How to send a voice memo on iPhone

Share a recording from Voice Memos

The Voice Memos app can send a recording to other people, or to your own Mac or another device, with AirDrop, Mail, Messages and other options.

1. Open Voice Memos (in the Utilities folder).
2. Tap the recording, then tap the More Actions button.
3. Tap Share.
4. Tap Options and pick Rendered or Editable.
5. Choose how to send it, pick or type a recipient, then tap Send or Done.

These steps match the iPhone User Guide for iOS 27.

Rendered or Editable: which file to pick

When you tap Options, Voice Memos asks what kind of file to send.

• Rendered makes one .m4a file with all effects and layers mixed in.
• Editable lets the other person change the effects and layers, but only if they have a compatible device and software update.

If the person uses an Android phone, or you are not sure what they have, pick Rendered. The same goes for email, since Rendered sends one .m4a file.

Send several recordings at once

You don't have to share recordings one by one. Voice Memos lets you pick several and send them together.

1. In Voice Memos, tap Select above the list of recordings.
2. Tap each recording you want to send.
3. Tap the Share button, tap Options, then choose Rendered or Editable.
4. Choose how to send them, pick a recipient, then tap Send or Done.

You get the same sharing options as for a single recording, including AirDrop, Mail and Messages.

Record an audio message in Messages

For a quick voice message, you do not need Voice Memos at all.

1. Open Messages and go to a conversation.
2. Tap the Add button, tap Audio, then start talking.
3. Tap the Stop button when you are done.
4. Tap Send. You can also tap Play to listen first, the button that shows the message length to add more, or Close to cancel.

The message arrives with a written transcript, in the language set on the sender's iPhone. Transcription works only in some languages. For a quick follow-up, touch and hold the Record Audio button in the text field.

Keep audio messages from disappearing

An audio message is removed from the conversation on your iPhone 2 minutes after you send it or listen to it, unless you tap Keep. This only affects your iPhone. The person you sent it to can play it any time, but they also need to tap Keep within 2 minutes of listening to save it.

To keep every audio message, go to Settings > Apps > Messages, tap Expire under Audio Messages, then tap Never.

To move one into Voice Memos, touch and hold the audio message, then tap Save to Voice Memos.

When a recording is too big to email

Long recordings can be larger than your email provider allows. In that case the Mail app offers to send the file with Mail Drop, which sends it through iCloud.

• Mail Drop files can be up to 5 GB.
• They do not count against your iCloud storage.
• The person has 30 days to download the file.
• Their email app may have a lower size limit, which can stop it from arriving.

For someone nearby with an Apple device, AirDrop is another way to send the file.