Recording audio in Chrome
Chrome has the most complete audio recording support of any browser, and none of it needs an extension. The APIs are built in — this page just uses them.
Ready. Press Record and allow microphone access when your browser asks.
How Chrome handles the permission
The first time you press Record, Chrome shows a permission bubble just under the address bar. Choosing Allow grants this site microphone access permanently; choosing Block denies it permanently, and the bubble will not appear again. That second outcome catches people out, because a blocked site simply fails silently afterwards.
To change it, click the icon at the left of the address bar — a padlock, or a sliders icon in recent versions — and set Microphone to Allow, then reload. Everything Chrome has decided about this site is listed there.
While recording, Chrome marks the tab with a red dot in the tab strip. That indicator is drawn by the browser and cannot be suppressed by a page, so it is a reliable signal that a microphone is genuinely live.
What Chrome can produce
| Format | How it is made | Speed |
|---|---|---|
| WebM / Opus | Chrome's native MediaRecorder output | Instant — hardware assisted |
| WAV | Raw PCM captured via Web Audio, header written in-page | Instant |
| MP3 | PCM run through a JavaScript encoder in the tab | A few seconds per minute of audio |
Opus is genuinely excellent — clearly better than MP3 at the same bitrate, and Chrome encodes it with no delay. The reason to choose MP3 anyway is compatibility: plenty of upload forms and older software still reject a .webm file.
Chrome-specific things worth knowing
- Tab audio capture works here. Chrome is one of the few browsers that can record sound from another tab — see the tab audio recorder.
- Playback speed is built in. Right-click any audio player for speed options, which is useful when transcribing.
- Background tabs get throttled. Chrome limits timers in background tabs, so keep the recording tab visible for long takes.
- Profiles have separate permissions. Granting access in one Chrome profile does not carry over to another.
- Incognito resets everything. Permission granted in a normal window does not apply in Incognito, and vice versa.
- Recording in EdgeSame engine, a few interface differences.
- Recording on a ChromebookChrome OS specifics and school-managed devices.
- Tab audio recorderCapture sound from another tab.
- Microphone permissionsResetting a blocked site.
More in browsers and devices
- Recording audio in Safari
- Recording audio in Firefox
- Recording audio in Edge
- Recording audio on iPhone
See all browsers and devices — browser recording works on every device, but not identically.
Questions
Do I need a Chrome extension to record audio?
No. Chrome's built-in MediaRecorder and Web Audio APIs handle recording, and this page uses them directly. Extensions are only needed for things the web platform does not expose, such as full system audio capture.
I accidentally clicked Block. How do I undo it?
Click the icon at the left of the address bar, find Microphone, and change it to Allow. Then reload the page. Chrome will not re-prompt on its own once you have blocked a site.
Why does the tab show a red dot?
That is Chrome's recording indicator, showing that a microphone is active in that tab. It is drawn by the browser and cannot be hidden by a website.
Which format should I choose in Chrome?
WebM/Opus for the smallest file at the best quality, MP3 when the file has to be accepted somewhere that may not take WebM, and WAV when you intend to edit it afterwards.
Does recording continue if I switch tabs?
It usually does, but Chrome throttles background tabs and long recordings can be affected. Keep the tab in the foreground for anything important.
Does it work in Incognito?
Yes, though you will be asked for microphone permission again — Incognito keeps its own permission set, and it is discarded when you close the window.