To transcribe an interview, you need three things in this order: the interviewee's consent to record, a clear recording and a transcription tool. Record with the phone close to both of you, then import the file into a transcription app such as Retexta (New task, Transcript only, Import audio). Finally, check the text against the audio, add who said what and correct names. AI does the typing; the checking stays with you.
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Consent | Ask before recording, and repeat the question at the start of the recording | Recording laws vary; trust matters |
| 2. Record | Quiet room, phone between you, one person speaking at a time | The recording decides the quality of the transcript |
| 3. Transcribe | Import the audio into a transcription app | Saves hours of typing |
| 4. Check | Listen through, add speaker labels, fix names and quotes | AI makes mistakes, especially with names |
| 5. Use | Quote, summarize or analyze | Only from a checked transcript |
Before the interview: consent to record
Recording someone without their agreement can be illegal. In the US, the rules differ by state: some states allow recording when one person in the conversation agrees, others require everyone's consent. The Digital Media Law Project explains one-party and all-party consent and recommends getting everyone's consent when in doubt. Other countries have their own rules.
A practical routine:
- Ask when you arrange the interview, and say what the recording is for (an article, a thesis, a podcast, internal notes).
- Say where the audio goes. If you use a cloud transcription service, the recording is uploaded and processed on servers. Retexta is such a service.
- Ask again on the recording. Start with: "It's September 25, I'm talking with Alex Rivera, and you agree that I record this conversation?" and let them answer. The consent is then part of the file.
- Offer to stop. If the person wants a passage off the record, pause the recording.
Information, not legal advice
Record only if the person agrees. If they say no or you are not sure, take written notes instead. Universities, newsrooms and employers often have their own rules for interviews and research data, and those apply on top of the law.
Recording an interview on your phone
- Put the phone between you, closer to the person who speaks less loudly, on a soft surface such as a folded scarf so table knocks are not recorded.
- Choose a quiet room. Cafés are hard: music and cutlery bury quiet voices.
- Take turns. Let the person finish before you ask the next question. Overlapping speech is the most common cause of garbled transcripts.
- Say names and terms once, clearly. At the start, ask the interviewee to spell their name.
- Record a short test and play it back before the real interview.
For a video call, check whether your meeting tool records and transcribes on its own, and whether everyone in the call is told about it. We have not tested those tools for this guide. For Zoom, see how to transcribe a Zoom recording.
Transcribe the interview with Retexta
Retexta is a cloud voice to text and AI writing app for Android. You can record the interview in the app or import a recording from another app.
- Open Retexta and tap New task.
- Open More templates and choose Transcript only for the plain transcript.
- Under Add your input, tap Record audio to record now, or Import audio to pick a file you already have.
- Retexta transcribes the audio on its servers. Long recordings are split into parts of up to 5 minutes before upload.
- Read the transcript next to the audio (see the next section).
Retexta detects the spoken language automatically, and the transcript is plain text without speaker labels or timestamps. If you want a summary as well, run the same recording with Take notes (Structured notes or Short summary) or with Something else, where you describe the task in your own words, for example "Summarize the main answers per question." We have not tested the output quality of Something else for interviews, so check it closely.
Import audio and every goal except Transcript only are part of Retexta Pro. Retexta is free to try: new users get a few free Pro results to view in the app. Copying, sharing and exporting need Retexta Pro or credits, and so does everything after the free results, Transcript only included.
After transcription: check, label, anonymize
- Listen through once with the text in front of you. Correct misheard words and mark passages you cannot understand as [inaudible] instead of guessing.
- Add speaker labels. "I:" for interviewer and "R:" for respondent is a common convention; use real names only if the interviewee agreed.
- Add timestamps from your audio player at the start of each topic or before important quotes, so you can find them again.
- Check every quote word for word. A quote in an article or thesis must match the recording, not the tidy version.
- Anonymize if you promised it. Replace names, places and employers that could identify the person.
- Store the audio and transcript safely and delete them when you no longer need them, especially if they contain personal information.
Transcript template
Copy this header above the transcript and fill it in:
Interview transcript
Project: [project or article]
Date and place: [date], [place or "video call"]
Interviewer: [name]
Interviewee: [name or pseudonym]
Consent to record: [yes, given on the recording at 00:00]
Recording length: [hh:mm]
Transcribed with: [tool], checked by [name] on [date]
[00:00] I: [question]
[00:00] R: [answer]
[00:00] I: [question]
[00:00] R: [answer, with [inaudible] where needed]
Qualitative research interviews
For a thesis or a study, your department may prescribe transcription rules: whether you keep filler words and dialect, how you mark pauses, and whether you transcribe word for word. Ask your supervisor which rules apply before you start. An AI rewrite smooths speech, so for research use the plain transcript (Transcript only), not a rewritten version, and apply the rules while you check it.
Keep reading
Recording a group instead of one person? See how to write meeting minutes. File formats and import: MP3 to text. Interviews for a show: how to transcribe a podcast. Better recordings: how to improve speech to text accuracy. More about the app: Retexta, voice to text for Android.
Sources
Checked by FLAME Apps on September 25, 2026.
- Digital Media Law Project, Recording Phone Calls and Conversations: federal and state consent rules in the US.
- Retexta app code (Android, version 2026.1.23): goals and inputs (
GoalFirstTaskHub.kt,RecordScreen.kt), splitting into parts of up to 5 minutes (CloudAudioChunker.kt), automatic language detection (TranscriptionLanguageCatalog.kt); no speaker labels or timestamps found in the app or its transcription service code; result extraction lock (SessionDetailScreen.kt). - Retexta: plan names as shown in the app and on its Google Play listing.
