To transcribe audio on an iPhone, open droptranscribe.com in Safari, tap the box above and choose the recording from Files (save voice memos to Files first) or a video from Photos. The audio is decoded on the phone and only the audio is uploaded. Your first file gets a free 3-minute preview; unlock the whole file once, from $1.49, for TXT, DOCX, SRT or VTT.
Step by step
- Get the recording into Files. In Voice Memos, tap the recording, then the three-dot menu, Share, Save to Files. Videos can be picked straight from Photos. Files in Google Drive or Dropbox can be pasted as a public share link.
- Open this page in Safari and tap the box. Choose Browse or Photo Library and select the file. Keep the tab open while the audio is prepared and uploaded.
- Read, unlock, save. Check the preview, unlock the file, then download TXT or DOCX to Files, or copy the text to Notes.
Built-in options on iPhone
Recent iPhones can show a transcript inside the Voice Memos app in supported languages, and keyboard dictation turns live speech into text. Both are free. Use DropTranscribe when you need a transcript of an existing file with a timestamp on every line, an SRT subtitle file, or a language the built-in tools don't cover.
Tips for phones
- Files up to about 30 minutes work best on a phone. For longer recordings, use a computer: decoding a long file needs a lot of memory.
- Stay on Wi-Fi for long files.
- The page link brings you back to the transcript later on the same device.
See also: voice memo to text, M4A to text.
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Questions
How do I transcribe audio on an iPhone?
For a quick transcript of a voice memo, recent iPhones can show one inside the Voice Memos app in supported languages. For any audio or video file, with timestamps and downloadable TXT, DOCX or SRT files, open droptranscribe.com in Safari, tap the upload box and pick the file from Files, Photos or Voice Memos (saved to Files). No app or account is needed. Files up to about 30 minutes work best on a phone; for longer recordings use a computer.
Do I need an app to transcribe on iPhone?
No. DropTranscribe runs in Safari: the audio is decoded on the phone and only the audio is uploaded, in short parts. You can keep the tab open while it transcribes, or come back later with the same link. If a file is in iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox, you can pick it in Files or paste its public share link.
Last updated 2026-10-16.