How to record and transcribe a phone call on iPhone

Some calls are worth keeping. Not the whole recording, which you will never listen to again, but what was said in it: the price that was quoted, the date that was agreed, the answer you were given. This guide shows how to record a phone call on iPhone, bring it into Memo for a transcript and a summary, and handle consent properly along the way.

When recording a call is useful

Interviews. If you talk to people for a living, a recording lets you stay in the conversation instead of typing, and the summary gives you the shape of the call in a few lines.

Customer and supplier calls. A call with a supplier, a contractor, an insurer or a customer often contains promises: a price, a delivery date, a refund. A transcript settles what was said.

Family logistics. The call with the school, the doctor’s receptionist, the letting agent, the builder. A recording means every detail is kept, and you can ask Memo for the one you need later.

Consent first

Recording a call involves another person, so before anything else, consent.

The law on recording calls differs by country and, in some countries, by state or region. Some places require the consent of every participant. Others require the consent of only one participant, which can be you. The rules that apply may depend on where you are, where the other person is, and what the call is about.

The simple rule that works everywhere: tell the other person you are recording, and get a yes. Say it at the start of the call, wait for the answer, and if the answer is no, do not record.

iPhone helps here. When you start a call recording in the Phone app, iOS announces to everyone on the call that it is being recorded. That is a useful safeguard, but it is not a substitute for asking. Ask anyway.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you record calls regularly, especially for work, check the rules where you operate. You are responsible for consent where the law requires it.

How to record the call on iPhone

Memo does not record calls itself. iPhone does, and Memo turns the recording into text. The route is: record in the Phone app, then bring the recording into Memo.

On an iPhone running iOS 18 or later, which includes every iPhone that can run Memo:

1. During the call, tap the More button in the Phone app, then tap Call Recording. iOS announces to everyone on the call that it is being recorded.
2. Carry on with the call. When it ends, or when you stop the recording, iOS saves the recording in the Notes app, in the Call Recordings folder.

The recording is stored on your phone at this point. Nothing has been uploaded anywhere.

Bringing the recording into Memo

Open Memo and tap ”+”. The Record Call entry there shows these same instructions and an import step. There are two ways to get the recording in:

• Share it from Notes. Open the recording in Notes, choose Share, and pick Memo from the share sheet.
• Import it in Memo. Use the import step in the ”+” menu and choose the recording.

Either way, Memo takes the file from there. What happens to the audio next depends on the engine you have chosen, which is covered below.

What you get afterwards

A short while later the call is a memo, with:

• a transcript of what was said,
• a summary of the call in a few lines,
• a title and an emoji, so it is easy to spot among your memos,
• a chat, where you can ask questions about the call.

The chat saves the most time with calls. You rarely want to read a twenty-minute conversation. You want to know “what price did they give me?”, “what did they ask me to send?”, or “when did they say the part would arrive?”. Ask, and Memo answers from the memo.

Choosing the engine, and what it means for the audio

Memo has two engines. You choose which one processes your recordings.

On-device AI uses Apple’s speech model for the transcript and Apple Intelligence for the summary. The audio never leaves your iPhone, and the chat runs on the phone as well. It does not need an account or a connection. It is available on iPhones with Apple Intelligence, which means iPhone 15 Pro and later and every iPhone 16 and 17, with Apple Intelligence turned on, in the languages Apple supports on the device. For a sensitive call, this is the engine to use. It also has no upload limits, because nothing is uploaded.

Cloud AI works on every iPhone running iOS 26 and handles more than 99 languages. The audio is uploaded to Memo’s servers and processed by AI providers. You need to sign in with Apple or Google, and the app asks before every upload, so a call recording is never sent without you saying yes. Memo never uses your audio or your text to train AI models. The privacy policy has the details.

Memo is free on the App Store. On the free tier, Cloud AI recordings can be up to 30 minutes long and there is a daily allowance. A Memo Pro subscription lifts those limits.

Keeping and deleting recordings

A call recording is a record of another person’s words, so treat it with care. Keep it as long as you need it, and no longer.

To keep what matters, use the memo menu. You can copy the text, share it, print it, or save it as a PDF. You can also download the audio if you need the original file.

To delete, delete the memo in the app. To remove everything, use Delete account in Memo’s settings. Remember that the original recording also lives in the Notes app, so delete it there too if you want it gone entirely. If the person you spoke to asks you to delete a recording, do it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to tell the other person I am recording?

In many places, yes, and it is the safe rule everywhere. iOS announces the recording when you start it in the Phone app, but ask anyway, and do not record if they say no. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can I transcribe a call without an account?

Yes, with On-device AI. It needs no account, and the audio never leaves your phone. Cloud AI needs Sign in with Apple or Google, because the audio is processed on Memo’s servers, and the app asks before every upload.

Can I transcribe a call I recorded some other way?

Yes. Any MP3, M4A or WAV file can be shared into Memo from the iOS share sheet or imported through the ”+” menu. If a file will not import, the support page explains how to get in touch.

Recording a call on iPhone takes two taps in the Phone app, and turning it into a transcript and a summary takes one share into Memo. If you have an iPhone on iOS 26 or later, get Memo on the App Store and try it on your next call.