How do I change my voice on real time calls?

Voice changing technology allows users to alter their voice in real time to sound different from their normal speaking voice. This technology has advanced rapidly in recent years thanks to developments in audio processing algorithms and machine learning. Now, users have access to a wide range of voice modification effects through software applications and devices. According to Voices.com, the most common uses of voice changers include changing your gender, disguising your identity, putting on accents, creating a character voice, and having fun surprising friends and family.

Why Change Your Voice?

There are several reasons why someone may want to change their voice on phone or video calls, with the most common ones being anonymity, privacy, and fun.

Using a voice changer to mask your identity can provide anonymity if you want to keep your personal information private during calls. This allows you to have conversations without revealing details about yourself that you wish to keep confidential. According to an article on Wired, “True anonymization is not possible without completely changing the voice” https://www.wired.com/story/voice-recognition-privacy-speech-changer/. Voice changing technology gives users control over their privacy.

Changing your voice can also be a source of entertainment. Applying fun voice effects like alien, robot, or monster voices can liven up conversations. The ability to mimic celebrity voices or accents can be great for jokes and impersonations. Voice changing for enjoyment allows for creativity and humor during calls.

Voice Changers for Phone Calls

There are several apps available for iOS and Android devices that allow you to change your voice in real time during phone calls. Some popular options include:

VoiceMod – This iOS app offers a wide selection of voices and accents to transform your voice during calls. It also includes sound effects and can disguise your voice to sound like the opposite gender. VoiceMod works for regular phone calls as well as VoIP apps like FaceTime, Skype, and WhatsApp.

MorphVOX – Available on Android, this app lets you sound like a man, woman, child, celebrity, or creature. It has voice presets as well as custom voice changing options like pitch, timbre, accents, and more. The app also includes background sounds and voice effects.

These voice changing apps work by processing your voice in real time before transmitting the altered audio to the person you’re calling. They give you options to quickly try different voices and effects for a fun way to change up your normal speaking voice during calls.

Voice Changers for Video Calls

One way to change your voice on video calls is by using special effects filters built into the video calling apps themselves. For example, Snapchat and Instagram have filters that modulate your voice in real-time during video chats. Snapchat’s voice changing filters include a helium voice to make you sound squeaky and high-pitched, a deep male voice, and a robotic voice effect.

Other apps like Zoom also have some built-in audio settings that can alter your voice. In your Zoom profile settings, you can enable options like “Suppress background noise” and “High fidelity music mode” to change the audio quality of your voice. Apps like Voice.ai and Voicemod offer voice changer plugins for Zoom calls specifically. These can provide effects like making your voice sound older, mimicking accents, pitch/tone modulation, and more. They work by processing your mic input before it reaches the video call.https://www.voicemod.net/voice-changer-for-video-call-facetime/https://voice.ai/apps/zoom

Changing Pitch and Tone

Pitch and tone refer to the frequency of your voice, and adjusting them is one of the most common ways to alter how you sound. There are a few different techniques to change pitch and tone:

Raising or lowering pitch – You can speak in a higher or lower pitch by tightening or relaxing the vocal cords. Try practicing speaking in an exaggerated high-pitched or low-pitched voice to get used to how this feels. Be careful not to strain your vocal cords by pushing your pitch too far out of your natural range (source).

Adjusting formants – Formants are frequencies that determine the unique tonal quality of your voice. You can alter formants to sound more masculine or feminine. Specialized software like Vocal Pitch and Tone changer can modify formants more precisely than what’s possible with vocal training alone (source).

Changing Accents

Modifying your voice to sound like a different accent can allow you to put on an entertaining persona, or simply help you better connect with listeners from different regions. While accents are often tied closely with one’s cultural identity, some tools allow responsibly exploring how you might sound with a different accent for creative purposes.

Popular options include switching between an American and British accent. Services like Speechify and Murf’s Accent Generator provide various English voice actors with regional accents to choose from. Users can seamlessly shift their voice between accents like American, British, Australian, Indian, and more. Advanced editing features even allow blending multiple accents.

