Offhand: Private Voice Notes
Audio files to notes, offline
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Offhand turns your voice into structured, readable notes — entirely on your iPhone. Record voice notes, meetings, lectures and dictations; on-device AI transcribes your speech to text and rewrites it into a tidy note with a title, headings and action items. No cloud, no account. Everything stays on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded, ever.
WHY OFFHAND IS DIFFERENT
Most voice-to-text and AI note-taker apps upload your audio to a server and promise to be careful with it. Offhand can't leak your recordings to the cloud, because there is no cloud. Speech recognition (OpenAI's Whisper) and note structuring run as on-device AI, 100% offline on your iPhone. Turn on Airplane Mode — everything still works.
PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• Offline transcription — audio is processed by on-device AI, never uploaded
• Notes stored in an encrypted database protected by your iPhone
• Unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode
• No account, no ads, no tracking — usage and crash reports are off unless you opt in
• Encrypted backup file you control, to move notes to a new iPhone
STRUCTURED NOTES, NOT LOSSY SUMMARIES
Offhand doesn't shrink a 2-hour meeting into three sentences. The on-device AI rewrites your transcript into a readable, detail-preserving note — headings, bullet lists, action items — and gives it a short title. Pick a built-in style (Summary, Meeting notes, Visit report, Legal note), search, organise into folders and edit anything.
BUILT FOR LONG RECORDINGS
Record up to ~2 hours. Transcription runs while you're still speaking, so even long meetings are ready moments after you stop. Recording continues when you lock the screen or switch apps.
NOTHING GETS LOST
Transcription is checkpointed as it goes: if the app is interrupted halfway through, Offhand picks up where it stopped instead of starting over. Finishing a note keeps running after you leave the app (fully in the background on iOS 26) and continues the moment you return. And when you change iPhones, an encrypted backup file moves your notes and recordings with you.
ALREADY HAVE RECORDINGS?
Import any audio file and it becomes a note like any other: Voice Memos, Zoom recordings, lectures, interviews, podcasts and calls. Save the file to Files, then pick it with Import audio in Settings; several at once is fine, up to two hours each. Audio import is part of Offhand Pro.
OFFHAND PRO (OPTIONAL)
The core app is free with no time limits. Offhand Pro adds your own note styles, PDF and Word export, smart calendar suggestions from your notes and the audio import above. Yearly with a 14-day free trial, or one lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The yearly subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings.
OPEN SOURCE
The full source code is public, so the privacy claims aren't marketing — they're verifiable.
PERFECT FOR
• Executives capturing meeting debriefs and decisions
• Doctors dictating patient notes with confidentiality obligations
• Lawyers and consultants recording privileged conversations
• Journalists protecting sources and interviews
• Anyone whose spoken thoughts are nobody else's business
WHAT IT NEEDS
On-device AI needs a recent iPhone with enough memory and ~3 GB of free storage for a one-time download. Offhand checks your iPhone at first launch and tells you honestly if it won't run well. Notes in English, German, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian and others.
Terms: https://dmytrosamoilov.com/offhand/terms-and-conditions.html
Privacy: https://dmytrosamoilov.com/offhand/privacy-policy.html
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
• Notes now say "Summary" and "Transcript": what the on-device AI wrote, and what was said word for word
• Give a folder its own summary style (Offhand Pro) and drag folders into any order
• A note paused in the background shows as paused, not failed, and continues when you're back
• Shorter setup: your on-device AI downloads by itself over Wi‑Fi
• Notifications only while Offhand is in the background
Everything stays on your phone. Nothing is uploaded, ever.
The developer, Dmytro Samoilov, 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 Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Diagnostics
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Dmytro Samoilov
- Size
- 105 MB
- Category
- Productivity
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 18.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 18.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 2.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 6 more
- English, German, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Offhand Pro Lifetime $59.99
- Offhand Pro Yearly $24.99
- Copyright
- © Dmytro Samoilov