Voice memo to text

Ideas, to-do lists, notes to self, a conversation you recorded: voice memos pile up because listening back takes as long as recording did. Turn them into text you can skim and search.

Getting the memo off your phone

Skeleton Fingers works with the audio file, so the first step is getting the memo somewhere you can upload it from.

iPhone

• Open Voice Memos, tap the recording, then use the share option to save it to Files or AirDrop it to your Mac.
• If your memos sync to a Mac through iCloud, open the Voice Memos app on the Mac and drag a recording out to your desktop.
• iPhone Voice Memos are saved as M4A files, which you can upload as they are.

Android

• Recorder apps differ, but most let you share or export a recording as an audio file such as M4A or MP3.
• Send it to yourself, save it to cloud storage, or copy it over with a cable, then upload it.

Private notes stay private

Voice memos are often personal: journal entries, half-formed ideas, reminders about family or health. The browser lane is built for that. The Whisper speech model runs on your own device, so your audio never leaves it. It is free, unlimited, and needs no account. It is slower than the fast lane, depending on your computer, and the first run downloads the model once.

When you want it fast

If you have a backlog, or a memo is a recorded conversation with more than one person, use the fast lane: your browser converts the file to audio, uploads that audio (about 115 MB per hour), and our servers transcribe it in seconds. The first two steps depend on your device and connection, so the total time varies. It labels speakers and detects the language automatically. It needs a free account, and your recordings are stored with that account until you delete them.

What it costs

Most voice memos are short, so the free fast lane goes a long way: a free account transcribes 3 memos a day free, each up to 30 minutes. If you clear a big backlog at once, an hour pack is $5 for 3 fast hours, paid once, and the hours never expire. For heavy daily use, Pro is $9.99 a month for 10 fast hours. The browser lane never costs anything.

Tips for memos that transcribe well

• Hold the phone near your mouth, not at arm's length. Closer speech is clearer speech.
• Speak in full sentences. Trailing off mid-thought is fine for you, but complete sentences read better later.
• Say the structure out loud. Phrases like "first item", "next point" or "action item" make the transcript easy to scan.
• Record in a quiet spot. Wind and traffic are the usual culprits when a memo transcribes badly.