AI note taker without a bot
Meeting notes that don't send a stranger to your meeting
Hark records your calls from your own computer, transcribes them right there, and works out who said what. No bot joins, nothing announces itself, and the recording never leaves your machine unless you choose to sync it.
Windows · macOS · Linux · Free forever, AI notes from $12/month
A private meeting recorder that stays out of the way
Most AI note takers work by sending a bot into your call. It shows up in the participant list, some people ask to remove it, and your audio is processed on someone else's servers. Hark takes a different route: it records the computer you're already using. Your microphone and your computer's audio (the other people on the call) are captured as separate tracks and mixed together.
Because Hark records your computer rather than joining the meeting, it works with whatever you use: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex, Slack huddles, or a phone call through your laptop. There's nothing to connect and no calendar to grant access to.
How Hark works
- 1
Press record
Start Hark before or during any call. It records your mic and your computer's audio. You can mute either one while you record, and take screenshots of shared slides as you go.
- 2
It transcribes on your computer
A live transcript appears while the meeting runs. When it ends, Hark makes a second, more accurate pass. The speech model runs locally, so your audio is never uploaded to be transcribed.
- 3
It learns who's speaking
Hark works out how many people spoke and splits the transcript by voice. Listen to a short clip, type a name once, and Hark suggests that person automatically in future meetings.
- 4
Claude writes the notes
With a subscription (or during your 2-day preview), Claude turns the transcript into clear meeting notes in the style you pick, gives the meeting a title, and tidies up misheard names.
Everything you need after the call
Speaker names that stick
Name a voice once and Hark remembers it. Suggestions are always yours to confirm. If it mixes two people up, mark who spoke on the timeline and update the transcript. Each person gets a profile with a photo, color, job title, company and your own notes.
A player built for reviewing meetings
The waveform player speeds up without chipmunk voices, skips the silences and can enhance quiet voices. The word being said is highlighted as you listen, and you can click any word to jump there.
Your notes and the transcript, side by side
Type your own notes in a formatted editor during and after the meeting. Edit any transcript line; your edits are kept and never overwritten. Export transcripts and notes, or copy them anywhere.
Import recordings you already have
Drag in a voice memo, Zoom recording or interview: m4a, mp3, wav, mp4, mov, ogg, opus, flac, webm and more. Hark transcribes it and sorts out the speakers just like a live meeting.
Screenshots in your notes
On Windows, press Ctrl+Alt+S for the whole screen or Ctrl+Alt+A for an area, from any app. Shots land in your notes and on the meeting timeline, and the AI can name and describe them.
AI notes in the style you like
Choose from several note styles or add your own. Turn on live notes during the meeting, ask questions about what was just said, and let AI proofreading fix names and jargon from your "Names & terms" list. Every change can be undone.
Try it on your next call
Download Hark, record one meeting, and see the transcript appear with each voice on its own line. Recording and transcription are free with no limits.
Privacy, in plain words
- ● Your recordings stay on your computer. So do transcripts and voiceprints, unless you turn on sync.
- ● Transcription happens on your computer. After a one-time download of the speech models (about 730 MB), it works offline.
- ● Free use sends nothing anywhere. Recording, transcription and speaker recognition never leave your machine.
- ● AI features send text, not audio. When Claude writes your notes, the transcript text goes to Claude (by Anthropic) through External Software's service.
- ● Sync is optional and encrypted. Meetings are encrypted on your computer before upload. Recordings are kept in the cloud for 90 days. Email is never synced.
- ● Hark doesn't train AI on your meetings.
Recording laws vary, and some places require everyone's consent. Hark doesn't announce itself in a call, so always tell people you're recording.
A free AI note taker, with AI when you want it
Everything that runs on your computer is free forever. The subscription adds the parts that need the cloud. New accounts get a 2-day preview of everything, no card needed.
| Free $0, forever | Subscription $12/month, cancel any time | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited recording (mic + computer audio) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Unlimited transcription on your computer | ✓ | ✓ |
| Speaker recognition that remembers people | ✓ | ✓ |
| Import recordings, edit, your own notes, export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Claude Desktop / Claude Code connection | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI meeting notes, titles, live notes and questions | 2-day preview | ✓ |
| AI proofreading and screenshot descriptions | 2-day preview | ✓ |
| Encrypted sync across up to 3 computers | 2-day preview | ✓ |
A free account (sign in with an email code) is needed for both plans. There are no team plans or annual plans.
Already pay for Claude? Ask it about your meetings
Hark runs a small local server that Claude Desktop and Claude Code can connect to (it uses MCP, the Model Context Protocol). With your own Claude subscription, you can ask Claude to summarize last Tuesday's call, find what a client said about the budget, read the live transcript of the meeting you're in, or start and stop recording. This connection is free in Hark.
You can also download your email (Gmail, Outlook / Office 365 or any IMAP account) into Hark so Claude can search it alongside your meetings. Email stays on your computer and is never synced.
What Hark runs on, and what it doesn't do yet
Systems
- Windows (x64; Windows on ARM runs the x64 build)
- macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel
- Linux x64 and ARM64 (computer audio via PulseAudio or PipeWire)
- About 730 MB of disk space for the speech models, downloaded once on first use
Honest limitations
- On a Mac, Hark records the microphone only. Computer audio capture isn't built for macOS yet.
- English only. Other languages aren't supported.
- No mobile app, no calendar integration, no team workspaces or CRM integrations.
- Audio and screenshots only; Hark doesn't record video.
- It's a brand-new app (version 1.0.5, October 2026), and the installers aren't code-signed yet.
Learn more
Guides
Record Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, transcribe audio files, and take better notes.
Alternatives
How Hark stacks up against Otter, Granola, Fireflies, Fathom and others.
Comparisons
Side-by-side looks at popular AI note takers.
Templates
Free meeting minutes, notes and 1-on-1 templates you can copy.
Comparing tools? Start with our best AI note takers roundup or our guide to AI note takers that don't join the meeting.
Your meetings, on your computer
Free forever for recording, transcription and speaker names. Start with a 2-day preview of AI meeting notes and sync, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an AI note taker that does not join the meeting as a bot? +
Yes. Hark records the meeting from your own computer instead of sending a bot into the call, so nobody sees a "notetaker has joined" participant. It captures your microphone and your computer's audio, which works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Webex and any other app. On a Mac, Hark records the microphone only for now.
Is Hark really free? +
Yes. Everything that runs on your computer is free forever: unlimited recording, transcription, speaker recognition, editing, your own notes, import, export and the Claude Desktop connection. You only need a free account, created with an email code and no card. AI meeting notes and cloud sync are part of the $12/month subscription, and new accounts get a 2-day preview of both.
Does Hark upload my recordings? +
No. Recordings, transcripts and voiceprints stay on your computer, and transcription runs on your computer too. If you use the AI features, the transcript text (not the audio) is sent to Claude to write notes. If you turn on sync, your meetings are encrypted on your computer before they are uploaded.
Which languages does Hark transcribe? +
English only at the moment. The speech recognition Hark runs on your computer supports English only, so meetings in other languages will not transcribe well. If most of your meetings are in another language, a different tool will serve you better for now.
Does Hark work on a Mac? +
Yes, Hark runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, but on macOS it records your microphone only, because capturing computer audio is not built yet. The other side of a call is captured only if it plays through your speakers into the mic. Hark on a Mac works very well for in-person meetings, voice memos and recordings you import.
Do I need permission to record a meeting? +
Often, yes. Recording laws differ by place, and some require everyone on the call to agree. Hark does not announce itself in the meeting, so it is up to you to tell people you are recording and get their consent.