Guide · Voice Memos
How to back up your voice memos
Turn on iCloud for Voice Memos, save the important recordings to Files or a cloud drive, and keep a copy on a computer. A good backup is in more than one place, so losing the phone does not lose the songs.
Updated 20 Oct 2026
1. Sync with iCloud (helpful, but not a backup)
Settings, tap your name, iCloud, then See All under Saved to iCloud, then Voice Memos. Menu names can differ a little by iOS version. Your recordings then sync to your other Apple devices. Sync is not a backup: if you delete a memo it can disappear from your other devices too, so keep file copies as well. See how to sync voice memos with iCloud.
2. Save copies as files
In Voice Memos tap Edit, tick the recordings, tap Share, then Save to Files. Choose iCloud Drive or a folder. See how to export voice memos.
3. Copy them to a computer
AirDrop them to a Mac, or let iCloud sync and drag them out of the Voice Memos app into a folder. See where to find voice memos on Mac.
4. Keep a second copy elsewhere
A common backup rule, often called 3-2-1, is three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one off site. For voice memos that can be your phone, a computer and a cloud drive, or an external drive. See Google Drive or Dropbox.
5. Do not rely on Recently Deleted
Deleted memos wait in Recently Deleted for a while, then they are gone. Back up before you tidy up.
Backed up is not sorted
A backup keeps the pile safe; it does not tell you which memo is the chorus. In songdrafts you bring the memos in, sort them into songs on a board, and keep every take of a song on one card. It makes its own copy, so your originals stay where they are.
Common questions
Does iCloud back up voice memos?
iCloud syncs voice memos between your Apple devices, but sync is not a backup, because a deleted memo can disappear everywhere. Also keep a copy as files.
How do I back up voice memos to a computer?
AirDrop them to a Mac, or drag them out of the Voice Memos app on a Mac that syncs with iCloud.
What if I delete a voice memo by mistake?
Check Recently Deleted in Voice Memos. After that, only a backup helps.
How often should I back up?
Whenever you have recordings you would hate to lose. Weekly is a simple habit.
Where should I keep the backup?
In a different place from the phone: a computer, a cloud drive, or both.
Want this done for you? songdrafts is a board for your voice memos: every take stacked on one card, songs that move across stages, merging half songs, and one share link with comments pinned to the second. Works offline, and nothing you upload trains AI. What is songdrafts?