Sometimes you just need to capture a voice: a memo to yourself, a quote for a podcast, a pronunciation for a language class, a voice-over for a slide deck or a quick message for someone who prefers listening to reading. Installing an app for that is more effort than the recording itself.
This recorder works with your computer's built-in microphone, a headset or USB microphone, or a phone's microphone. A live level display shows that sound is coming in, you can pause and resume, and when you stop you can listen back and download the recording in the browser's own format, or save it as WAV or MP3. The audio is captured and saved inside your browser and is never uploaded.
Formats the recorder produces
Browsers record audio in a compressed format of their choosing. Chrome, Edge and Firefox use WebM with the Opus codec, which sounds clear for speech at very small sizes, often well under 1 MB per minute; Safari usually records MP4 audio. The Download button saves this original file without any conversion, and its label shows which format your browser produced.
Not every program opens WebM audio, so two other formats are a click away. Save as WAV decodes the recording in the browser and writes uncompressed 16-bit PCM, which every audio editor, transcription tool and operating system can read; it is larger, roughly 5 to 11 MB per minute depending on the sample rate and whether the recording is mono or stereo. Save as MP3 encodes the recording at 192 kbps with the site's audio converter, giving a file of about 1.4 MB per minute that plays on practically any device. Converting to WAV or MP3 cannot add quality the recording does not have, but it does make the file easier to use.
What people record
Voice memos and notes
Capture an idea, a to-do list or meeting notes in your own voice and keep them as MP3 alongside your other files.
Narration and voice-overs
Record a voice-over for a presentation or a video, save it as WAV for editing, and then put it on the video with Add Audio to Video.
Practising speech, singing or language
Recording yourself and listening back is one of the quickest ways to hear pronunciation, pace and pitch. For singing or instruments, switch off the noise and echo reduction.
Microphone access and voice processing
When you press Start recording, the browser asks for permission to use the microphone; the site can only hear it after you allow it, and the browser shows an indicator while it is on. The microphone is released as soon as you stop. While recording, a moving bar display and an input level meter show the incoming sound, and the panel counts the time and the size of the file so far.
Reduce background noise and echo is switched on at the start. It uses the voice processing built into your browser: echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain control, the same processing video calls use. That suits speech in an ordinary room. Switch it off to record music, ambient sound or a carefully set up microphone, because the processing can treat sustained notes as noise and change levels. MP3 saving uses the site's audio converter, about 31 MB, which is downloaded the first time you choose Save as MP3; WAV saving needs no download.
Como usar esta ferramenta
- Decide whether Reduce background noise and echo should be on, then press Start recording.
- Allow microphone access when the browser asks, and speak. Use Pause and Resume as needed.
- Press Stop, then listen to the recording in the player.
- Press the download button, labelled with the browser's format such as Download WEBM, to keep the original, or choose Save as WAV or Save as MP3. Press New recording to start again.
Limitations
- Recordings are kept in the browser until you save them. Closing or reloading the tab before downloading loses them.
- There is no editing here. Cut the start and end with Trim Audio, and fix levels afterwards with Normalize Audio or reduce hiss with Noise Reduction.
- Sound quality depends on the microphone and the room; a laptop's built-in microphone picks up keyboard and fan noise.
- On phones, recording can stop if the screen locks or you switch to another app.