When you are walking down the street, driving, or in the middle of a busy project, stopping to type a long note on your smartphone is incredibly inconvenient. To help you capture your thoughts instantly without looking at a screen, the Google Keep mobile app includes a powerful voice memo feature. Not only does it record your spoken audio, but it also automatically transcribes your words into searchable text in real time, giving you the best of both worlds.
How to Record a Voice Memo
The voice memo feature is primarily designed for the Google Keep mobile app (available on both Android and iOS). Because it relies on your phone’s microphone and on-the-fly speech recognition, you cannot initiate a new voice recording from the desktop web version of Keep (though you can play them back there).
- Open the Google Keep app on your smartphone.
- Look at the very bottom of the screen to find the quick-capture toolbar.
- Tap the Microphone icon on the right side of the toolbar.
- Google Keep will immediately start listening. The screen will display a red microphone icon and the words “Speak now.”
- Speak your note clearly into the phone.
- When you finish speaking, simply stop talking. Google Keep is designed to automatically detect a few seconds of silence and will stop the recording on its own.
Managing the Audio and Transcript
As soon as the recording stops, Google Keep will create a brand-new note containing two distinct elements: the transcribed text and the original audio file.
- The Transcript: Keep will automatically paste the text of what you said directly into the main body of the note. It will even try to assign a relevant title based on the first few words you spoke. You can tap on this text to edit it using your keyboard, fix any spelling errors, or add additional typed details.
- The Audio File: At the bottom of the note, you will see a small audio player widget containing your original recording. You can tap the play button at any time to hear your actual voice.
Deleting the Audio File (Keeping Only the Text)
Sometimes you only want the transcription and do not want the audio file taking up space or cluttering your note. If you want to delete the audio recording but keep the text you dictated, simply tap the small X icon on the right side of the audio player widget. The recording will be permanently deleted, leaving behind a perfectly formatted text note that you generated entirely hands-free.