Windows Permissions

What access HyperWhisper requests on Windows, when each is needed, what breaks without it, and how to fix common problems.

HyperWhisper on Windows requires a small number of system permissions. Most are granted silently through normal Windows mechanisms — there are no system-wide prompts like macOS shows for Accessibility or Screen Recording.

Permissions at a glance

Access	When needed	Required for	Where to configure
Microphone	First recording	Recording any audio	Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone
UI Automation	When Autocapitalize Insert is enabled	Context-aware capitalisation	Automatic — no grant step required
Autostart	When you enable the setting	Launch at Windows login	Settings → General → Launch at startup
SmartScreen warning	First launch on a new machine	—	Click “Run anyway” (one-time)
Administrator / UAC	Never	—	Not required

Microphone & audio access

HyperWhisper records audio using the NAudio library, which accesses your microphone through the Windows Core Audio layer. The active device is selected from your system’s available audio endpoints; if no specific device is chosen, it falls back to the Windows system default.

Windows manages microphone access through a privacy toggle. If the toggle is off for desktop apps, recording fails immediately when you start.

If recording doesn’t work:

1. Open Windows Privacy Settings

   Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

2. Confirm microphone access is on

   Ensure Microphone access is enabled, and scroll down to verify that Let desktop apps access your microphone is also on.

3. Restart HyperWhisper

   Close and reopen the app, then try recording again.

Without it: Recording fails immediately when you try to start.

Volume boost

When your microphone level is below 50%, HyperWhisper temporarily boosts it to 90% before recording and restores it when you stop. This uses the same Core Audio device access as recording — no additional permission is needed. If you manually adjust your mic volume during a recording, the restore step is skipped so your manual change isn’t overwritten.

UI Automation & Autocapitalize Insert

Windows uses UI Automation (UIA) to inspect the currently focused element in other applications. HyperWhisper uses UIA for one specific feature: Autocapitalize Insert, which reads the context around your cursor to decide whether to capitalise the first word of a transcript.

UIA access on Windows is available to any application — there is no system-wide grant prompt. When you enable Autocapitalize Insert in Settings → Text Output, HyperWhisper runs a quick self-test by querying the focused element in its own settings window. If that call fails (indicating UIA is non-functional in the current process), an informational message appears:

“Some applications (like web browsers and Electron apps) may not expose the focused text field. Autocapitalize Insert will pass through unchanged in those cases — the feature still works in most native editors and Office applications.”

The toggle stays on. If UIA can’t read the focused field in a specific target app, the transcript is inserted without capitalisation adjustment — the paste itself still works.

Apps where Autocapitalize Insert works: Most native Windows apps, Microsoft Office, and standard text editors.

Apps where it degrades gracefully: Web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) and Electron-based apps (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf) — UIA cannot reliably read text field context inside web content areas. Text is still pasted; capitalisation is not adjusted.

Password fields: UIA also detects password fields. When you dictate with the cursor in a password field, HyperWhisper skips the paste entirely — the transcript stays on your clipboard but is not inserted. This is intentional.

Auto-paste without Autocapitalize Insert

The core auto-paste feature (injecting text into the previously focused app) does not require UIA. It uses Win32 SetForegroundWindow and simulated Ctrl+V, which work independently of UI Automation.

Autostart registration

When you enable Launch at startup in Settings → General, HyperWhisper writes a value to the Windows Registry under your user account:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Value name: HyperWhisper

This is a per-user key that requires no administrator privileges. Once registered, HyperWhisper appears in Task Manager → Startup apps.

If the registry write fails (for example, because a group policy restricts HKCU access), the toggle snaps back to the off position and a dialog appears:

“Failed to enable launch at startup. Please check if you have permission to modify startup settings.”

In that case, contact your IT administrator — the restriction is applied at the system level, not within HyperWhisper.

To verify autostart is active, open Task Manager, click More details if needed, and open the Startup apps tab. HyperWhisper should appear there with its status set to Enabled.

SmartScreen warnings

When you run the HyperWhisper installer on a machine where Windows hasn’t yet established a reputation for the file, SmartScreen may show a blue warning dialog before the installer launches. This is not a permission you can pre-grant.

Click More info, then Run anyway to proceed. The warning does not appear again on subsequent installs or updates on the same machine.

HyperWhisper is a signed application distributed through an installer built with Inno Setup. The installer is configured to request the lowest necessary privileges (PrivilegesRequired=lowest) and installs per-user by default.

No SmartScreen exclusion is needed for the app itself after installation — only the installer download may trigger it.

Administrator privileges

HyperWhisper does not require administrator privileges for any feature:

• Installation defaults to a per-user install in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs via the Inno Setup {autopf} directive (resolved to the local-app-data path when PrivilegesRequired=lowest). Users can opt into a machine-wide install under Program Files if UAC elevation is available.
• Autostart uses HKEY_CURRENT_USER (no elevation needed).
• All other operations (recording, transcription, paste) are standard user-level actions.

No UAC elevation prompt appears during normal use.

Troubleshooting

Microphone not working Check Windows Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. Ensure both Microphone access and Let desktop apps access your microphone are on. Restart HyperWhisper after changing these settings.

Paste not working in a specific app If the transcript appears on your clipboard but isn’t inserted, check whether the destination is a web browser or Electron app — HyperWhisper may not be able to detect or refocus the text field reliably. Paste manually with Ctrl+V.

If the cursor is in a password field, paste is intentionally blocked. The transcript is on your clipboard.

Autocapitalize Insert not adjusting capitalisation This feature degrades gracefully in browsers and Electron apps. If capitalisation adjustment matters for a particular workflow, use a native editor or Office application where UIA can read the text field context.

Launch at startup not working Open Task Manager → Startup apps. If HyperWhisper isn’t listed, re-enable the setting in Settings → General → Launch at startup. If the toggle reverts or you see an error dialog, a group policy may be blocking HKCU registry writes — contact your IT administrator.

---

macOS comparison: macOS uses the Accessibility API (a single, system-wide permission that covers both auto-paste and bare-modifier hotkeys). Windows uses UI Automation, which is available per-app without a grant step but provides less reliable access in browser and Electron environments. Both platforms restore your original clipboard contents after paste.