This guide takes you from a fresh install to the things people use ThinkScribe for on a phone: recording a conversation and reading who said what, getting a summary and asking questions about it, sending an audio file from WhatsApp or Voice Memos to be transcribed, and dictating into any app with the voice keyboard.
You do not create an account. Transcription runs on your device and works offline, and your recordings and transcripts are never sent to us. ThinkScribe runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 26 or later.
How to get started with ThinkScribe on iPhone
- Install ThinkScribe from the App Store and open it. The welcome is short: Welcome, Every word, as you speak, Get to the point, then Try it now, where you say a few words and watch them appear. That step asks for the microphone; allow it.
- On You're All Set!, tap Start for free (or See Pro plans if you want to look at Pro first). You land on the Record tab.
- Check the language chip next to the record button (a globe with a code like "EN"). Tap it and pick the language you are about to speak. You can set a default later in Settings > Language.
- Tap the big record button and talk. Words appear on screen as you speak. On the very first launch you see "You can start recording now" while ThinkScribe gets ready: you do not have to wait for anything.
- Tap Stop when you are done. You will see "Transcribing..." with a percentage, then "Identifying speakers...". The full transcript is made after you stop.
- When the Record tab shows Transcript ready with the number of speakers, tap Open. The recording is also at the top of the Library tab.
- Later, tap the Finish setup: voice typing card on the Record tab to add the voice keyboard (steps below).
What you see on the Record tab
The Record tab is the home screen. Besides the big record button it has:
- The language chip. It opens a menu of 28 languages. Pick the one being spoken before you record. When your setup offers Auto-detect, you can use that instead.
- The translate icon next to it. Live Text is on by default. The icon opens a sheet with Show Live Text, Notice My Name (your name is marked in the live text when someone says it) and Translate Live, which translates while you record using Apple's Translation, provided by Apple. Turning live text off never changes the recording or the final transcript. More on this in live transcription on iPhone.
- Import Audio File, to transcribe a recording you already have.
- One tip card at a time, such as the voice typing setup card.
While a recording runs, it stays visible at the bottom of the screen, so you can switch to the Library and keep reading while it records. The Lock Screen shows it too, with a Stop button. If the app goes to the background, live text pauses but the recording continues.
For a quick thought, touch and hold the record button: Quick Voice Note records for up to 30 seconds and saves with Save Note.
Read your first transcript
A transcript has three tabs at the top: Transcript, Summary and Chat. The player sits at the bottom.
- Tap a line to play the audio from that line. Touch and hold a line for Copy with Timestamp.
- The transcript shows cleaned text by default, with hesitations and filler words removed. To see exactly what was said, open the ... menu and choose Show Original.
- The magnifier opens Find in transcript, with previous and next buttons to step through matches.
- The ... menu also has Export, Translate, Show Timestamps, Copy Text, Share Text and Favorite.
If several people are talking, ThinkScribe separates them as Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. Touch and hold a speaker badge and choose Rename Speaker... to name them. Every line with that label updates, and the voice is recognized automatically in new recordings. See teach ThinkScribe who is speaking.
Summary and Chat for a recording
The Summary tab offers Summarize this recording when it is empty, plus chips for Summarize, Meeting Minutes, Executive Brief and, on recent iPhones with more memory, Mind Map. A summary includes an Action Items list. Summary bullets carry citations: tap one to jump to the line it came from. Each result can be edited, retried or adjusted (Shorter, More detail, Simpler words, More formal).
With Summarize New Recordings on (it is on by default with Pro), each new recording gets its summary as soon as it is transcribed.
The Chat tab is where you ask about this one recording: type into "Ask about this recording..." or tap a suggestion such as "What decisions were made?". The chat with a recording article shows what kinds of questions work well.
The Library and Ask tabs
The Library tab lists every recording. The Search transcripts field searches the full text of every transcript and title. Collections group related recordings (tap Create a Collection); a collection has its own Transcripts, Timeline, Briefing and Chat tabs, so you can ask a question across all of its recordings. The ... menu has New Recording, Quick Note, Import Audio File, Filter, Select and Recently Deleted, where deleted recordings are kept for 30 days.
