Minutes, prepared
A clean summary of what was discussed and decided, ready to read in two minutes or paste into your notes. No re-listening.
45:12Q3 planning with Northwind
3 decisions · 4 action itemsRead in about two minutes
Private AI for Apple Voice Memos
Turn voice memos into minutes and action items.
Record client meetings, interviews and lectures with Voice Memos on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac. VoiceMemoBuddy’s private AI writes the transcript, names each speaker, and pulls out the decisions and action items, all on your Mac.
Free for 14 days, no card needed. For Macs with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later.
Dana 00:31
Priya 00:48
Minutes · Catch-up with Priya
18:02
DanaIf we move the launch, vendor review clears in time.
PriyaThen it’s the twelfth. I’ll tell the team today.
Priya: email the team about Nov 12
Built on Apple’s private AI. Works with your tools.
- Apple Intelligence
- macOS
- iCloud
- Voice Memos
- Obsidian
- Claude
- Markdown
How it works
VoiceMemoBuddy adds a private AI assistant to Apple’s free Voice Memos app. You record. It does the write-up.
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1
Record on any Apple device
Use Voice Memos on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac. Meetings, interviews, lectures, or a thought on a walk.
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2
It arrives on your Mac
iCloud syncs your recordings to your Mac. Memos recorded on the Mac itself are picked up right away. You don’t import anything.
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3
Private AI writes it up
On your Mac, it transcribes the memo, names each speaker, and writes the minutes and action items. Open them from the menu bar.
Everything in one place, in your menu bar.
Click the icon or press ⌥⌘M to see today’s memos, read the minutes, or search everything you’ve recorded.
SummaryTranscriptSpeakers
Summary
- Launch moves from Oct 29 to Nov 12 so vendor review can finish.
- Q3 came in 6% under plan. The difference goes to paid pilots.
- Onboarding copy is the biggest open risk.
Action items
- Priya Email the team about the new date
- Dana Update the launch deck
CopyExportAsk Claude
Search memos, words, people
Today
Catch-up with Priya18:02
“Then it’s the twelfth. I’ll tell the team today.”
DanaPriya2 action items
Walk, product ideasLabeling speakers
Yesterday
Lecture 7: Anchoring54:10
Prof. OkaforDana
Interview, M. Reyes41:37
DanaMarisolSaved to Obsidian
412 memos on this Mac⌥⌘M
Walk, product ideas
6 ideas · saved to Obsidian
Hours back, every week.
Writing up a meeting often takes as long as the meeting. VoiceMemoBuddy does it for you, so you spend that time on the work instead of the notes.
Action items, assigned
Every commitment is pulled out with who owns it and when. Copy them into a follow-up email and nothing slips.
Todana@northwind.co
Thanks for today. Next steps:
Dana final vendor list by Friday
Sam revised timeline by Nov 3
Every conversation, searchable
Search months of recordings by word or by person and jump straight to the moment it was said.
pricing Dana
Oct 22 · 12:40
“…we can hold pricing through Q1 if the pilot converts.”
Answers and insights
Ask questions across all your memos with on-device AI, like what a client keeps pushing back on, and get answers with timestamps.
✦What did Northwind push back on?
3 meetings · Oct 8, 14, 22
Pricing came up every time. They want it held through Q1.
See what it’s worth to you
7hours back each month
$860of your time, every month
VoiceMemoBuddy pays for itself after your first conversation.
Your estimate, based on your numbers. Assumes about 4.3 weeks a month.
For people whose work happens in conversation.
You’re paid for what you hear and decide, not for typing it up afterward.
Know exactly who committed to what.
Apple’s transcript is one long paragraph with no names. Here, every sentence stays with the person who said it, so action items come with an owner and you never have to guess who promised what.
Name a client once and they’re recognized in every memo after that. When it isn’t sure, it asks.
Dana00:12
Where did we land on Q3?
Priya00:31
Six percent under plan. I’d put the difference into paid pilots.
Marcus?00:48
Fine by me. The onboarding copy worries me more.
Is this Marcus Lee?
YesSomeone else
Built on Apple’s on-device AI
Private AI that never leaves your Mac.
VoiceMemoBuddy uses Apple’s on-device models, the same technology behind Apple Intelligence. Your recordings, transcripts and voiceprints are processed and stored on your Mac, and nowhere else.
Your Mac
- Voice Memos recording
- Transcript
- Speakers named
- Minutes and action items
Stays on this Mac
Cloud AI servers
Not used
On-device AI
Transcription, speaker detection and summaries all run on Apple silicon.
Nothing uploaded
No account, no servers of ours, and no third-party AI services see your recordings.
Works offline
Turn off Wi‑Fi and it still works. It only goes online to activate your license and check for updates.
Encrypted voiceprints
Speaker voiceprints are encrypted on your Mac and can be deleted per person.
No tracking
No analytics in the app. Crash reports are opt-in.
Cloud only if you choose
Want a cloud model for questions? Add your own key. It’s off until you do.
Your ideas, organized.
Every memo can be saved to Obsidian or any folder as Markdown, so the notes from your voice sit next to everything else you write.
--- title: Walk, product ideas date: 2026-10-27 08:14 speakers: [Dana] tags: [ideas, onboarding] --- - Show the menu bar on first launch - Ask for one voice sample, not three
Photo: Raychan / Unsplash
Costs less than one billable hour.
Pay once and keep it. Compared with the hours it saves, it pays for itself in the first week.
VoiceMemoBuddy
$19$29
Launch price, then $29
- Use it on up to three of your Macs
- All features and every 1.x update
- Works offline after one activation
- 30-day refund, no questions
Want to support an independent Mac app? Pay $39 instead and your name goes in the About window.
Questions
Do I need to use Voice Memos?
Yes. VoiceMemoBuddy works with Apple’s free Voice Memos app, which comes with every iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. Record there, and VoiceMemoBuddy does the rest on your Mac.
Is the AI really private?
Yes. Transcription, speaker labels, summaries and questions run on your Mac using Apple’s on-device models. Your recordings aren’t sent to us or to any AI company. The only exception is if you choose to add your own cloud AI key.
Does it use Apple Intelligence?
It uses Apple’s on-device foundation models and speech recognition, the same technology behind Apple Intelligence. That’s why it needs a Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later.
Why isn’t it in the Mac App Store?
Reading your Voice Memos library needs Full Disk Access, which App Store apps can’t request. VoiceMemoBuddy is signed and notarized by Apple and updates itself.
What happens to my old recordings?
On first launch you choose: new memos only, the last 30 days, or your whole library. Large backfills run at low priority and pause when your battery is low.
How accurate are the speaker labels?
Very good for two to four people in an ordinary room. Once you’ve named someone, later memos label them automatically. When it isn’t confident, it asks.
Which languages does it support?
English and the major European and Asian languages, detected automatically. An optional download adds dozens more, including memos that switch between two languages.
Can it record phone calls?
No. It works with what Voice Memos records: in-person meetings, interviews, lectures and notes to yourself.
What do I need?
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 26 Tahoe or newer, and Voice Memos syncing through iCloud.