Free Transcription Tool for Interviews & Fieldwork (Works Offline)
At Hope Education, our work runs on conversations in native languages such as Dagbani, Twi and Mamprusi – interviews with students, teachers, and families across Ghana. Every one of those conversations needs to be translated & transcribed locally before we can extract the qualitative data, which informs how we iterate our programs and provides data for our research.
Most transcription apps need fast internet and assume you’re working at a desk. Owing to the field nature of our work and the limited access to data networks, regular transcription apps are not fit for purpose. Our transcribers work in the field, often on an Android phone, often offline, in places where a dropped connection is normal and a monthly software fee is a real cost. With commercial transcription apps, you need a data connection for backup, which is very frustrating in low-data network areas like the north of Ghana.
In order to better equip our field workers, we created our own tool, open source and available for free, which saves data in the background to the local device. The operator only needs to submit their final transcription when a reliable data connection is available.
One screen, no internet, no cost
The HEP Transcriber is a free transcription tool that runs in any browser – including on a phone. Load an audio recording, play it back, and type the translation, all on one screen. There’s nothing to install and nothing to sign up for.
- Pause rewinds automatically — a few seconds back every time you stop, so you never lose the thread of what was just said
- Slow the audio down without changing the pitch, for fast talkers and noisy recordings
- Loop a tricky section until you’ve caught every word
- One-tap saving to WhatsApp, email, or your files — plus automatic backups on your device, so hours of careful work can’t vanish
- Works completely offline once the page is loaded
- And because everything stays on your device – nothing is uploaded anywhere – it’s safe to use for sensitive interviews.
Free for anyone doing this kind of work
We made this for our own team, but we know we’re not the only ones translating and transcribing interviews on a phone with patchy internet and no software budget. If you’re a researcher, journalist, student, or a fellow NGO we’d love you to try it.
We would love to hear any feedback you might have through our contact form. The transcription app is free and provided as-is – you can find more information in our Read Me file below.
About the free HEP Transcriber – the free transcription tool
The HEP Transcriber is a free transcription tool from Hope Education Project. Play interview audio and type the transcript on one screen — in any browser, on any phone, with no internet connection needed after the page loads.
Use it here:
We built it for our own fieldwork in Ghana – transcribing interviews on a phone, offline, with no software budget – and we share it freely with anyone doing similar work: researchers, journalists, students, and fellow NGOs.
What it does
- Audio playback with adjustable speed, skip forward/back, and section looping
- Automatic rewind when you pause, so you never lose the thread
- Timestamps, speaker labels, and markers for unclear audio
- One-tap Share / Save to WhatsApp, email, or your files
- Automatic local backups with one-tap recovery
- Export to text or subtitle (.srt) files
- Works offline; nothing to install, no sign-up, no account
Your privacy
Everything stays on your device. Audio and transcripts are never uploaded anywhere – there is no server behind this tool. That makes it suitable for sensitive interview material.
It also means you are responsible for saving your own work. Browser storage can be cleared at any time by your device (for example, when a phone runs low on space). The app keeps automatic backups as a safety net, but these live in the same browser – they are not a substitute for saving your transcript to a file, message, or email. Use the Share/Save or Export buttons regularly, especially before ending a long session.
Disclaimer
This tool is provided free of charge, “as is” and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. In no event shall Hope Education Project or the contributors be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability, including loss of data or transcripts, arising from the use of, or inability to use, this tool. Use of the tool is entirely at your own risk.
Open source
The transcriber is open source under the MIT License. You are free to use, copy, modify, and share it. The code and full licence terms are available on GitHub: