Support
Something not working, or a question the answers below don't cover? Open an issue on the Longhand issue tracker and describe what you were doing. Please don't attach recordings or transcripts: they are yours, and none are needed to describe a problem.
Common questions
- Why does the first transcription ask to download something?
- Languages that Apple's on-device speech recognition doesn't cover use a speech model that runs on the device. It is downloaded once, after you agree, and then works offline. The size is shown before anything is fetched.
- How do I name the speakers?
- Tap a speaker's name above any passage. You can rename that speaker everywhere, move a single passage to someone else, or confirm a name Longhand suggested.
- Can Longhand recognise people in later recordings?
- Yes, if you ask it to. When renaming a speaker, turn on "Remember this voice". The voice profile stays on your device, and you can delete it any time under Enrolled Voices in Settings.
- Does recording keep going with the screen locked?
- Yes. While a recording is running, the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island show the time with Pause, Mark and Stop, so you can control it without unlocking.
- Can I start a recording with Siri or the Action Button?
- Say "Start recording with Longhand" or "Stop recording with Longhand". For the Action Button, choose Controls and then Record with Longhand, or choose Shortcut and pick a Longhand action. The same control can go in Control Center and on the Lock Screen. The Shortcuts app also offers Transcribe Audio File, Get Transcript and Open Recording. On a Mac, the same phrases and Shortcuts actions work; there is no Action Button.
- How do I transcribe a recording from another app?
- Share it from that app (Voice Memos, Files, Mail and others) and choose Longhand, or use the import button in Longhand. It is processed with your default language and speaker settings.
- Can I correct the text?
- Long-press a passage and choose Edit Text. Corrections are kept separately from the machine's transcription, so you can revert them, and re-running speaker matching never loses them.
- The transcript is in the wrong language.
- Open the recording and choose Re-transcribe from the actions menu, then pick the language it is in. To change the default for new recordings, use Settings.
- Where are my recordings stored?
- Only on the device where you made or imported them. Longhand has no servers and no account. See the Privacy Policy.