Voice Recorder
- Ready
- Status
- 0.0s
- Length
- :
- Size
- :
- Format
The audio stays on your device
Recording happens in the browser and the file is built in memory. Nothing is transmitted, and closing the tab discards it.
The voice recorder captures your microphone to a WebM audio file with a live level meter, so you can see you are actually being picked up before you talk for ten minutes. Recording and encoding happen in the browser and the file saves straight to your device.
How it works
getUserMedia requests the microphone, MediaRecorder encodes the stream to WebM with Opus, and a Web Audio analyser reads the signal level in real time to drive the meter.
- The browser asks permission the first time and remembers your answer for the site.
- The level meter reads the live stream, not the recording, so it works before you press record.
- A meter that never moves means the wrong input device is selected, or the microphone is muted at the operating system level.
- Opus at speech bitrates is roughly 0.5 MB per minute, far smaller than an uncompressed recording.
Examples
A voice memo
Length
3 minutes of speech
Result
About 1.5 MB of WebM audio
Opus is efficient at voice. The same three minutes as uncompressed WAV would be roughly 30 MB.
Checking the input first
Action
Watch the meter before recording
Result
A meter that stays flat means nothing is reaching the browser
This is the failure worth catching early, because a silent recording is only discovered after the fact.
Frequently asked questions
Is my recording sent to a server?
No. The audio is encoded in your browser and saved to your device. No network request is made with the recording at any point.
Why does the level meter show nothing?
Usually the browser is using a different input than you expect, a headset that is connected but not selected, or a monitor’s built-in microphone. Check the input device in your operating system sound settings, and check the microphone is not hardware-muted.
What format is the file?
WebM containing Opus audio, which is what browsers support consistently for recording. It plays in browsers and most modern players; convert it if you need MP3 or WAV for a specific application.
Can I pause and resume?
You can pause and resume within one recording, and the segments join into a single file. Stopping ends the recording, starting again begins a new file rather than appending.