Spirit Talker ® - SLS Camera

Review by eFreeware

The pitch behind Spirit Talker SLS Camera is simple: a phone or tablet can stand in for the modified Kinect rigs that paranormal investigators use to spot human-shaped figures in a room. Instead of asking you to buy dedicated hardware, the app leans on Google's machine learning body and face detection suites to highlight forms and faces in real time. That is the most distinctive thing about it, and it is the reason it exists at all.

The developer, Spotted: Ghosts, sells this as a one-time purchase at $4.99, with no ads and no in-app purchases attached. It has been on Google Play since July 2022 and has picked up more than 5,000 installs, holding a 3.6 average across 129 ratings at the time of writing.

I would expect this to appeal to hobbyist investigators and paranormal enthusiasts who enjoy the ritual of a session and want a tool that fits in a pocket. It is not a scientific instrument, and the developer is upfront about that: the app carries a disclaimer that the paranormal is theoretical and unproven, and that detected words and figures should not guide legal, financial, medical or life decisions. Read that as the frame for everything else here.

How the body and face detection actually works

The core of the app is a camera view that watches for human-like shapes. Body Detection mode searches for whole figures and gives them a sense of depth. Close figures are marked in red, mid-range ones in white, and distant ones in blue. If you prefer a cleaner look, a 2D green line mode can be switched on in the settings, which trades the depth coloring for a simpler outline.

Face Detection mode shifts the target to faces and head shapes, tracking them as they appear on screen. Switching between the two is done by tapping the Body or Head icon, so you can move from scanning a room to watching for a face without digging through menus.

The workflow is deliberately short. You press Record to begin a session, watch for shapes or faces to register, and then save or share what you captured. Recordings are written as .mp4 files, which means they play back in ordinary video players and can be sent to other people without special software.

What I appreciate about this design is that the app is not pretending to be more than a camera overlay. It shows you what its detection models flag, and leaves the interpretation to you. Anyone who has followed paranormal tools will recognize the SLS format, and this is a software version of that idea rather than a new one.

The built-in Spirit Talker and the extras around it

This camera includes a version of the developer's Spirit Talker app. When it is switched on in the settings, it runs automatically as soon as recording starts and stops when you finish, which keeps you from juggling two apps mid-session. If you would rather record in silence, you can turn it off entirely.

The talker speaks through Google Text-to-Speech. The developer notes that if no voice is heard, the Google Text-to-Speech engine may need to be installed on the device, and points to the Text-to-Speech Output entry under Accessibility settings for adjustments. That is a reasonable troubleshooting path, though it does put one setup step between you and the feature.

Torch mode is the other practical addition. It toggles your device's flashlight on and off from inside the app, which matters for anyone working in a dark room or a basement where the camera needs light to see anything at all.

Recorded clips are managed through a Folder button that lets you browse, view and share them. From there, opening a video and tapping Share is how you save a clip to your phone's photo gallery, so captured sessions can live alongside your other media.

What the app asks of you

The price is a single $4.99 payment. There are no ads in the app and no in-app purchases, so nothing inside is gated behind a second transaction. For a niche tool, that is a straightforward arrangement: you pay once and the app is yours.

The bigger requirement is philosophical rather than financial. The app detects human-like shapes and faces; it does not tell you what they are. Anyone expecting proof of anything will be disappointed by design.

You also need an Android phone or tablet, since the detection work is done through Google's machine learning suites. And if you want the Spirit Talker voice, you will likely want Google Text-to-Speech present and configured, which is a step outside the app itself.

The install base is modest, and the 3.6 average across 129 ratings suggests a mixed reception rather than universal enthusiasm. I would treat those numbers as a signal that this is a specialist tool with a specific audience, not a mass-market app.

Getting a useful session out of it

The recording flow rewards patience. Because the app highlights forms and faces only when its detection models register them, a session works best when you move slowly and give the camera a clear view of the space. Panning quickly through a room is likely to produce a lot of nothing.

Light matters. Torch mode exists for a reason, and a dark environment with no illumination gives the detection models little to work with. If you are recording in a dim space, turning the flashlight on before you start is the sensible move.

Decide about Spirit Talker before you hit record. Since it starts and stops with the recording, toggling it in settings ahead of time keeps the audio track consistent across a session. If you want clean video without spoken words, disable it first.

Afterward, use the Folder button to review what you captured, then share the clips you want to keep into your gallery. Saving as you go avoids losing a session you meant to preserve, and the .mp4 format means the files are easy to move around later.

The limits worth accepting up front

This is a camera overlay for a specific hobby, and its scope is narrow. It detects body shapes and faces, records video, and optionally speaks words through a text-to-speech engine. It is not a general camera app, not an editing tool, and not a substitute for dedicated investigation equipment.

The detection itself is only as meaningful as your interpretation. The app shows colored figures and outlines; what those figures represent is a question the software cannot answer, and the developer says as much in the disclaimer. That is not a flaw so much as the nature of the category.

The dependence on Google Text-to-Speech for the talker feature is a real friction point. If the voice does not work, the fix involves installing or adjusting an engine outside the app, which is not something every user will want to do.

The ratings picture is worth keeping in mind. That fits a niche tool, but it also means you should go in with measured expectations.

A tool for hobbyist ghost hunters

Spirit Talker SLS Camera is a $4.99 one-time purchase that turns an Android phone or tablet into a body and face detection camera with a built-in Spirit Talker voice and .mp4 recording. It is honest about what it is: a software take on the SLS format, with a disclaimer that the paranormal is unproven and that its output should not drive real decisions.

I would recommend it to paranormal enthusiasts and hobbyist investigators who enjoy running sessions and want a portable tool without buying dedicated hardware. The combination of body detection, face detection, a torch, and a talker that runs alongside recording covers the basics of that hobby in one app.

If you are looking for something with a broader purpose, or for a tool that offers conclusions rather than overlays, this one stays firmly in its lane. For the audience it is built for, that focus is the point.

What's new in version 2.0.3

Squished a few bugs