▲ NEGOTIATIONMODE_NEG
Know when they're bluffing
Live confidence delta between their words and their face. A green bar drifts red the moment their story stops matching their brow.
+37% closed deals
in a 41-person pilot
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TELL.
v0.9 · Beta SignalLive micro-expression channel
Read the room.
Before they finish
the sentence.
TELL is a real-time overlay for video calls and AR glasses that tracks 43 facial action units — surfacing deception, boredom, and attraction as calm little pop-ups on the edge of your screen.
- Facial AUs
- 43
- Latency
- 118ms
- Baseline accuracy
- 91.4%
◆ CUEt+00:04.2
Contradiction detected. Lip corner tightened while claiming certainty.
REC ● 1080p
▲ INTEREST 82% // ◆ MICRO-TENSION brow // ● GAZE AVERSION 3.2s // ▽ BOREDOM rising // ◇ ATTRACTION detected // ◆ DECEPTION low-confidence // ▲ ENGAGEMENT peak // ● PUPIL DILATION +18% // ◆ CONTRADICTION t+04.2 // ▽ ATTENTION drift // ▲ INTEREST 82% // ◆ MICRO-TENSION brow // ● GAZE AVERSION 3.2s // ▽ BOREDOM rising // ◇ ATTRACTION detected // ◆ DECEPTION low-confidence // ▲ ENGAGEMENT peak // ● PUPIL DILATION +18% // ◆ CONTRADICTION t+04.2 // ▽ ATTENTION drift //
§01 — Signal
How it reads a face
/ 01
Landmark lock
68 facial landmarks tracked at 30fps. Neutral baseline built from the first six seconds — every micro-shift is measured against that person, not a stranger.
/ 02
Action-Unit decode
FACS-inspired model reads 43 muscle movements. AU4 + AU7 flashing together? That's the classic tell for concealed anger. AU12 asymmetry means polite, not amused.
/ 03
Cue synthesis
A calm one-line pop-up appears at the edge of your view: what shifted, when, and how confident we are. No verdicts — just signal, so you decide.
§02 — Signal
Where it earns its keep
▲ DATINGMODE_DAT
Attraction, not projection
Pupil dilation, lip-press, cheek-raise — the honest signals. TELL nudges you when interest spikes so you stop second-guessing.
3.4× second dates
self-reported, n=612
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▲ INTERVIEWSMODE_INT
Spot the disengaged panelist
Boredom rises quietly — micro-yawns, gaze drift, tiny head-tilts away. A gentle chime tells you it's time to change the story.
−52% dropped calls
vs. no-overlay baseline
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▲ AR GLASSESMODE_AR
In-person, invisible
Runs on Ray-Ban Meta and XREAL Air 2 Ultra. Your view stays clean — cues float only when the signal is strong.
118ms end-to-end
eye-safe, opt-in only
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§03 — Signal
A moment, decoded
Session · 00:04:12● LIVE
00:04:07ThemYeah, we're totally aligned on the timeline.
◆ MICRO-TENSION
Lip corner tightened 0.4s after 'aligned'. Contradicts stated confidence.
00:04:11YouCool — so end of quarter is locked?
◆ GAZE AVERSION
2.9s downward gaze. Common under specificity pressure.
00:04:14Them…mostly. There's a couple of moving pieces.
◆ RECOVERY
Baseline restored. Honesty score climbing again.
Interest82
0baseline · 50100
Deception risk41
0baseline · 30100
Attraction64
0baseline · 50100
Boredom12
0baseline · 50100
§04 — Signal
Feed it a better face
TELL runs on any webcam — but resolution and low-light performance directly shape the signal. Our shortlist, tuned against 200+ hours of test calls.
▲ TELL-tuned$199
Logitech MX Brio 4K
4K · 8.5MP sensor · face-detect AF
Cleanest low-light frame we tested — TELL locks the face mesh in under a second.
View on Amazon →▲ Best for standups$179
Insta360 Link 2C
4K · AI gimbal · auto-frame
Gimbal tracking keeps the face centered so micro-AU signal doesn't blur out.
View on Amazon →▲ Road warrior$149
Opal Tadpole
4K · USB-C · pocketable
Travel-ready webcam for hotel-room negotiations. Yes, that's a real use case.
View on Amazon →/ disclosure — links are affiliate. We only list gear we've stress-tested against TELL.
§05 — Signal
Read what we read
Micro-expressions are only half the game. These four shape how we designed TELL's cue library.
Amazon Books
Never Split the Difference
Chris Voss
★★★★★
Tactical empathy. Pair with TELL's deception overlay for FBI-grade instincts.
Read on Amazon →Amazon Books
What Every BODY is Saying
Joe Navarro
★★★★★
The nonverbal bible. Every AU we track has a chapter dedicated to it.
Read on Amazon →Amazon Books
Emotional Intelligence 2.0
Travis Bradberry
★★★★☆
Baseline EQ moves. TELL handles the pattern-match; this handles what you do next.
Read on Amazon →Amazon Books
Getting to Yes
Fisher & Ury
★★★★★
Principled negotiation. The classic — still the frame we bend our cues around.
Read on Amazon →§06 — Signal
Straight answers
Is this actually reading minds?+
No — and be careful of anyone who says otherwise. TELL surfaces statistically-loaded facial signals against a personal baseline. It's a spotlight, not a verdict.
Does it record the other person?+
Never. Analysis runs locally on your device. No frames leave your machine, no faces are stored, and the other side sees nothing.
What about consent?+
You're reading signals off yourself as much as anyone else. We ship a one-tap 'off' and refuse to run in jurisdictions where covert emotion analysis is regulated.
Which platforms today?+
macOS 14+, Windows 11, and Ray-Ban Meta / XREAL Air 2 Ultra via companion app. Zoom, Meet, Teams, FaceTime, Discord.