There are over 2.5 million apps on the Google Play Store today and millions and it is estimated that 250 million downloads are made every day. When you consider that mobile devices now exceed the total number of people on the planet, this figure is not so surprising.

Apps can provide great tools such as fitness programs, ways to connect through social media and free messaging, multiplayer games, and also some quirky ones to change things about the user. This last category often adds filters to photos, can change the appearance of the user in their images, and some can change the way they sound.

Voice changer apps have been around for some time but they are now growing more popular as people find more reasons to use them. 

What is a voice-changer app?

A voice changer, put very simply, is a mobile app or a physical device that allows modification of a user’s voice.

This can mean distorting the voice so it is unrecognizable, or in some apps making the voice sound like another creature, character, or person. There are options in some of these apps to make yourself sound male, female, younger, or even non-human.

Some voice changer apps feature options such as these:

  • Giant
  • Robot
  • Fairy
  • Donald Duck
  • Animals such as dogs
  • Demon

These distorted voices are meant for entertainment and can be used in many ways but it is important to remember there are some laws to be aware of when using a voice changer. 

Are voice changers legal?

No doubt you have watched a thriller at the cinema or on DVD at some point that featured a voice changer. Often when the police are hunting the bad guy there will be a series of demands made over the phone and a voice changer used to disguise who the villain is. Luckily, most people use voice changers for very legitimate reasons.

There are a lot of spying and tracking gadgets on the market and there are very good reasons for tracking your children’s phones for their safety, for example. However, when using any of these types of apps and gadgets you must understand the legalities around them.

Voice changers are totally legal as long as they are used properly and in accordance with the law. One of the easiest ways someone could get themselves in trouble is if they started making threats over the telephone to someone while using a voice changer. Regardless of whether you use a voice changer or not, if you use profane, or threatening language over a telephone you are breaking the law. 

Why are voice changer apps growing rapidly?

One of the reasons that voice changers are becoming very popular is online messaging. Discord is a very popular site with over 300 million users and many of these are teenagers.

Discord allows its users to build communities and video and voice call each other using VoIP technology. One thing that many users like to do is use voice changers to have fun with each other. Popular voices include Chipmunk and Titan and can be used to prank friends.

Not so long ago, voice changer apps were very simple and would usually feature the same options such as alien, robot, man, and woman. There was little choice, but now they are becoming much more sophisticated and can even include autotune effects to turn anyone into a pop star, well, almost anyone. 

What are legitimate uses for voice changers?

There are some rather sketchy possibilities for using voice changers but outside of Hollywood movies, most people want them for the fun factor.

Here are some of the main uses of a voice changer app:

  • Online gaming
  • Voice messaging
  • Pranking friends
  • Singing
  • Acting and making movies
  • Anonymity

Looking at some of these areas in more detail, you can first see how voice changers affect video games. 

Online gaming and voice changers

Online gaming is a big area for voice changers now. Video games have never been more popular with billions of active players over the world joining in regularly to build in Minecraft or to shoot other gamers in Fortnite.

Many of these gamers take their hobbies seriously and will kit out their bedroom or basement with 4K HD screens, ergonomic equipment, gaming chairs, and headsets. It is this headset that is important when it comes to online gaming as it not only allows clear music and special effects it also allows players to communicate with each other.

Many online games have two distinct variations, single-player or team play. With single-player, you can send messages out globally to all other players and in a team mode, you can communicate instructions to your buddies.

Many players also stream or record their gameplay to Twitch or YouTube and adding voice changer effects on PUBG for instance can add an element of fun. 

Voice messaging and pranking friends

One of the other biggest uses of voice changers is simply having fun with messaging friends. There are numerous messaging services and social media platforms available for children and adults to use and voice changers make for good pranks.

Teenagers like to call up their friends anonymously and use voice changers to play a joke on them and with so many free apps available this is a very accessible way to play a prank. If someone wanted to take their voice changing more seriously they could buy a professional voice changer.

For some users though, there may be a need for looking at professional quality equipment. 

Making musical or video entertainment with a voice changer

For many people, a free downloadable app will provide enough options for playing around on Discord or Fortnite, but for others, they may want a bit more power.

With so much software readily available, and laptops, and mobile devices becoming more powerful, many people enjoy producing music and home movies. There is no need for big budgets or expensive equipment these days and even professional movie makers have created Hollywood movies with just a smartphone.

If you enjoy producing music, recording and writing songs or making movies at home, then you could use a voice changer to increase your options. Autotune is available on some voice changers and this can help you to produce music with fewer flaws away from a proper recording studio.

A professional voice changer can add a lot of choices for a movie maker too. Perhaps you only have a limited cast but your script includes a number of characters, with clever use of a voice changer you can make your characters sound different even with the same actors. This would work especially well in an animated movie.

These professional voice changers are physical devices not apps and can be seen on SpyCentre website along with some other interesting gadgets. One other device available is spy glasses that can record HD that could be put to some interesting filmmaking uses such as POV. 

Summary

These days, voice technology as a whole is becoming more important. Alexa, Siri, and other smart home devices rely on voice control and soon it will be very important that websites are optimized for voice search.

Voice changers definitely have more of an entertainment value than smart devices but they can also be put to some creative uses with music and video.