Voice Recorders
How to choose a voice recorder
Voice activation changes everything
A recorder running continuously fills its memory and flattens its battery in hours. One that starts on sound and stops on silence can sit for weeks and capture only what matters, which makes it the single most useful feature here for a long meeting, a day of interviews or a lecture series. The trade is the first word of each sentence, so record continuously when the opening matters.
Where you put it matters more than the microphone
Sound reflects off hard surfaces and is absorbed by soft ones, so a unit in a bag or a pocket records fabric. On a table between the people talking it records the conversation; near a fridge or a road it records the fridge or the road. If a recording matters, do a five minute test in the same place first and listen back on headphones.
Compare the types
 Pocket |  Pen |  USB stick |  Watch |  Keyring | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubles as | Nothing, it is a recorder | A working pen | A USB drive | A working watch | A key fob |
| Battery | Days, weeks on voice activation | Shorter, check the listing | Shorter, check the listing | Check the listing | Check the listing |
| Gets audio off | USB | USB | Plugs straight in | USB | USB |
| Suits | Meetings, interviews, dictation | Desk and shirt pocket | Laptop bag, keyring | On the wrist all day | Car and keys |
Live listening instead
Some units transmit rather than store, so you can hear your own unattended property or vehicle in real time over the mobile network. Those are on the listening devices page, along with 4G trackers that combine location and audio.
Buying guides
Voice Recorder Buying Guide NZStandby is the number that matters
Counter-Surveillance Buying Guide NZHow to find hidden cameras, bugs and trackers
Spy Pen Camera Buying Guide NZWhich one to buy
Related
Listening Devices Spy Pen Cameras Microphone Blockers Listening Device Detectors Wearable Spy Cameras
Common questions
How long will it record?
Continuously, several hours to a couple of days depending on size. On voice activation, weeks.
How do I get the audio off?
Most units appear as a USB drive when plugged into a computer, so files copy across with no software to install. Check the format: WAV is uncompressed and large, MP3 is small, and a few units record in a format that needs a converter.
Will it pick up a whole meeting?
On a table in the middle of the room, yes, at ordinary speaking volume. In a pocket or a bag it records fabric. Test it in the room first.
Is it legal to record a conversation in New Zealand? NZ law
Yes, if you are part of it. Under the Crimes Act 1961 (section 216B) you can record a conversation you are taking part in, and you do not have to tell the other people. Listening to or recording a private conversation you are not part of is an offence with a penalty of up to two years, and so is passing on what you heard (section 216C). These recorders are for your own meetings, calls, interviews, lectures and notes. A business that records calls or meetings also has to tell people it is doing so under the Privacy Act 2020.