Best Voice Activated Discreet Recording Devices

Voice activated recording devices are readily gaining popularity and witnessing a major boom in the market. Here is a comprehensive overview of the voice activated recorder. Let’s quickly take a look at what you will learn in this article.

Here we will discuss the benefits of voice activated recording device. We will also use potential and legal fields where you can use such a device. And finally we will mention a few of such voice activated recording devices that you may take a note of while buying a device.

Why Voice-Activated Recorders?

Here are a few situations where you can use a voice activated recorders as well as their benefits.

They’re Fun!

If you were a fan of blockbusters over the last couple decades, then you’ve probably seen a movie where the bad guy was ultimately held accountable because they were secretly spied on and/or recorded.

For us, it was the movie Home Alone. After seeing that we wanted a Talkboy so bad but ended up with a smaller, but equally fun version called a Yak Bak.

Don’t Have to Be Present/Deniability

The best benefit of a voice activated recorder is that it imparts you a greater independence.

For instance, suppose you cannot attend any event or missed a class. You can easily record the lecture or speech in such a device and listen to it anytime you want. So you need not necessarily be present to attend any speech or important class.

The first and foremost audience to be benefitted of such a device is the students. They may miss a class or lose an attendance but not the class note. This also comes in handy just before examination. They have all the notes ready in their device. All it takes is to simply hit the play button and learn everything.

Not only the students, but professionals can also get proper benefits from such a device. If they fail to attend any speech or meeting, they can simply get the gist of the sessions from the record.

Be it the journalists, or the IT or government professionals, voice activated recorders make everyone’s life easier!

Leave & Retrieve Discreetly

One of the best features of this device is that you don’t have to sit around it while it records the entire session or meeting or class note.

Suppose a student has to visit the washroom, or a professional person has to attend a call, they can simply place the recorder on and execute their tasks. The voice activated recorder will capture all the audio clips and save these into the system for future usage.

Minimal Battery Consumption

If you are thinking that you have to buy a voice activated recorder time and again or change its battery repeatedly due to daily usage, and then you are wrong. The fact is, such a device doesn’t use its battery when it is not in use. That way it does not contribute in draining the battery life.

Even if you keep the device in the on mode, it will not drain the device’s battery.  It will only use the battery once anyone speaks and the recorder is actually activated to capture the recording.

So you don’t have to spend bucks in buying battery every time or recharge it time and again. If you invest in a good quality voice activated recorder, it can run for a longer duration for a one-time recharge or purchase a quality branded battery.

Best option for covert surveillance – This device is amazing for audio bugging or covert surveillance. People on a secret mission, spies or army people can easily use this device to spy on others. You can install it inside your dress and attend a secret meeting.

Make sure that the device doesn’t get detected in a metal detector. You may have to make some internal management with the conspirators in the opposing force to get into the meeting.

Once there, simply turn on the button and the device will record the entire meeting. You won’t be caught in suspicion of a spy as you don’t have to conduct any movement. You may not have to attend the meeting even. Simply install the camera on any chair or wall. It will automatically record the entire meeting and you will get all the information right from your home or office.

But you need to ensure that the device is of high quality and a professional one that can capture all the voices from the surroundings. Otherwise you may not capture all the data stored into it.

Things to Look for When Buying

There are a lot of different types of recorders designed for specific applications. For example there are high fidelity recorders used for education, legal, and production purposes, but these usually sacrifice size for quality.

There are also very small microphones for interviews, production and personal use, but these are usually manually activated.

In terms of discreet recording, that is a unique segment in the market with unique requirements (small form factor, high fidelity, battery conservation).

Microphone Quality

If you are purchasing a voice activated recorder, you need to ensure the quality of the microphone. This is of paramount importance. You can get a lot of fake branded products in the market at a cheap rate.

It’s better not to get allured by these as you won’t have anything to complaint if the quality is compromised. You better invest on a good quality microphone that can capture any voices from around the corner.

Also, ensure that the device is noise free. Otherwise, the microphone will capture the noise of the surroundings and you cannot extract any information from such a device.  

Memory/Storage Capacity

This is a crucial concern that you should keep an eye on while buying a voice activated recorder. If you record any meeting or conference, you need to ensure that the recorder has enough storage capacity to save all the data.

Otherwise there’s a chance that the recorder will stop working midway or previous data gets overwritten. That way you won’t be able to derive all the adequate information. So it’s better to learn about the memory or storage capacity of the device.

Also, the latest devices are equipped with a feature that allows you to include an external memory card to extend the memory of the device. If you are using such a voice activated recorder for any spying mission, you need to ensure that it has adequate storage.

On the other hand, if you are using the device for recording day to day class note and taking the information into a different storage every day, you don’t need a memory card or profuse storage.

Battery Life/Charging Methods

Before buying a device, learn how long it will run on a single battery purchase. Check to see if the battery is built-in or swappable, alkaline or lithium-ion, and does it charge via USB, USB-C, or other proprietary charging technologies?

Also learn how frequently you have to charge the battery to keep it running. Not necessary to mention that a device with longer battery life or relatively less charging requirement is the best purchase.

Legality of Discreet Recording

Before you start recording people without their knowledge it’s first important to understand if it’s even legal. Making sure you follow the law is the most important first step when considering recording devices.

