addon file from the GitHub Releases page.
2.
Open the downloaded file to install it, then restart NVDA.
3.
Open NVDA’s synthesizer selection dialog and choose "Google TTS For NVDA".
4.
If this is your first time using the add-on, the Voice Manager will open automatically, allowing you to download the voice packs you need.
Known Issue:
Since this is our initial release, there is a noticeable delay during the very first initialization and the first piece of speech playback. We are currently working on fixing this for future updates, so we truly appreciate your patience during the initial setup!
If you encounter any bugs, have suggestions, or want to contribute to the project, please open an issue or submit a pull request on our GitHub repository. You can also contact us directly.
GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/nguyenanhduc09/Google-TTS-For-NVDA

Contacts:
Nguyen Anh Duc:
Email: ducn...@gmail.com
Telegram: t.me/anhduc1803
Dao Duc Trung:
Email: tr...@ddt.one
Telegram: t.me/Daoductrung
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