Voice Recorder

How to record your voice

1. Choose a Maximum length and, if your browser offers several, a Recording format. Leave Echo cancellation and noise suppression ticked for speech in a normal room.
2. Press Record and allow the microphone when your browser asks. The timer starts and the level meter moves with your voice.
3. Use Pause and Resume to skip a moment without starting a new file. Press Stop to save the take.
4. Each take appears in the Takes list with its length, size and format. Play it with the built-in player and click its name to rename it.
5. Pick a format in Download as and press Download. Delete removes a take you don’t need.

Record as many takes as you like: the newest one is always at the top. After the first recording, the Microphone list shows your inputs (built-in, headset, USB microphone) so you can pick another one for the next take.

Choosing a file format

Browsers record compressed audio natively, and this tool offers what yours can produce:

• WebM (Opus): the default in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Excellent quality for voice at a small size (about 1 MB per minute at 128 kbit/s).
• OGG (Opus): the same Opus codec in an Ogg container, recorded by Firefox. Handy for tools that don’t read WebM.
• M4A (AAC): recorded by Safari and some recent Chromium versions; plays natively on iPhone and Mac.

The Original download saves exactly what was recorded, with no quality loss. WAV (uncompressed) and MP3 (128 kbit/s) are converted in your browser: the take is decoded to raw audio and re-encoded. WAV is lossless but large (about 5.5 MB per minute in mono at 48 kHz), and is the safest input for audio editors and transcription services. MP3 plays everywhere, from old car stereos to messaging apps, at about 1 MB per minute.

Tips for a clean recording

• Keep the microphone 15 to 30 cm from your mouth, slightly to the side, to avoid breath noises and popping “p” sounds.
• Watch the level meter: speech should mostly stay in the yellow part. Constant red means you are too close or the input gain is too high, which causes distortion.
• A small room with soft furnishings (curtains, sofa, bed) echoes much less than a kitchen or an empty room.
• Turn off Echo cancellation and noise suppression to record music or ambient sound: these filters are tuned for voice calls and can cut quiet notes or make instruments sound pumped.
• Use the Maximum length as a safety net: the take is saved automatically when it is reached, so a forgotten recording can’t grow without end.