How to Turn a Video into a Voice Memo

You’ve got a video with audio you need. Maybe someone sent you a video message and you want to keep just the voice part. Maybe you recorded a video call and need the audio for later. Or maybe you captured something on camera but the visual doesn’t matter — it’s what was said that counts.

Whatever the reason, you want to rip the audio out of that video and save it as a voice memo. Makes sense. But Apple doesn’t exactly make this obvious.

Why Would You Turn a Video into a Voice Memo?

Before we dive into the how, let’s acknowledge the common scenarios:

Extracting audio from video messages: Someone sent you a video in iMessage, WhatsApp, or wherever. The video shows their ceiling fan while they ramble about something important. You don’t need the ceiling fan footage. You need the voice.

Saving audio from video calls: You recorded a Zoom call or FaceTime video. For notes or reference, you only need the conversation — not everyone’s awkward webcam angles.

Music and audio clips: You captured a performance, a podcast snippet playing on a screen, or a song you want to keep. The video is just dead weight.

Storage space: Video files are huge. The audio track inside them is a fraction of the size. If you don’t need the visual, why keep it?

Easier sharing: Voice memos are easier to share than videos. Smaller files, simpler format, works everywhere.

Now let’s actually do this.

How to Turn a Video into a Voice Memo Using the Shortcuts App

This is the cleanest method because it uses Apple’s built-in tools. No extra apps needed.

Setting Up the Shortcut (One-Time)

1. Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone
2. Tap the + in the top right to create a new shortcut
3. Tap Add Action
4. Search for “Encode Media” and add it
5. Tap “Media” in the action and select “Shortcut Input”
6. Tap “Show More” on the Encode Media action
7. Toggle on “Audio Only”
8. Add another action: search for “Save File”
9. Set it to save to your preferred location (iCloud, On My iPhone, etc.)
10. Tap the shortcut name at the top and rename it something like “Extract Audio”
11. Tap Done

Using the Shortcut

Once it’s set up, extracting audio is easy:

1. Find the video in Photos, Files, or wherever it lives
2. Tap the Share button
3. Scroll down and tap your “Extract Audio” shortcut
4. Choose where to save the file
5. Done — you have an audio file

The output will be an M4A file (the same format Voice Memos uses). You can import this directly into Voice Memos if you want it there specifically.

Importing Into Voice Memos

If you want the audio in your actual Voice Memos app:

1. Save the extracted audio file to the Files app
2. Open Voice Memos
3. Tap the three dots menu (or look for import options)
4. Unfortunately, Voice Memos doesn’t have a direct import function

Wait, what?

Yeah. Apple’s Voice Memos app doesn’t let you import audio files directly. It’s designed for recording, not importing. Classic Apple.

Workaround:

• Save the audio to Files
• When you need to share it, share from Files
• Or use a third-party voice recorder app that does allow imports

This is annoying, but it’s the reality. The audio file itself is identical to what Voice Memos creates — it just lives in a different app.

How to Make a Video a Voice Memo Using Third-Party Apps

If the Shortcuts method feels like too much setup, these apps do it faster.

Media Converter (Free with Ads)

1. Download Media Converter - video to mp3 from the App Store
2. Open the app
3. Tap + to add a file
4. Select your video from Photos or Files
5. Choose Audio as output format (M4A or MP3)
6. Tap Convert
7. Save or share the result

The free version has ads but works fine. Paid version removes them.

InShot (Also Free)

InShot is mainly a video editor, but it can export audio:

1. Open InShot
2. Create a new Video project
3. Import your video
4. Tap Share
5. Choose Save → Audio (if available)
6. Export as M4A

Not all versions have this feature, so your mileage may vary.

Other Apps That Work

• Video to MP3 Converter — straightforward, does what it says
• Audio Converter — we mentioned this for voice memo conversion too
• Timbre — more advanced, includes editing features

Most free apps either show ads or limit features. For occasional use, the free versions are fine.

How to Turn Video into Voice Memo Using Online Converters

No app? No problem. Online converters work from any browser.

CloudConvert

1. Open Safari and go to cloudconvert.com
2. Tap Select File → choose your video
3. Set output format to M4A or MP3
4. Tap Convert
5. Download the audio file

Online Audio Converter

1. Go to online-audio-converter.com
2. Upload your video
3. Choose output format
4. Convert and download

FreeConvert

1. Go to freeconvert.com/video-to-mp3
2. Upload video
3. Convert
4. Download

Important warning: Online converters upload your file to their servers. Don’t use them for private conversations, sensitive recordings, or anything you wouldn’t want a stranger to hear. For casual stuff, they’re fine.

How to Make a Video into a Voice Memo on Mac

Mac gives you more options than iPhone. Here’s the efficient approach.

Using QuickTime Player (Built-in)

1. Open the video in QuickTime Player
2. Go to File → Export As → Audio Only
3. Choose save location and click Save
4. Done — you have an M4A file

This is the fastest Mac method. No conversion, no third-party tools. Just a couple clicks.