When you can and can’t record

There is indeed a recording legality as to when you can record and where not. If you are a professional, you must read this passage very carefully. If you interviewing anyone and he or she says off record, you must turn the device off and don’t reveal the information directly. It’s indeed important to record other’s privacy and you shouldn’t record anyone’s private chat.

On the other hand, if you are a student you can always seek advantage from such a device. If you missed a class, you don’t have to lag behind. Simply keep the recorder on and it will record the professors’ lectures.

Also, if you are on a secret mission for your country and your government allows it, you may hide it and record any secret meeting. But in that case the full responsibility of hiding the device lies with you.

At home vs at work

You can always record any television show or anyone’s funny activity while at home. But it’s not ideal to drain your battery life in recording anything at home that is not urgent.

However, at work you require this more. Suppose you have attended a meeting. You can always keep a track of all the work or the boss’s ideas in the device and execute according to the plan.

Best Selling Compact Voice Activated Recorders of 2020

We scoured forums, tech blogs and online reviews to find the most popular and best-selling options when it comes to small, compact, easily hide-able recording solutions.

Attodigit@l Mini USB-Powered Voice Recorder

USB-driven recorders are some of the best because they appear to be regular storage devices, but the Attodigit@l is one of the best with it’s dual purpose of recording and being a functional storage device.

• This is one of the lightest and tiniest voice recording device. It has a functional 8 GB flash drive where you can store documents and recordings.
• This is the best for the professionals and it as intelligent noise reduction that allows you to capture audio from a distance without any hassle.
• It has 30 hours of battery life
• This is of course portable and the best feature is that you can hide it anywhere and everywhere/
• It doesn’t blink while in any operation or make any sound so you can easily hide it/
• This has a compact and discreet design.
• It has two types of USB integrated and it is compatible with various OS systems like MacOS, Windows, and Android. So you can transfer the data to any device.
• It has an easy user interface. All you need is to simply slide the switch and the recorder will start to record instantly.

• It has a 30 hours of battery life.
• The lightweight device has a slim design that is very easy to hide. It doesn’t blink or make any sound so you can rest assured of its discreetness.
• This is the best for the professionals and it has intelligent noise reduction that allows you to capture audio from a distance.
• It has a pretty easy user interface. You only need to simply slide the switch and the recorder will start to record instantly.
• It is compatible with various OS systems like MacOS, Windows, and Android. So you may transfer the data to any device.

• The recorder doesn’t play on iPhones. It is only available for the android phones.

SOTA Surveillance: Largest Battery Longest Continual Recording Option

If maximum recording is your aim, as in you need to record up to two-weeks of audio, then the SOTA recorder is for you. This is the longest-life device we could find that still had a relatively compact form-factor so it could still technically be hidden.

•  It is a professional device that can run up to 576 hours of recording capability.
• There’s no noise capturer or any indicating light during recording. So you can be assured of its discreetness.
• It can run for 14 days after the battery is fully charged.
• Once the sound stops, the recorder automatically goes into a sleep mode so as to save battery life.
• You can easily listen to your recordings. You can play it directly from the recorder  or you may choose to store the data through USB port into your PC.
• You can set time and date for organizing all the recordings

• There’s no noise capturer or any indicating light during recording. So you can easily hide it.
• It can run for 14 days after the battery is fully charged.
• Once the sound stops, the recorder automatically gets into a sleep mode to save battery life.
• You can set time and date for organizing all the recordings and listen to it.

• You can password protect your recordings so if anyone wants to access your device, your data is under potential threat. So if you are using it for any secret mission, make sure to protect it anyway.  

Attodigit@l Mini: Most Compact Option for Hiding

• It has 4 distinct recording qualities so you can choose from these as per your requirement, clarity and battery life. The qualities are as follow: 32, 192, 384, 1536 KBPS.
• It has 286 hours of recording capacity.
• It has 4 GB of storage capacity.
• It is compatible with MacOS (iOS), Android, and Windows.

• It is password protected
• It can offer 286 hours of recording capacity
• It is compatible with MacOS, Android, and Windows.
• The mini device can fit into anywhere.
• It is extremely user friendly.

• 4 GB storage capacity may not be enough. In that case either you have to transfer the data into another external system or extend the device’s memory with external memory card.

TCTEC-US Surveillance: Best Disguised Option

This is one of the MOST spy-worthy option in this list. We’ve done roundups of other hidden camera devices, some of which also used a pen form factor, but this one is audio-dedicated, extending it’s memory capabilities.

If you’re into spy gadgets, check out our roundup of the top James Bond movies of all time, and also make sure to check out our overview of actual functional spy pens while you’re at it!

 It has 16 GB memory and you can store around 580 hours of recording

It offers a multi-function as you can record sound, play music and also use it as a data storage device.

It is compatible to your PC and any Mac device.

•  It has 16 GB memory
• You can store around 580 hours of recording
• It offers a multi-function as you can record any sound, play music and also use it as a data storage device.

• It is not compatible with either android or iPhone.

License-to-Shoot Conclusion

Hope you have received a comprehensive overview about voice activated recorder. Keep these pointers in mind while purchasing a product.

On the flip side, if you feel like someone maybe recording YOU, we have a post where we describe how to detect hidden cameras and recording devices as well as a roundup of some of the best electronic surveillance detectors you can buy to find bugs just like the ones we reviewed in this post!

What’s your take about our blog? Comment below and let us know!

Last update on 2021-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API