The Voice Memos app of a phone records with the built-in microphone or with an external one.
Interview
Interview recording to text
Interview recording to text: upload the recording of the interview and get the text of it with a timecode on every segment, the speakers on request, and TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV or DOCX out. Free $0, 3 files a day.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps
In short
Upload the recording of the interview and our own transcription engine returns the text of it. One file may be up to 30 minutes. The export comes as TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT or CSV, and as DOCX on Pro.
How to get the file and turn it into text
- 1
Agree the recording
A recorded call is announced to both sides, so the recording of an interview is agreed out loud.
- 2
Record it
The Voice Memos app of a phone records with the built-in or with an external microphone.
- 3
Keep the audio
A meeting comes as an MP4 video or as an M4A audio, and the audio is the smaller of the two files.
- 4
Send the file to the engine
Drop the file on the widget above, or pick it from the device. Set the language, switch the speaker split on when more than one person talks, and send.
- 5
Read it, fix a name, export
The text comes back one segment per line, with the start and the end time of every piece. Fix a name in the editor and export TXT, Markdown, SRT, VTT, CSV or DOCX.
What comes back from the engine
- TXT
One segment per line, the way a person wrote it down. It is the format to paste into a ticket, a chat or a document.
- TXT, CSV
The start and the end time of every segment, and the speakers named separately when you ask for it.
- SRT, VTT
SRT and VTT with the time of every line, so the recording can carry its own subtitles.
- Markdown, DOCX
The transcript is edited through the API and exported as Markdown for a wiki, or as DOCX for a review.
What Phone recorder keeps, and what it gives
A recorded phone call is kept in Call Recordings inside the Notes app, and both people hear a notice about it.
A meeting recorded on Zoom comes as an MP4 video or as an M4A audio.
The recording of an interview is only as good as the microphone it was made with.
up to 30 minutes on the free plan, no minute limit on Pro
$0: 3 files a day, up to 30 minutes per file, no card
$10 a month when you pay yearly ($120 a year), or $20 a month
The case
What the recording does not give you
A Phone recorder file is already on your disk, and it already holds the whole meeting. What it does not hold is a text you can search, quote or hand over. A recording cannot be skimmed, and a recording that is played again from the start is a recording nobody has. Our own engine reads the file once, keeps the time of every sentence and hands the recording of the interview back as a document you can work with.
Tips
Switch the speaker split on before the upload and not after it.
Markdown is the one to keep in a wiki or in a chat.
The audio track is smaller than the video of the same recording.
Check the length before you send it: the free plan takes files of 30 minutes; Pro has no minute limit.
Questions about Phone recorder files
Does the file need a special format?
No. The engine reads the file the way the platform made it: MP4, MP3, M4A, WAV and the other formats of the recorders are all taken. Nothing has to be converted first.
Does anybody else see my Phone recorder file?
The file goes to our own engine and comes back as text. It is not sold and it is not used to train models for other customers. The privacy page of the site has the details.
Can I get the speakers of a Phone recorder call named?
Yes, switch on the split by speaker before you send the file. Two people on one call are told apart, and every line of the text keeps the name.
The page of Phone recorder asks for a login. What then?
Sign in with the account that made the recording, and only then the file appears. Without that account the recording of the interview stays where it is.
Related pages
- Lecture recording to textLecture recording to text: where Phone recorder keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Voice memo to textVoice memo to text: where iPhone keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Dictaphone recording to textDictaphone recording to text: where Olympus dictaphone keeps it, and what the engine does with it.
- Transcribe an interviewTwo microphones, two speakers and the questions that were asked.
Sources
- SiPhone user guide: make a recording (read 2026-10-24)support.apple.com · checked
- SiPhone user guide: record and transcribe a call (read 2026-10-24)support.apple.com · checked
- SZoom help: the files of a meeting (MP4, M4A, chat, CC.VTT) (read 2026-10-24)support.zoom.com · checked
Reading: 4 minutesUpdated Transcribsi editorial team
Drop a recording — the text arrives in a minute
Speakers by name, a time on every line, export to TXT, SRT, VTT, CSV and Markdown.
3 files a day up to 30 minutes, free99+ languagesSpeaker separation and timestamps