Help & Guides / Capture & Transcription

iPhone Action Button: press to start recording

On an iPhone with an Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, every iPhone 16 and 17 model, and iPhone Air), you can press and hold it to start recording in myScribe. It uses a shortcut called Record with myScribe that opens myScribe in Safari. Available on every plan.

Set it up. On your iPhone, sign in at app.myscribe.co in Safari, then open Settings → iPhone Action Button. The item appears only on an iPhone.

  1. Add the "Record with myScribe" shortcut. Tap Add the shortcut, then Add Shortcut in the Shortcuts app. If the page instead shows a description to copy, open the Shortcuts app, tap +, paste the description (Copy description), and check the new shortcut has one action, Open URLs, with the address shown on the page.
  2. Let myScribe use the microphone. In Safari, tap aA in the address bar → Website Settings → Microphone → Allow. Then tap Test microphone. With Ask, Safari asks every time the shortcut opens myScribe.
  3. Assign the Action Button. In the iPhone Settings app → Action Button → swipe to Shortcut → Choose a Shortcut → Record with myScribe. myScribe cannot do this step for you.
  4. Try it. Press and hold the Action Button. myScribe opens in Safari and starts recording. A locked iPhone asks for Face ID first.

What it records. A meeting by default, with each voice labelled separately. When you record other people, let them know you are recording where their consent is required. To record personal notes instead, choose A personal note under The Action Button records. The choice applies to your account on this device and needs no new shortcut.

Start right away. Start recording right away on this iPhone is turned on when you add the shortcut or pass the microphone test. When it is off, myScribe opens with the recording setup ready and you tap Start. A link to myScribe from another website never starts the microphone by itself; it always waits for your tap. If a recording is already running, pressing again shows it rather than starting a second one.

No Action Button? The same shortcut works with Back Tap (Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap → Double Tap → Record with myScribe), from the Shortcuts app, or by asking Siri to "Record with myScribe".

Limits. If the microphone is blocked, myScribe explains how to allow it instead of recording. The usual monthly minute and storage limits apply. Keep myScribe open in Safari while recording; the shortcut does not change how iPhone handles a locked screen during a recording (see Installing myScribe on your phone).