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Recording voice notes

Recording is the heart of TellDone. Speak, and AI turns your words into structured notes, tasks, and events.

Two recording modes​

  • Toggle mode (default): Tap the microphone to start. Tap again to stop.
  • Hold-to-record mode: Hold the microphone button, release to stop.

Active recording screen at 1 second

During recording​

  • A timer shows how long you've been recording
  • Recording continues in the background - you can switch to another app
  • On iPhone, the recording status appears in Dynamic Island and the lock screen
  • TellDone automatically rejects recordings shorter than 2 seconds, silence, and empty audio

Active recording screen at 7 seconds

Audio quality

TellDone optimizes audio for speech: recordings are compressed and silence is automatically trimmed. External microphones (AirPods, Bluetooth headsets) work well - the audio processing is tuned for wireless audio.

After recording​

Processing takes a few seconds. TellDone creates:

  • A note with an AI-generated title and summary
  • A note type - automatically classified
  • Up to 5 tags assigned based on content
  • Up to 5 tasks with priorities and deadlines
  • Up to 3 events with dates, times, and attendees
  • The original audio is saved and playable from the note

Text input​

Prefer typing? Tap the text field below the microphone button.

Text input mode

  • The keyboard appears with Paste, Cancel, and Send buttons
  • Text goes through the same AI analysis as voice
  • Max text length varies by plan: Free 2,000 characters, Basic 8,000, Pro 20,000, Ultra 50,000

Follow-up recordings​

Follow-ups are one of TellDone's most powerful features. Instead of just adding context, the AI understands the parent item and can take actions on it - complete a task, reschedule an event, or update a deadline, all from your voice.

How to record a follow-up​

  1. Open a note, task, or event
  2. Tap the Follow-up button
  3. Record or type your update

What the AI knows​

When you record a follow-up, TellDone loads the parent item's full context and passes it to the AI:

  • Follow-up to a task - the AI sees the task title, description, priority, deadline, and tags
  • Follow-up to a note - the AI sees the note title, summary, tags, and all child tasks with their statuses
  • Follow-up to an event - the AI sees the event title, description, location, and start time

This means the AI understands exactly what you're talking about and can make smart decisions.

What the AI can do​

Follow-up recordings don't just add context - they can change the parent item based on what you say:

Follow-up to a task:

  • "I finished this" - completes the task
  • "Push this to next Friday" - updates the deadline
  • "Actually this is high priority" - changes the priority
  • "Remind me about this tomorrow at 9am" - sets a reminder

Follow-up to an event:

  • "This meeting is cancelled" - cancels the event
  • "Move this to 3pm" - reschedules (preserves duration)
  • "We're meeting at the coffee shop instead" - updates the location

Follow-up to a note:

  • "I finished tasks 1 and 3 from this note" - completes specific child tasks
  • "All done with everything here" - completes all child tasks

New tasks and events mentioned in the follow-up are also extracted and linked to the same context.

tip

Follow-ups work with both voice and text input. Say "Hey Siri, add a note in TellDone" and dictate a follow-up thought, or open a task and type a quick update.

iOS extras​

Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro and later)​

Assign TellDone to the Action Button for one-press recording from anywhere:

  1. Go to your iPhone Settings > Action Button
  2. Select TellDone
  3. Press and hold the Action Button to start recording; press and hold again to stop

No need to open the app - the recording starts and stops in the background.

Control Center widget​

Add TellDone to Control Center for quick access:

  1. Go to your iPhone Settings > Control Center
  2. Add TellDone
  3. Swipe down to open Control Center, then tap the TellDone widget to start or stop recording

More​

  • Siri Shortcuts - 6 voice commands for hands-free note creation
  • Dynamic Island and lock screen controls during recording

Transcription​

TellDone supports 60+ languages for speech recognition. Two transcription modes:

  • Server transcription (recommended) - more accurate, processed in the cloud
  • Apple Speech Recognition - on-device, your speech never leaves the device
tip

Choose the language you speak most often in Settings. Mixing languages in one recording reduces accuracy.

Common messages​

If something goes wrong during recording, you may see one of these:

  • "Recording appears to be silent" - no speech was detected. Try recording again in a quieter environment.
  • "Recording exceeds maximum duration" - you hit your plan's recording time limit.
  • "Speech-to-text minutes quota exceeded" - your monthly transcription minutes are used up. Check your usage in Settings, or upgrade your plan.
  • "Monthly notes quota exceeded" - you've reached the notes limit for this month.

Recording limits​

FreeBasicProUltra
Max duration5 min10 min60 min90 min
Notes/month503001,000Unlimited
STT minutes/month603006001,500

See also​

  • Notes - how your recordings become structured notes
  • Tasks - tasks extracted from your voice
  • Events - calendar events created from recordings
  • Smart Context - auto-complete tasks by mentioning them