Recording audio in Safari
Safari records perfectly well, but it behaves differently from Chrome in three ways that matter: the native format it produces, how permission is granted, and what it demands before audio can start.
Ready. Press Record and allow microphone access when your browser asks.
Safari produces AAC, not Opus
Every other major browser gives you Opus in a WebM container. Safari does not support WebM recording at all — it produces AAC audio inside an MP4 container, which arrives as a .m4a file. AAC is a fine codec, but the file extension surprises people expecting .webm, and some upload forms treat the two very differently.
If you need certainty about what you get, choose MP3 or WAV from the Format dropdown. Both are produced by this page rather than by Safari, so they are identical across every browser.
Two layers of permission on macOS
This is the single most common reason recording fails on a Mac, and it catches experienced users. There are two separate gates:
- Safari must allow this website to use the microphone. Safari asks the first time you press Record.
- macOS must allow Safari to use the microphone at all. That lives in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone.
If the operating system gate is closed, Safari's own prompt may appear and be granted, and recording will still produce nothing. Check System Settings if the site-level permission looks correct but no signal arrives.
To review Safari's site permission: Safari menu, Settings, Websites, Microphone, then find this site in the list.
Safari requires a real gesture
Safari will not open an audio context without a genuine user interaction — a real click or tap, not a script-triggered one. That is why recording starts from a button press here rather than automatically. It is a sensible policy and it is why recorders that try to start on page load fail on Safari specifically.
On iPhone and iPad
Safari is the only browser on iOS with microphone access. Chrome, Firefox and Edge on an iPhone are all interface layers over Safari's engine, so their behaviour is Safari's behaviour. There is also a hardware quirk worth knowing: the physical silent switch affects playback but not recording, so a recording can succeed while playback appears broken. Device-specific notes are on the iPhone and iPad pages.
- Recording on iPhoneiOS specifics and the silent switch.
- Recording on a MacSystem permissions and built-in alternatives.
- Recording on iPadExternal mics and Split View.
- Browser supportVersion requirements for every browser.
More in browsers and devices
- Recording audio in Firefox
- Recording audio in Edge
- Recording audio on iPhone
- Recording audio on Android
See all browsers and devices — browser recording works on every device, but not identically.
Questions
Why does Safari save an .m4a file instead of .webm?
Safari does not support WebM recording. Its native output is AAC in an MP4 container, which uses the .m4a extension. Choose MP3 or WAV from the Format dropdown if you need a specific format.
I allowed the microphone but nothing records on my Mac.
Check the operating system layer: System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone, and confirm Safari is switched on. Safari's own permission cannot override a macOS block.
Where does Safari keep site permissions?
Safari menu, Settings, Websites, Microphone. Every site that has asked is listed there and can be changed to Ask, Allow or Deny.
Does recording work in Private Browsing?
Yes, but permission is requested again each session and is discarded when the window closes.
Why can't the recorder start automatically?
Safari requires a genuine user gesture before it will open an audio context. A button press satisfies it; a script-initiated start does not.
Is Safari's AAC quality worse than Opus?
Marginally at low bitrates, and not in a way you would notice for speech. Both are modern codecs and both comfortably outperform MP3 at equivalent sizes.