Frequently asked questions
Every question we get, answered directly and in one place. If something isn't covered here, email support@voicememoexporter.com.
Voice Memo Exporter does this in one pass: every memo into one searchable Master Transcript. $49 early access, runs privately on your Mac.
Get Early Access - $49 (Gumroad)It takes the Apple Voice Memos already on your Mac (or a folder of audio you import) and builds a local archive in one pass: copied original audio, useful metadata, individual transcripts, and one combined Master Transcript you can export as TXT, Markdown, DOCX, or PDF.
Apple's Voice Memos app has no bulk export and no way to combine transcripts across recordings. People with a few hundred voice memos end up with a library they can't search, share, or use for anything, and Voice Memo Exporter turns that pile into one organized, searchable archive.
Only once they've synced to your Mac through iCloud, or once you've exported them manually as audio files. The app does not connect to your iPhone or iCloud account directly.
No. Once recordings are on your Mac, the whole process, including transcription, runs locally without needing a network connection.
No. It's a native Mac application, built specifically around how Apple Voice Memos are stored and synced on macOS.
No. It's a local-first Mac app. Audio is copied into an archive folder on your Mac and transcribed on-device. Nothing is uploaded to a server as part of using the app.
No. There's no account, no login, and no Apple ID authentication inside the app.
No. It never performs iCloud authentication. It only works with Voice Memos that have already synced down to your Mac through the standard Apple Voice Memos app, or with audio files you point it at.
No. Voice Memo Exporter doesn't send your recordings or transcripts anywhere, so there's nothing to be used for training. What you do with the exported files afterward, including whether you paste a transcript into a separate AI tool, is entirely your choice.
In a normal folder on your Mac that you choose when you set up the archive. It's plain files: audio, text, and documents, visible in Finder like anything else you save.
It's local and best-effort. Clear, single-speaker recordings in a quiet room transcribe well; background noise, multiple overlapping voices, and heavy accents produce rougher results. Treat any automatic transcript as a searchable draft to check against the audio, not a verbatim record.
English transcription only, currently. Recordings in other languages can still be archived with copied audio and metadata; they just won't produce useful transcripts yet.
No, it doesn't do speaker separation. Interviews and conversations transcribe as one continuous stream of text rather than labeled by speaker.
Yes. Transcripts are plain text and Markdown files in your archive folder, so you can open and edit them in any text editor the same as any other document.
Yes, as long as the audio file itself is intact and available on your Mac. Transcription works on the audio, not on when it was originally recorded.
Copied original audio, a Formatted Transcripts folder, a Raw Transcripts folder, metadata.json and metadata.csv, an Archive Index file, a Preservation Report, and Master Transcript files, plus whichever individual TXT, Markdown, DOCX, or PDF exports you choose.
One combined document with every recording's transcript in order, so you can search or read across your whole library at once instead of opening recordings one at a time. It's available as TXT, Markdown, DOCX, or PDF.
Yes. You review the list of found recordings before the archive is created and can select which ones to include rather than processing everything automatically.
No. It copies audio into a separate archive folder. Your source recordings in the Voice Memos app are never deleted, renamed, moved, or edited.
Yes. The Markdown Master Transcript is built to paste into an AI tool or writing app as context, without dragging along formatting the way a DOCX or PDF would.
It's a one-time purchase: $49 for the first 100 buyers, then $79. There's no subscription and no recurring fee.
There's no separate free trial. Instead, there's a 30-day refund if it doesn't work for your Mac setup.
The price moves from $49 to $79. It stays a one-time purchase either way; the early price is simply a limited early-access window, not a permanent discount.
A 30-day refund if the app doesn't work for your Mac setup. See the refund policy page for the full details.
Check the current license terms on the purchase page, and email support@voicememoexporter.com for specific licensing questions.
Apple Silicon Macs, M1 or newer. There's no Intel build currently.
macOS 12 or later.
Not currently. It's built for Apple Silicon (M1 and newer) only.
Roughly the same amount your existing Voice Memos library already uses, since audio is copied rather than moved. Transcripts, metadata, and export documents are plain text and add only a small amount on top of that.
No. It's a standard Mac app: download it and open it like any other application, no Terminal or developer setup required.
Confirm Voice Memos is enabled in iCloud settings on both the iPhone and the Mac, that both are signed into the same Apple Account, and that the Mac's Voice Memos app has had time to finish downloading the library. See our full sync troubleshooting guide for the complete checklist.
Yes, occasionally. Very noisy audio, extremely short recordings, or corrupted files can fail to transcribe. The audio is still copied into the archive either way, so nothing is lost, and you can retry that recording or review it manually.
Not necessarily. A large library with hundreds of recordings and local transcription for each one takes real time. Leave the app running rather than force-quitting partway through.
Yes. Running it again over an updated Voice Memos library produces an updated archive and Master Transcript that reflects your newer recordings.
Back it up the way you'd back up any important folder (Time Machine, an external drive, or your own cloud storage). If it's lost but your original Voice Memos are still intact, you can re-run the app to rebuild the archive.
Voice Memo Exporter runs this whole workflow in one pass on your Mac: every memo exported, transcribed locally, and combined into one searchable Master Transcript you own.
$49 Early Access for the first 100 buyers, then $79. One-time purchase, no subscription. 30-day refund if it doesn't work for your Mac setup.
Build a clean local archive with copied audio, transcripts, metadata, Markdown, DOCX, and PDF exports.
Get Early Access - $49 (Gumroad)$49 one-time · Forever license · No subscription · No cloud upload
