Who makes DubTab, and how it works
DubTab gives you live subtitles and an AI voice in your language for whatever is playing — a browser tab, any app on your computer, or a video file you already have — about half a second behind the speaker. Below: who builds it, what happens to your audio, and what it can't do.
- Built by
- Ethan Hu
- Software engineer
- Runs on
- Your computer
- Chrome, Edge or Brave · Windows 11 · macOS 14.2 or later
- Languages
- 50+
- Try it
- 15 free minutes
- A one-time trial
A note from Ethan
Hi, I'm Ethan Hu, and I build DubTab.
If you've tried to learn from a course or a talk in a language you don't know well, you probably know the routine: pause, rewind, copy a sentence into a translator — and by the time it makes sense, the speaker has moved on. Most of your energy goes into the language instead of the thing you came to learn.
I want DubTab to carry that part for you, so you can keep listening and keep learning without stopping. That's really the whole goal.
It isn't perfect yet. When someone talks fast, the voice can't keep pace and say every word at the same time, so I let you decide which matters more to you. A lot of my time goes into small things like that — how long a line stays on screen, how much of the original voice you still hear — because they decide whether you can keep going or have to stop.
I read every message, and some of the changes in the changelog started as one. If something doesn't work for you — a site, a language, a voice — please tell me. And if DubTab isn't the right tool for what you're trying to do, I'll tell you that honestly.
— Ethan
Timeline
From version 1.1 on, every release is in the public changelog.
- January 2026First version of the browser extension
- August 12, 2026History in your account, with an AI summary of each session
- August 25, 2026Saved dubbing and interactive mind maps
- August 30, 2026Desktop app for Windows
- September 15, 2026Desktop app for Mac
- October 10, 2026Dub video files that are already on your computer
- October 22, 2026Latest update: Cinema subtitles that roll like live TV, plus Croatian
How it works
It listens to what's playing
The browser tab you turn it on for. In the desktop app, one app or your whole computer — or a video file you open in it.
The sound goes out in short pieces
Each piece is turned into text and translated as it arrives. Nothing waits for the whole video, and there is no file to upload.
You get subtitles and a voice
Subtitles in your language, and an AI voice speaking the translation about half a second behind the speaker.
The speech recognition, translation and AI voices come from specialist providers DubTab works with. They process audio and text only to provide the service, and are required to protect it. Privacy Policy, section 3
What happens to your audio
What DubTab does
- Sends the sound of what's playing, in short pieces, to make the subtitles and the voice.
- Keeps your History — transcripts, translations and summaries — in your account, and lets you delete any session.
- Saves the dubbed audio of a session only if you turn that on. It's off by default.
What DubTab doesn't do
- Keep a recording of the original audio.
- Listen to your microphone. Neither the extension nor the desktop app has a microphone source.
- Upload your video files. Only the sound of the part being prepared is sent.
- Store your full card details. Payments go through a payment processor.
What it can't do
- There's no phone or tablet app yet. An Android app is coming soon; until then, DubTab works on a computer.
- The desktop app needs Windows 11, or macOS 14.2 or later. On Windows 10, use the browser extension.
- It's one-way: it translates what you hear, not what you say.
Questions before you install or pay?
Write to [email protected]. I read every message.