Description
Record your voice, get instant text. Everything happens on your phone.
I made this app because I kept losing track of my ideas. I'd record voice memos but never wanted to sit through them again later. Other transcription apps worked, but they all uploaded my recordings to the cloud. Even the ones claiming to be private needed an internet connection.
Chirp Notes is different - it transcribes everything locally on your iPhone using the same AI technology as ChatGPT (Whisper AI), but without sending anything anywhere.
WHAT YOU GET
Tap to record. Talk normally. Tap to stop. You'll see your words appear in about 5 seconds. That's it.
The app shows a live waveform while you're recording - green means you're at a good volume, yellow means you're talking loud, red means you're shouting. Honestly it's kind of mesmerizing to watch.
When you pause naturally while speaking, it adds paragraph breaks automatically. Makes your transcriptions much easier to scan later.
FOR AI SUMMARIES
You have options. Use Apple Intelligence if you're on iOS 18. Connect your own OpenAI or Google Gemini account if you want access to the newest models like GPT-5 or Gemini 3. Or stick with the basic on-device option. All summaries show up nicely formatted with headings and bullet points.
PRIVACY
Your recordings don't leave your phone. There's no backend server for this app - I don't have any infrastructure to store your data even if I wanted to. You can verify this by turning on airplane mode after the initial setup. Everything still works.
If you're dealing with sensitive information, turn on encryption in settings. Your notes get locked with Face ID or Touch ID and use AES-256 encryption. Even if someone gets your phone, they can't access your notes without your biometrics.
THE BASICS
- One-tap recording
- Offline AI transcription
- Choose your AI provider: Apple Intelligence, OpenAI, Gemini, or basic
- Use your own API keys for latest models (GPT-5.2, GPT-4.1, Gemini 3 Pro)
- Summaries display with markdown formatting
- Tell the AI how to summarize your notes
- Real-time waveform while recording
- Optional auto-save
- Colored labels for organization
- Search your notes by text, date, or label
- Play audio while reading the text
- Share to any app
- Dark mode support
- Works on iPad
WHO THIS HELPS
People who:
- Record meetings and need searchable notes
- Take voice memos while driving
- Interview people and need transcripts
- Think out loud and want to capture their thoughts
- Record lectures and study from transcriptions
- Journal by voice
- Work with confidential information
- Type slowly but talk fast
- Like having backup audio alongside text
Students use it for lectures. Journalists use it for interviews. Doctors use it for patient notes. Lawyers use it for case recordings. Writers use it to capture story ideas. Therapists use it for session notes.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Records at 16kHz in WAV format (optimal for transcription accuracy). The Whisper AI model downloads once during first launch (39MB). After that, no internet needed. No account required. No email to enter. No analytics. No ads.
PRICING
One-time purchase. You buy it, you own it. No monthly subscription, no feature unlocks, no upsells. Everything's included.
I charge upfront instead of making the app free because I don't want to sell your data. Seemed like a fair trade.
WHY IT EXISTS
I was tired of apps treating my recordings like their commodity. Voice notes are personal - meeting recordings, diary entries, interview audio. I didn't want any of that on someone else's server, even with promises of encryption.
So I built something that works completely offline and respects that your data is yours. If that matters to you, this might be what you're looking for.
App information from Apple App Store. Chirp Notes and related trademarks belong to ANDREW MICHAEL MILAM.