However, it’s important to represent accents authentically and avoid inaccurate stereotypes or exaggerated caricatures. The goal should be exploring how language sounds, not mocking others. Consider how your audience may perceive an accent change and avoid offending listeners with cultural ties. Accents are complex and dynamic, so portrayals should be thoughtful.

Voice Masking Effects

One popular way to disguise your voice on calls is to use voice masking effects. These effects alter your voice to make it sound like a robot, alien, monster, or other character. Some popular options include:

Voice changer apps often have built-in voice masking effects you can apply to your voice in real time during calls. For example, you may be able to transform your voice into a robot, monster, or alien voice.

Some apps like Voice Changer have a “telephone voice effect” that can make you sound like you’re calling from an old landline phone. This muffles and distorts your voice.

You can also find audio editing software like Adobe Audition that lets you apply effects like pitch shifting, EQ, and filtering to alter your voice recordings. However, this requires editing the audio file beforehand.

While voice masking effects can be fun for casual use, it’s best not to rely on them for anonymity. Most effects are still identifiable as a filtered human voice. For privacy reasons, you may want to reconsider masking your voice regularly.

Considerations and Limitations

While voice changing apps provide a way to alter your voice in real time, there are some considerations and limitations to be aware of.

One key consideration is how natural the modified voice sounds. According to one Reddit user, “There are no shortcuts to an authentic sounding voice.” Voice changers can sometimes produce robotic, distorted or obviously modulated effects. With practice and fine tuning settings, more natural sounding voices may be achievable, but the technology has limits.

Another factor is background noise. As pointed out in this Quora post, “What is the disadvantage of having a voice changing app?”, background noise can interfere with voice changers and cause glitches orartifacts in the output audio. Using voice changing apps inquiet environments may produce better results.

Device compatibility is another limitation. Some voice changing apps are designed to work specifically with certain platforms, operating systems or devices. As explained on Wondershare’s review of the Voxal voice changer, it is primarily designed for Windows and Mac computers, with limited iOS and Android capability. Check compatibility before selecting a voice changer app.

While voice changing apps open up creative possibilities, beingaware of these considerations allows for best results. With carefulexperimentation and set up, many limitations can be minimized but likely not eliminated entirely.

Best Practices and Ethics

When using technology to alter your voice in calls and interactions with others, it’s important to follow ethical practices. Obtaining informed consent from the other parties you’ll be speaking with is crucial. They should understand that you’ll be using a modulated voice rather than your natural tone. This allows them to provide consent to interacting with an altered voice. By informing them upfront, you avoid any deception or misrepresentation of yourself. According to an article on Respeecher The Rise of Ethical Voice Cloning in the Deepfake Voice Wars, today’s voice cloning software is considered safe and ethical when used properly with consent.

You’ll also want to avoid using a dramatically different voice that could allow you to impersonate someone else without their approval. As discussed in an article on Security Intelligence Entering the Age of Unethical Voice Tech, maintaining ethics with voice altering technology means not misrepresenting yourself in harmful or illegal ways. Use a voice that still reflects your true identity, just with some modulated parameters like pitch or accent.

Additionally, be mindful of using voice changers when interacting with automated systems. Providing false inputs to an AI system meant to identify individuals could have unintended consequences. Follow best practices around disclosure and consent when altering your voice for phone or video calls.

The Future of Voice Changing

AI and machine learning are poised to revolutionize voice changing capabilities in the coming years. One exciting development is AI-powered voice cloning. This nascent technology allows users to clone anyone’s voice from just a few audio samples and synthesize natural-sounding speech in the cloned voice. Companies like Dubbing AI and Lyrebird are pioneering voice cloning services that have potential applications from personalized assistants to dubbing and creative projects.

Another emerging technology is generative audio, which leverages deep learning to create realistic synthetic voices, sound effects, and music. Tools like Descript and Sonantic can generate audio in any voice with just text input. As these AI systems grow more advanced, they open up possibilities for highly customized and personalized voice modification without needing any original audio samples.

Overall, innovations in AI and generative machine learning models point to a future where real-time voice changing technology becomes incredibly sophisticated, customizable, and accessible. However, there are ethical considerations around mimicking voices without consent and generating potentially deceptive content. Responsible development of these technologies will be key as they continue maturing in the years ahead.