Does Canto record in the background?

Yes on iOS and Android: a recording keeps running with the screen locked, the phone in your pocket, or another app in front. On the web it does not — the browser tab has to stay open for the whole recording.

On iOS

Start recording and use the phone normally; the recording continues in the background. The Live Activity in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen shows that recording is running and for how long — see Record from iOS widgets and Control Center.

iOS gives the microphone to one app at a time. If a phone call comes in or another app takes the microphone, Canto shows "Paused by another app — will resume automatically" — and it does exactly that: when the interruption ends, recording resumes on its own. The interrupted stretch is not captured (nothing can record during a call), so you get one recording with that gap closed up.

On Android

Recording runs as a foreground service, which is why a persistent "Recording…" notification appears — Android requires it, and it doubles as your indicator that the microphone is live. The notification shows "Recording paused" while paused. Don't force-stop the app from system settings mid-recording; use Stop in the app or the notification.

Some phones (aggressive battery managers on certain manufacturers) can kill background apps anyway. If a long recording ends early on your device, exempt Canto from battery optimization in system settings.

On the web

The web recorder works only while its tab is open. Closing the tab or letting the laptop sleep ends the recording; what was captured up to that point is kept and uploaded. For meetings where you can't babysit a tab, record on your phone or send the notetaker instead — see What is the notetaker?

What if the app crashes mid-recording?

On iOS and Android the audio is written to disk continuously, so a crash or force-quit loses at most a fraction of a second. The next time you open Canto, the recording is recovered and finishes normally. If a recording did come back shorter than expected, see My recording is lost or silent.

How much battery does it use?

Recording is cheap compared to a lit screen — the file is compact and nothing is transcribed live. A multi-hour session on a phone is fine, but for all-day recording: lock the screen (that's the biggest saving), and start with a reasonable charge. Upload after a long session is the other battery/data moment; on Wi-Fi it's quick.

FAQ

Does backgrounding delay the transcript?

No. The recording uploads when you stop, whether the app was in front or not.

Can I record while on a phone call?

No — the call owns the microphone, so iOS pauses the recording until the call ends (see above). Android behaves equivalently.