A hands-free review should keep the learning loop intact without making you manage the screen. You still need time to recall the answer and a way to grade it; the app simply handles playback and accepts controls that suit what you are doing.

The safest setup is the one you finish before you start moving. Choose the cards, timing, and controls while stationary. During a drive or another attention-critical activity, follow local laws and never use the app in a way that takes attention from the task.

Make a dedicated session

Saved review sessions remember their own collection, order, card limit, autoplay timing, voice-command setting, and scheduling behaviour. A separate “Walk” or “Commute” session can therefore behave differently from a quiet desk review.

When creating the session, choose:

  • which folders or cards it can draw from;
  • whether it shows only due cards;
  • the order and maximum number of cards;
  • whether sides play automatically;
  • how long to wait before revealing the next side; and
  • whether voice commands are enabled.

The full list is in Review Sessions.

Give yourself enough recall time

Autoplay is not meant to rush from a question into its answer. Set the Answer Delay long enough to understand the prompt and attempt the answer. Set Time Between Cards long enough to grade or reset your attention.

Short factual answers may need only a few seconds. A definition, translation, or oral-exam prompt may need longer. Use one timing profile for material with a similar rhythm rather than forcing every subject into the same pace.

Choose a control method

Audio Flashcards supports several ways to control a session without returning to the main app screen.

Voice commands

Say again, hard, good, or easy to grade, and use commands such as next, previous, repeat, question, or answer to navigate. You can rename the command phrases and select their recognition language.

Recognition pauses while card audio is playing, so speak in the gap. A headset microphone usually gives the recogniser a cleaner signal than a phone in a pocket. Set Up Voice Commands covers testing and troubleshooting.

Headphones and car controls

Play, pause, and skip controls work from compatible headphones and car systems. These are useful when speaking aloud would be awkward or unreliable.

Lock Screen and Live Activity

On supported Apple devices, the current session appears on the Lock Screen and in the Live Activity. That keeps essential controls available without navigating back through the app.

During a Review explains each control and what happens when a card finishes without a grade.

Decide whether listening should affect the schedule

If a card plays without a grade, FSRS normally leaves its due date alone because the app does not know whether you recalled it. That is the right behaviour for an active review interrupted by the environment.

For a session intended mainly for listening, enable its passive scheduler. It gives played cards a separate listening interval so the session does not repeat the same items indefinitely. It does not pretend that listening is the same as graded recall.

The difference is explained in Active recall vs passive listening.

Test before relying on it

Run five cards with the phone on the table. Check that every prompt makes sense without text, the delays feel natural, voice commands are recognised, and the output is going to the expected speaker or headphones.

If a card only works when you can see it, rewrite it or leave it for a visual session. A hands-free review is most useful when it removes unnecessary screen attention, not when it hides information the card still needs.