Is the voice recorder free?

Yes. You can record and download the audio file without an account. If you then want the recording transcribed, verified students at universities in Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway get 7 free hours of audio a month.

Is my recording stored online?

No. The recording stays in your browser, and the recorder uploads nothing. It only leaves your device if you upload the file yourself for transcription. If you close the page without downloading it, the recording is gone.

Which file format do I get?

That depends on your browser. Chrome, Edge and Firefox usually give you a webm file, and Safari usually gives you an m4a file. You can upload either for transcription.

Can I record on my phone?

Yes, the recorder works in the browser on most recent phones. Keep the screen on while you record, and leave the page open until you have downloaded the file.

Online voice recorder: record audio in your browser

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The recording stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded until you choose to transcribe it.

How to record audio in your browser

This online voice recorder uses your browser’s built-in recording feature. You do not need to install anything or create an account, and it works on a laptop just as well as on a phone.

1
Allow the microphone
Click Start recording and choose Allow when your browser asks for access to the microphone. If you blocked it by mistake, change the setting under the icon at the left of the address bar.
2
Record
The timer runs and the level meter moves when someone speaks. If the meter stays flat while you talk, check the microphone before the interview starts.
3
Pause when you need to
Use Pause if you are interrupted and Resume to carry on. The recording continues in the same file.
4
Stop
Click Stop. You can then play the recording straight away and check that everything is clear.
5
Download it at once
Click Download the audio file and save it somewhere you will find it again. Until then the recording only exists in your browser’s memory, so it is lost if you close or reload the tab.

The file format depends on your browser. Chrome, Edge and Firefox usually save a webm file, and Safari usually saves an m4a file. You can upload either one for transcription.

Record an interview that is easy to transcribe

The better the recording, the less you will have to correct later. These habits help most:

Put the phone or laptop close to the person who talks most, about 20 to 30 centimetres from their mouth. For a conversation between two people, place it on the table between you.
Choose a quiet room without echo, and turn off fans, music and notifications.
Do a 20-second test first. Say a few sentences, stop, and listen back with headphones. If you can hear every word clearly, you are ready.
Switch your phone to flight mode so calls and messages cannot interrupt the recording.
Agree to let each other finish speaking. Where two people talk at once, the transcript will be patchy.

Jot down the time on the counter when something important is said, so you can find the passage quickly in the transcript.

Never record someone without asking first. Before the interview, give the person you interview a participant information sheet that explains what the recording is for, who will hear it, where it will be stored and when it will be deleted. Ask them to sign a consent form, and confirm their consent again at the start of the recording.

A voice identifies the speaker, so a recording is personal data under UK GDPR even without names, and the same applies under the GDPR in the EU. Participants can withdraw, usually until a stated point such as when the data have been analysed or anonymised, so decide in advance how you would remove their recording and transcript, and say so on the information sheet.

Your university will have its own rules on top of this. Many projects with human participants need ethics approval from the university’s research ethics committee before you start recruiting. Ask your supervisor what applies before you book your first interview. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Voice memo app or browser recorder?

Both record well enough for transcription. The browser recorder suits you when you cannot install software on a university computer or want the file on your computer straight away.

A voice memo app on your phone is the better choice for long recordings on the move. It usually keeps recording when the screen locks. A browser page, on the other hand, has to stay open until you have downloaded the file, and some phones interrupt browser recording when you switch apps or lock the screen.

Many universities decide which apps and equipment are approved for interviews with personal data, and some approve neither phones’ built-in recorders nor third-party apps. Check your university’s rules before you record.

From recording to transcript

The recorder uploads nothing: your recording stays in your browser until you download it. If you upload the file to Spirelight Student, you get a draft with speaker labels and timestamps, which you correct while you listen and export to Word.

Transcription runs on AssemblyAI’s servers in the EU. Your files, transcripts and account are stored with Google Firebase in the US. If you use AI summaries or chat, the text of your transcripts and documents is processed by OpenAI in the US. We don’t offer a data processing agreement, so whether you may upload interviews with personal data depends on your university’s rules. Our terms and privacy policy have the details.

Check names, technical terms and changes of speaker against the recording yourself. Read more about interview transcription.