Is there a limit on how long a memo can be?

No fixed limit is imposed, but nothing stops the recording automatically either, so a forgotten take keeps running and produces a very long file. For anything longer than a note, the scheduled recorder with its automatic stop is the more sensible tool.

Not inside the tool. Each memo is named with the voice-memo prefix and the date and time of capture, which keeps takes from overwriting one another. Renaming afterwards is a job for the batch file renamer, which can label a whole set of takes in one pass.

Does it transcribe what I say?

No. The tool only captures audio, so there is no text output to search. If you need a transcript, it has to be produced elsewhere and then matched to the recording, which is a separate workflow from capturing the take.

Which microphone does it use?

Whatever the system treats as the default input. There is no device list here by design, because choosing a device works against the idea of a one press capture. If the default is wrong for your setup, the microphone recorder is the version that lets you pin a specific input.

Why does the memo sound dull compared to what I heard?

Usually because the operating system applies processing such as gain control or noise suppression to live monitoring but the recorded stream is somewhat different, and because laptop microphones are physically small. Recording with an external input and the microphone recorder gives a noticeably better result when quality matters.

Voice Memo

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Voice Memo records a quick spoken note from the microphone and saves it as a WAV, with no setup and no processing in the way. It is the fastest route from a thought to a file.

What is Voice Memo?

Press record, speak, press stop, and the take is ready to play or download. There is nothing to configure first, which is the point: the tool is shaped around capturing an idea rather than around producing a finished recording.

How the panel behaves:

One control that alternates between starting and stopping the take.
A minimal hint about microphone access, shown until the recording completes.
A live timer with a pulsing indicator so you can see that the take is running and how long it has been.
A preview player and a download button, with a filename built from the prefix voice-memo plus the capture timestamp.
A short summary naming the duration, whether the take is mono or stereo, the sample rate and the WAV conversion.

Capturing is handled by the browser's media recorder, which writes a compressed stream while you speak; on stop that stream is decoded and re-encoded as 16-bit WAV. The memorable detail is how little stands between you and the file. There is no level control, no noise gate and no naming prompt, so a memo takes exactly as long to record as it takes to speak. The absence of processing is a feature rather than a gap once the file exists, because a flat unprocessed take is the easiest thing to clean up later if the memo turns into something more than a note. Errors are reported in the same plain way as the rest of the recording family: a refused permission says so, and a take that produced no data says the recording came back empty rather than handing over a zero length file.

What a memo tool will not do:

There is no pause, no retake over the top of a previous take and no trimming inside the tool.
It cannot label or title the memo, so files are distinguished only by their timestamps.
Nothing is transcribed or indexed, so finding the right memo later means listening.
It records from the system default microphone only, with no device choice.
Long recordings are not protected by an automatic stop, so leaving it running is your responsibility.
As with any single take, the level and the room are whatever they happened to be.

Use it for the spoken equivalent of a note to yourself: a reminder, an idea, a first pass at a sentence you want to use, or a dictated paragraph. Keep the take short and check the preview before you rely on it, and if the memo turns out to matter, move it into the editing or cleanup tools rather than trying to improve it in place. It is equally suited to dictation, where the aim is to say a paragraph once and have it recorded without any setup standing between the thought and the file. A voice memo is also only ever as good as the room it was captured in, so one made in a quiet corner will clean up far better than one made next to a fan, and renaming or filing a session of takes is a job the batch renamer can do in one pass.

How to use Voice Memo

Press the record control and allow microphone access if this is the first time.
Speak your note, watching the timer to confirm the take is running.
Press stop; the capture is decoded and written as a 16-bit WAV in the browser.
Play the preview and download the file, which is named voice-memo followed by the capture time.

When to use Voice Memo vs related tools

Voice Memo is for the shortest path from speech to a saved file, which suits notes, ideas and dictated snippets. Voice Recorder is the same capture presented for more deliberate spoken material, and Microphone Recorder adds a device picker when the default input is not the right one. When a memo grows into something that needs polishing, Noise Reducer and Wind Noise Remover are the usual first repairs.

Privacy & Security

This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data ever leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no upload, no logging, and no account required. Your input is processed locally using client-side JavaScript and is never stored, transmitted, or accessible to anyone else. When you close the tab, everything disappears.