The Ask tab is a general assistant for questions and writing help. It does not read your recordings; to ask about a recording, use its Chat tab.
Under Settings > AI Assistant you choose which engine answers: Apple Intelligence (provided by Apple, on devices that support it) or ThinkScribe AI, a one-time download that runs on your device. Either way, your transcripts are never sent to us.
Transcribe an audio file from another app
- In WhatsApp, Voice Memos, Files or any app with a Share button, share the audio or video file.
- Choose ThinkScribe in the share sheet. It confirms "Added to ThinkScribe. Open the app to transcribe."
- Open ThinkScribe. The file is transcribed and appears in the Library.
You can also tap Import Audio File on the Record tab to pick a file from Files, one at a time. Transcribing WhatsApp voice notes covers that case in detail, and the same share sheet is how you turn a long voice message into text. For recordings made in Apple's own app, see Voice Memos transcription on iPhone.
Turn on the voice typing keyboard
iOS does not let keyboards use the microphone, so the ThinkScribe keyboard hands off to the ThinkScribe app, which listens and transcribes, and the words land where you were typing.
- Tap the Finish setup: voice typing card on the Record tab ("Speak instead of type, in any app."). It opens Set Up Voice Typing.
- Tap Open Keyboard Settings, then Keyboards, and turn on ThinkScribe Voice.
- Tap ThinkScribe Voice and turn on Allow Full Access. Full Access lets the keyboard connect to ThinkScribe to record and transcribe. What you dictate is transcribed on your device and never sent to us.
- In any app, tap a text field, touch and hold the globe key and choose ThinkScribe Voice.
- Tap the mic to talk hands-free and tap again to stop, or hold it for push-to-talk. Swipe up on the mic to lock it on.
If the keyboard shows Open ThinkScribe, the app was not running. Tap it, the app opens and shows "Keyboard Connected", then go back to where you were typing. The mic stays ready for the Mic Idle Timeout you choose. The keyboard also has a Clean Text option, and rewrite chips (Fix Grammar, Casual, Professional, Concise) on devices with Apple Intelligence. The full walkthrough is in offline dictation on iPhone.
Where to find Settings
Settings is not a tab. Open it with the gear in the Record or Library toolbar. The sections most people use early on:
- Language, for the default transcription language.
- Live Text, to turn live text on or off.
- Speaker Identification, with Manage Known Speakers.
- AI Assistant, to choose Apple Intelligence or ThinkScribe AI.
- iCloud Sync, optional and off by default. See sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- App Lock, to require Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode to open the app.
- Advanced > Custom Dictionary, for names and jargon. See custom vocabulary.
You can also start a recording with the Record control in Control Center, on the Lock Screen or on the Action button, with the Quick Record widget, or say "Start a ThinkScribe recording" to Siri. With an Apple Watch, the watch app records on your wrist and your iPhone transcribes it: see record on Apple Watch. For the bigger picture of every way to turn speech into text, read the complete voice to text guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to use ThinkScribe?
No. There is no sign-up and no account. You open the app and record. Your recordings and transcripts are never sent to us; if you want them on your other devices, you can turn on iCloud Sync, which uses your own iCloud account.
Why does the voice keyboard need Full Access?
iOS keeps keyboards in a sandbox that cannot use the microphone. Full Access lets the ThinkScribe keyboard connect to the ThinkScribe app on the same phone, which records and transcribes. What you dictate is transcribed on your device and never sent to us.
Does transcription work offline?
Yes. Transcription and speaker labels run on your device and work offline, including in airplane mode. On the first launch you can record right away; a more accurate engine may download in the background later ("Improving accuracy"), and you never have to wait for it.
How do I jump to a moment in the audio?
Tap a line in the transcript and playback starts from that line. In the Summary tab, tap a citation on a summary bullet to jump to the line it came from.
Does it work on iPad?
Yes. The same app runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 26 or later, with recording, import, the voice keyboard, Summary and Chat. On iPad, the Library stays beside the open recording, a hardware keyboard gets shortcuts such as Command-R to record, and you can drop an audio or video file onto the app to import it. It also works with iPhone Duo, with the transcript and its Summary and Chat side by side when the inner display is held sideways. One Pro subscription covers iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.