Using GarageBand (More Control)

If you want to trim or adjust the audio:

1. Open GarageBand
2. Create an Empty Project
3. Drag your video file into the timeline (it imports just the audio)
4. Trim, adjust, or edit as needed
5. Go to Share → Export Song to Disk
6. Choose format (M4A, MP3, etc.)
7. Export

GarageBand is free and gives you real editing power.

Using VLC (If You Have It)

1. Open VLC
2. Go to File → Convert / Stream
3. Drop in your video file
4. Choose Audio - MP3 or similar profile
5. Choose save location
6. Click Save

VLC is powerful but the interface is clunky. Use QuickTime unless you need something specific.

Terminal Method (For Power Users)

If you have ffmpeg installed:

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -acodec copy output.m4a

This strips the video and keeps the audio without re-encoding. Fast and lossless.

For MP3 output:

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vn -acodec mp3 -ab 192k output.mp3

Install ffmpeg via Homebrew: brew install ffmpeg

Extracting Audio from Video Messages

Let’s get specific about the scenario people actually face: someone sent you a video message, and you want just the audio.

From iMessage

1. Open the Messages conversation
2. Find the video message
3. Tap and hold the video
4. Tap Save (saves to Photos)
5. Now use any method above to extract audio

If the video didn’t save (thanks, iMessage’s auto-deletion), you’re out of luck unless you asked them to resend.

From WhatsApp

1. Open the chat with the video
2. Tap the video to open it
3. Tap the share button
4. Save to Photos or Files
5. Extract audio using your preferred method

WhatsApp doesn’t auto-delete like iMessage, so you should be fine.

From Email Attachments

1. Open the email
2. Tap and hold the video attachment
3. Save to Files
4. Extract audio from Files

Saving Audio from Video Calls

This is trickier because most video call apps don’t let you record easily (for privacy reasons).

If You Already Have a Recording

Use any method above. A Zoom cloud recording, a screen recording, or whatever video you’ve got — just extract the audio.

If You Need to Record Going Forward

• Zoom: Enable cloud recording (paid plans) or local recording
• FaceTime: Screen record while on the call (Settings → Control Center → Screen Recording)
• Google Meet: Recording is available on paid Workspace plans
• Microsoft Teams: Built-in recording for meetings you organize

Once you have the video recording, extract audio as described.

The Easier Approach

Honestly? If you just need audio from a call, use a dedicated audio recorder instead of a video recorder:

• Voice Memos running in the background (put on speaker)
• Otter for automatic transcription while recording
• Call recorder apps (legality varies by location)

Audio-only recordings are smaller, easier to manage, and often higher quality for the audio itself.

Common Problems and Fixes

“The audio quality is bad after extraction”

The extracted audio is only as good as the original video. If the video had poor audio, the extracted version will too. There’s no way to magically improve it.

For future recordings: use an external microphone, record in quiet spaces, or get closer to the sound source.

“The file is too large”

Long videos = large audio files. Options:

• Compress the audio (lower bitrate, like 128kbps)
• Trim to keep only the part you need
• Split into multiple files

“Voice Memos won’t import my file”

That’s not a bug — Voice Memos genuinely doesn’t support importing. Use Files app to store and share your extracted audio, or use a different audio app that does allow imports.

“Online converter failed”

Large files often timeout on free converters. Try:

• A different converter
• Breaking the video into smaller parts
• Using a desktop app instead

“Shortcuts app is confusing”

Fair. The first time setup is annoying. But once it’s done, you tap one button forever after. Worth the 5 minutes of confusion.

Or just use a dedicated converter app instead. No shame in that.

The Bigger Picture: Why This is Harder Than It Should Be

Here’s the thing. You’d think “extract audio from video” would be a basic feature. It’s been trivial on computers for decades. But on iPhone, Apple tucked it behind the Shortcuts app or third-party tools.

And even after you extract the audio, you can’t just drop it into Voice Memos. Apple designed Voice Memos exclusively for recording, not for managing audio files you already have.

So you end up with audio files scattered across Photos, Files, various apps — and no single place to organize them all.

Alternative: Recording Audio Instead of Extracting It

If you consistently need audio from video sources, consider capturing audio from the start:

For video calls: Run Voice Memos or Otter during the call
For video messages: Ask people to send voice messages instead
For content you’re viewing: Record your screen audio directly

Prevention beats cure. Audio files are smaller, easier to share, and don’t require extraction.

FAQ

Turning a video into a voice memo is more steps than it should be, but once you know the methods, it’s manageable. The Shortcuts approach is best for regular use — set it up once and forget it. For one-off conversions, third-party apps or online tools work fine. Just remember: Voice Memos won’t import anything, so plan to store your audio elsewhere. And if you find yourself doing this constantly, maybe it’s time to capture audio-first from the start.