Chirp Notes
Private Voice Transcription
$2.99 · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Now on Apple Watch. Record from your wrist, transcribe on your phone. Everything stays on your device - encrypted, offline, and yours.
Record your voice, get instant text. Everything happens on your phone.
I built Chirp Notes because I was tired of apps that wanted my voice recordings on their servers. Meeting notes, personal thoughts, interview audio - that stuff is private. So I made something that keeps it that way.
Chirp transcribes everything locally on your iPhone using Whisper AI. Nothing gets uploaded. Nothing gets shared. Your recordings never leave your device.
WHAT YOU GET
Tap to record. Talk normally. Tap to stop. Your words appear in seconds. That's the whole workflow.
The app shows a live waveform while you record - green means good volume, yellow means you're getting loud, red means bring it down a notch. When you pause naturally while speaking, it adds paragraph breaks automatically. Makes reading your notes later so much easier.
APPLE WATCH
This is one of my favorite features. Record notes directly from your wrist - perfect for quick thoughts when pulling out your phone feels like too much. Walking the dog, cooking dinner, middle of a conversation you want to remember.
Your Watch recordings sync to your iPhone automatically, where they get transcribed just like any other note. The Watch app shows a live waveform and recording timer so you know everything's working, even at a glance.
When you're recording, Chirp shows up on your lock screen so you always know it's running. Lock your phone, put it in your pocket, keep talking. Your recording keeps going.
YOUR NOTES ARE SAFE
I take this seriously. There is no backend server for this app. I literally have no way to access your data.
Want proof? Turn on airplane mode after the initial setup. Everything still works perfectly.
For sensitive recordings, turn on encryption in settings. Your notes get protected with Face ID or Touch ID and AES-256 encryption - the same standard used by banks and governments. Even if someone gets your phone, they can't read your notes without your biometrics.
No cloud AI. No external APIs. No data leaving your device. Ever.
THE BASICS
- One-tap recording with live waveform
- Offline AI transcription (no internet needed)
- Apple Watch app with instant sync
- Lock screen recording indicator
- AES-256 encryption with Face ID/Touch ID
- Auto-paragraph breaks while you speak
- Colored labels for organization
- Search by text, date, or label
- Play back audio while reading the transcript
- Auto-save option
- Share to any app
- Dark mode
- Works on iPad
WHO USES THIS
Students recording lectures. Journalists in interviews. Writers capturing ideas on walks. Doctors dictating patient notes. Lawyers documenting case details. Therapists keeping session records. People who think faster than they type.
Or honestly, anyone who just wants a simple voice recorder that respects their privacy.
NO SUBSCRIPTIONS
You buy it once. That's it. No monthly fees, no premium tiers, no feature gates, no upsells. I charge upfront because I don't want to monetize your data. Seemed like a fair trade.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Records at 16kHz WAV format for optimal transcription accuracy. The Whisper AI model downloads once on first launch (39MB). After that, no internet required. No account needed. No email to enter. No analytics. No ads. No tracking.
WHY NO CLOUD AI?
Previous versions of Chirp had optional AI summary features through external services. We removed them. Not because they didn't work, but because they didn't fit. This app is about keeping your voice notes private and local. Adding cloud AI - even optionally - sent the wrong message.
Chirp does one thing well: it turns your voice into text, entirely on your device. That's it. That's enough.
v1.4 - Your Wrist, Your Notes
This update is about getting back to what matters: capturing your thoughts quickly and keeping them safe.
APPLE WATCH
Record notes right from your wrist. Tap the mic, talk, and your recording syncs to your iPhone where it gets transcribed automatically. The Watch app has a live waveform, recording timer, and the same warm interface as the iOS app. Great for quick ideas when reaching for your phone isn't an option.
LOCK SCREEN RECORDING
When you're recording, Chirp now shows up on your lock screen. You can see that it's running, lock your phone, and keep talking. Your recording continues in the background.
SIMPLER AND MORE FOCUSED
We removed the external AI summary features (OpenAI, Gemini integrations). They worked, but they didn't belong. This app is about privacy and keeping your data on your device. Connecting to cloud AI services - even optionally - contradicted that promise. So we let them go.
Chirp now does exactly one thing: turns your voice into text, entirely offline, with your notes encrypted and safe on your device.
Thanks for trusting us with your voice notes. We don't take that lightly.
The developer, ANDREW MICHAEL MILAM, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- ANDREW MICHAEL MILAM
- Size
- 43.2 MB
- Category
- Productivity
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.1 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 15.1 or later. - iPod touch
Requires iOS 15.1 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later. - Apple Watch
Requires watchOS 11.4 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Contains
User-Generated Content
- Copyright
- © Andrew Michael Milam
