memlow

Voice notes and voice typing

On Android and on the webUpdated

Your voice can do two jobs in Memlow. A voice note is a recording that sits inside a note as a small player. Voice typing in notes turns what you say into text you can edit. Memlow has no AI, so voice typing uses the speech recognition your phone or browser already has.

Two ways to use your voice

  • Record when you want to keep the sound itself (a lecture, a meeting, a thought on a walk), or when there's no time to type. Recordings are made and kept on your device.
  • Use voice typing when you want the words on the page, ready to edit like anything else you wrote.

Both start from the microphone button in a note's toolbar (Voice). You can't record and type by voice at the same moment: pick one at the top of the voice screen.

Record a voice note

On Android

  1. In a note, tap the microphone in the toolbar. Memlow opens Add voice.
  2. Make sure Record audio is chosen at the top.
  3. Tap the microphone to start. Pause recording pauses and Record goes on.
  4. Tap Save. The recording goes into the note as a player.

To start a new note with a recording, use New voice note on the Quick note widget. While you record, a notification lets you pause, go on or stop (Stop saves) from outside the app. A recording can run for up to 30 minutes, and a note can hold more than one. Discard throws one away, and asks first once it's longer than a few seconds.

On the web

  1. In a note, choose the microphone in the toolbar. The Voice panel opens.
  2. Choose Record at the top, then Start.
  3. Choose Stop and save. The recording goes into the note as a player.

The microphone button in the Write something… box on Home starts a new note with the recording. Recordings can run for up to 30 minutes. While you record, the circle moves with your voice, so you can see it's listening.

The voice screen on Android recording, with the timer running and Pause recording and Save below

The first time, Memlow asks to use the microphone. On Android it explains why first: Memlow needs the microphone to record voice notes. On the web, your browser asks. If you said no, see Microphone or voice typing not working.

Play it back

Each recording has a play button, a bar to jump to any point and its length. The speed button switches between 1×, 1.5× and 2×, so going back over an hour of lecture at 2× takes half an hour.

  • On Android, to remove a recording, press and hold it, then confirm Remove this recording?.
  • On the web, choose Remove recording beside it. With the position bar selected, ← and → jump back or ahead 5 seconds.

To find recordings later, use the Voice filter in Search: it shows every note with one. If you type the key points under a recording, Search finds those words too.

Type by voice

On Android

  1. In a note, tap the microphone in the toolbar and choose Voice typing at the top.
  2. Tap Start voice typing and talk. Your words appear under Typing as you speak.
  3. Tap Stop voice typing, then Save. The text goes into the note.

The Voice typing switch only shows when your phone has a speech service. The language button on the screen opens Voice typing language, with Same as app language first, so you can dictate in Urdu while the app stays in English. To type by voice without internet, use Download offline speech in Settings, under Voice.

On the web

  1. In a note, choose the microphone and pick Speak to type.
  2. Choose Start and talk. Pause stops for a moment and Continue goes on.
  3. Choose Insert text to put the words in the note. From Home, the button is Make a note.

On the web, Speak to type listens in the language Memlow is set to. To dictate in Urdu or Hindi, switch Memlow to that language first: Change Memlow's language. If you can't see Speak to type, your browser doesn't offer speech recognition. Chrome and Edge do.

What stays on your device

Recordings are made and kept on your device. They leave it only inside the backups you make: Google Drive backups, which are encrypted with your backup password before they upload, and backup files.

Voice typing works differently, because the speech service belongs to your phone or browser, not to Memlow:

  • On Android, Memlow uses the phone's own speech service and prefers to work offline. When your language isn't installed for offline use, that service may use the internet.
  • On the web, some browsers, Chrome among them, send the audio to their provider, such as Google, to turn it into text. Memlow says so in the voice panel.

If that matters for a note, record it or type it instead. Without internet, recording still works. Voice typing may need a connection.

Two more things: when you save a note as your own template, its recordings are left out, and recordings go when the note goes unless you have a backup.

Questions and answers

How do I record a voice note?

In a note, tap the microphone in the toolbar, choose Record audio on Android or Record on the web, and start. Save it, and it sits in the note as a small player.

How do I type by voice?

Tap the microphone, choose Voice typing on Android or Speak to type on the web, and talk. Then save or insert the words into your note.

Does voice typing use AI?

Memlow has no AI. Voice typing uses your phone's or browser's own speech recognition. Some browsers, such as Chrome, send the audio to their provider to turn it into text.

Can I play voice notes faster?

Yes. Tap the speed button on the player to switch between 1×, 1.5× and 2×.