How to transcribe Telegram voice messages, with or without Premium

Telegram voice notes are quick to send and slow to listen to. This guide shows Telegram's built-in transcript, its limits, and how to save a Telegram voice message as a file and get a transcript you can search, quote and share. It works the same way as WhatsApp voice messages.

Telegram's built-in voice-to-text

Under a voice message, Telegram can show a →A button. Tap it and the message is turned into text inside the chat.

• Premium subscribers can use it on any voice message.
• Free accounts have had a small weekly allowance of transcriptions. Telegram changes its limits from time to time, so check the app.
• The text stays in the chat. You can copy it, but there are no speaker names and no download.

For a short message in a common language, that's often enough. For a long voice note, a language the button handles badly, or something you need to keep, use a transcript instead.

Step 1: save the Telegram voice message as a file

Telegram Desktop (Windows or Mac)

1. Open the chat and right-click the voice message.
2. Choose Save As and pick a folder.

The desktop app is the most reliable way to save voice messages, especially several at once.

On a phone

1. Long-press the voice message.
2. Look for Save to Downloads, Save to Files or Share in the menu, depending on your phone and Telegram version.
3. If none appears, forward the message to your Saved Messages and save it from Telegram Desktop.

Step 2: upload it and read the free preview

1. Open Allnote on the go and choose the file. Several voice messages? Select up to 20 at once and pay once.
2. Pick the language spoken, for example English, Urdu, Arabic, Russian or Persian. See the languages page.
3. Read the free preview. If it's accurate, unlock the rest.

Step 3: name the speakers and download

Click "Speaker 1" to rename that person everywhere. Then copy the text, or download Word, TXT, or SRT and VTT subtitles. You can also send a read-only link.

Saving many voice messages at once

To transcribe a whole conversation, use Export chat history in Telegram Desktop (in the chat's ⋮ menu) and tick voice messages. Every voice message in the chat is saved to a folder. Then select up to 20 of them and upload them together.

Built-in button or upload?

Long voice messages and audio files

Telegram voice notes can run for many minutes, and people also send longer recordings as audio files. Both work the same way: save the file and upload it. Files up to 1 GB or 5 hours can be transcribed. Only need part of a long one? Trim it first with the free audio cutter.

Getting a better transcript

• Check the preview on the noisiest part of the message, such as a busy street.
• Pick the main language. For a message that mixes two languages, choose the one used most; the other may need correcting.
• Fix names once with Find in transcript and Replace all.
• Merge speakers if one person was split into two labels: type the other label's name.

Privacy

The sender isn't told: you upload a copy you saved yourself, and nothing is sent to Telegram. Files are deleted 7 days after the transcript is ready, or straight away when you click Delete. Uploads you don't pay for are deleted after 24 hours. Files are never used to train AI.

What it costs

There's no subscription. You pay for the file, or use credits from a pack, and the first part is always free to read.

Questions

Written with AI help.