I do some field recording, and Voice Memos keeps bugging me. It doesn’t store precise GPS coordinates the way photos do. It only attaches a rough location name, not enough for what I need.
So I’m asking: does anyone know a voice memo app that properly embeds GPS metadata into the audio file?
asked Microsoft Copilot AI and there is no audio recording app that adds the GPS metadata but, of course, this can be wrong and there is an app for audio files with GPS metadata
Wow - what a great idea for recording observation locations.
I know this doesn’t help you on an iPhone, but I asked Gemini about Android apps that do this. Apparently there are several:
Available Android Apps:
GPS Audio Recorder: This app captures audio and automatically tags the recording with your GPS coordinates at the start of the file, letting you view your recordings on an interactive map. [1] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gpsaudiorecorder&hl=en_AU), [2] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gpsaudiorecorder)
OSMTracker for Android: Built for field mapping, this open-source tool lets you track GPS paths while quickly recording voice notes, text, and photos tied directly to your geographic coordinates. [1] (https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/9865/take-gps-coordinatespicturesmemo-of-a-point-of-interest-on-offline-android), [2] ( https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/5264/best-android-app-for-recording-tracks/ )
VoiceNotes - location & time: A simpler utility focused on recording notes while automatically logging the time and location data.
Note that iNat Next (the latest iNat app version for iPhones) doesn’t currently have an option for audio upload. So if you use an iPhone you either need to record audio within the iNat app (which will likely have better audio settings than Voice Memos anyways); or record audio with another app, simultaneously submit a blank observation through the app, and then upload the audio to the observation on the website.
Most audio recording apps are tailored for recording a human voice near the mic, so they may struggle with recording distant wildlife. The iNat audio recorder and Merlin are both tailored for getting higher quality recordings of wildlife.
The Merlin App (for iOS) does record GPS coordinates if you have any kind of cell or satellite signal. That’s been my preferred recording app for years.
As a fallback, if you choose to use Voice Memos, you should have some app to record a GPS point right after you save your recording. This can be MotionX-GPS, GPS Tracks, GPS Location, or any of several other apps. Then you’ll have a near-real time location for the recording, as long as you can associate the time stamp of the recording with the GPS point.