This feature adds on-device speech recognition support to the Web Speech API, allowing websites to ensure that neither audio nor transcribed speech are sent to a third-party service for processing. Websites can query the availability of on-device speech recognition for specific languages, prompt users to install the necessary resources for on-device speech recognition, and choose between on-device or cloud-based speech recognition as needed.
The Web Speech API is a web standard API that allows developers to incorporate speech recognition and synthesis into their web pages. Currently, the Web Speech API spec does not mention where speech recognition occurs, and most implementers of the API perform speech recognition using a cloud service. Enabling on-device speech recognition support allows websites to ensure that neither audio nor transcribed speech are sent to a third-party service for processing.
Explainers: https://github.com/WebAudio/web-speech-api/pull/122