Record audio on your Pixel phone

You can record and save audio, turn your speech into searchable words on your screen, and search through recorded audio files. The Recorder app works on Pixel 2 and later Pixel phones.

On Pixel 4 and later Pixel phones, you can use the Recorder app with the new Google Assistant.

Transcriptions, searches within recordings, and use of the new Google Assistant are available in English only.

Record audio | Pixel

Create or delete a recording

  1. On your phone, open the Recorder app  .
  2. Tap Record  .
    • Your phone will record, even if the screen goes to sleep.
    • While recording, you'll see a "Currently recording" message in your notifications.
  3. When you're done, tap Pause  .
  4. Tap Save or Delete.
  5. To name a recording, tap Add title.
Edit a recording
You can trim your recording through its audio or through the transcript.

Save a section

  1. Tap the recording you want to edit and then Edit .
  2. Select the audio or transcript you want to keep.
  3. Tap Crop and then Save copy.
  4. Name the file.
  5. Tap OK.

Remove a section

  1. Tap the recording you want to edit and then Edit .
  2. Select the audio or transcript you want to remove.
  3. Tap Remove and then Save copy.
  4. Name the file.
  5. Tap OK.
Search within recordings or read transcripts

You can search for words, phrases, or sounds, like music or applause. You can also find the exact time the word was spoken, or sound occurred.

To search within a recording, either:

  • Tap Search .
  • On Pixel 4 and later, tell your new Google Assistant to "Search voice recordings for" or "Find my voice recording about" a keyword.
  • On Pixel 2 and later, when your transcript has 150 words or more, use the scrollbar to find keywords. On the right side, touch and drag the scrollbar to see keywords in your transcript. To go to a specific section with a highlighted keyword, tap the word that shows on the side.

To read the transcript of a recording, tap the recording. Near the bottom, tap Transcript.

Share & save recordings

Your recordings stay on your Pixel unless you turn on backup, share the files, copy them to another app, or save them elsewhere, like in Google Drive.

Other apps can use your recordings if you turn on permissions. Learn how to control app permissions.

Share or save an audio file with a person or an app

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. Touch and hold a recording.
  3. At the top right, tap Share and then Audio.
  4. Choose the app you want to share the file through.

Share an audio file on the internet (Pixel 3 & later)

Important: By default, backed up recordings and their links are private to your Google Account.

To share a recording with a unique link:

  1. Sign into your Google account.
  2. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  3. Touch and hold a recording.
  4. At the top right, tap Share and then Link.
  5. Choose your Share Settings.
    • Important: If you choose the “Shared link” setting, anyone with the link can view and play it.
  6. Copy the link and share it.

Delete an audio file on the internet (Pixel 3 & later)

Important: Deleted recordings are permanently removed from recorder.google.com and all synced devices.

To delete a recording on the internet:

  1. Go to recorder.google.com.
  2. Choose the recording you want to delete.
  3. At the top right, tap More and then Delete and then Delete.

Share or save a transcript to Google Docs or as a text file

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. Touch and hold a recording.
  3. At the top right, tap Share and then Transcript.
  4. At the bottom, select Google Docs or Text file (.txt).

Share or save audio as a video file

From the recording, you can create a video clip up to 60 seconds.

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. Touch and hold a recording.
  3. At the top right, tap Share and then Video clip.
  4. Then, if you want, customize the video's content, layout, and theme.
    • Content: Select Transcript & waveform or Waveform.
    • Layout: Select Square, Portrait, or Landscape.
    • Theme: Select Dark theme or Light theme.
  5. At the top right, tap Create.
  6. Tap Save or Share. If you choose to share the clip, select the app to share to.
    • If you don't want to save or share, at the top right, tap Done.
Back up & view recordings on your Google Account (Pixel 3 & later)

Back up and sync automatically saves your recordings to your Google Account at recorder.google.com. If you log into your account, you can get your recordings from any device. You can choose to back up and sync some recordings and also choose for other recordings to stay private on your Pixel phone. Learn how to use Recorder without an account.

Important: Your Google Account storage is shared across multiple products like Google Photos, Google Drive, and Gmail. If you used all of your storage, you won't be able to back up new files. Learn how to buy more storage.

Turn back up & sync on or off

Important: If you choose to back up and sync, your recordings are backed up outside your Pixel phone. By default, backed up recordings remain private to your Google Account. Learn more about Google Account privacy policies.

  1. Sign into your Google account.
  2. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  3. At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initial.
    • Set the Google Account to back up recordings with: Tap the drop down arrow and tap to select the account name.
      • Important: When you create a recording, the recording is associated with the chosen Google Account. You cannot change this account later.
  4. Tap Recorder settings and then Back up & sync.
  5. Turn Back up & sync on or off.

Change back up settings

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initial.
  3. Tap Recorder settings and then Back up & sync.
  4. Change your back up settings:
    • Back up with mobile data: Under Settings, tap Cell data usage. Turn on Back up recordings over data.
      • Important: If you back up with your mobile network, charges from your service provider may apply.
    • To back up while roaming: Under "Settings," tap Cell data usage. Turn on Back up recordings over data and then Back up while roaming.
      • Important: If you back up with your mobile network, charges from your service provider may apply.

View & sync backed up recordings

To find all the recordings backed up to your Google Account, visit recorder.google.com.

To sync recordings on your Google Account that aren’t on your Pixel phone:

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. From anywhere on your screen, drag down to refresh.

If you use Recorder with different Google Accounts, you can switch between accounts to view the recording library saved to each account. You can only view the recording library of one Google Account at a time.

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initial.
  3. Next to your Google Account information, tap Expand more .
  4. Tap the Google Account with the recordings you want to view.
Correct text in a transcript
You can change or remove one word at a time in a transcript.
  1. Touch and hold the word that you want to change.
  2. Tap Edit word.
  3. Change the word to the one you want to use.
  4. Tap Save.
Use Recorder with the new Google Assistant (Pixel 4 & later, English only)

On Pixel 4 and later phones, you can start, stop, save, and search voice recordings with the new Google Assistant. You can say:

  • “Start a voice recording.”
  • "Stop voice recording."
  • “Save voice recording with title” and then your title.
  • "Search voice recording for" and then your keyword.

To use the new Google Assistant with Recorder, set your Assistant language to any listed English region, except "English (India)." Learn how to change your Assistant language.

Use Recorder without a Google Account (Pixel 3 & later)

You can use Recorder without a Google Account so that certain recordings stay private on your Pixel phone. If back up and sync is turned on, your phone switches to and uses Recorder with and without your account.

To use Recorder without an account:

  1. On your Pixel, open Recorder .
  2. At the top right, tap your account profile photo or initial.
  3. Next to your Google Account information, tap Expand more .
  4. Tap Use without an account.

Follow local rules when recording

Many places have rules or laws that prohibit or limit the recording of audio. These places could also decide whether you must get consent from others or the property owner before recording. Make sure to follow all applicable rules and laws, and get permission from others before recording them. Do not record copyrighted materials without permission.

Related articles

Was this helpful?
How can we improve it?

Need more help?

Sign in for additional support options to quickly solve your issue