How to save a parent's voice

Updated 18 October 2026 · 3 min read

Of all the things we lose when a parent dies, the sound of their voice is often the one people miss first and find hardest to get back. The good news: keeping it is easy, if you start now.

1. Rescue the voice messages you already have

Most families already have hours of a parent's voice scattered across phones.

• WhatsApp voice notes: open the chat, press and hold a voice message, then Share or Forward to save it to Files. To keep a whole chat with its audio, use Export Chat and choose Attach Media.
• Voicemail: on iPhone, open Phone, then Voicemail, tap a message and use the share button to save it.
• Videos: look through old phone videos; birthdays and holidays often have their voice in the background.

Check old phones too, before they are reset or recycled.

2. Ask, and explain why

Tell your parent plainly: "I want to keep your voice and your stories for the grandchildren." Most parents are touched. If you are thinking about an AI voice later, ask about that too. A voice should be used only with their consent, or your right as family where the law allows it.

3. Record good conversations

You don't need a microphone. A recent phone is enough if you follow a few rules:

• Quiet room: TV, radio, fans and washing machines off. Sofas, rugs and curtains help.
• Close: the phone about 30 to 50 cm from their mouth, on a table, not in your hand.
• Long answers: ask for stories. "Tell me about the house you grew up in" gives you minutes of natural speech. Our 100 questions to ask your parents are made for this.
• Several sessions: twenty minutes, several times, beats one long tiring afternoon.
• Everyday talk too: a phone call about nothing in particular can sound more like them than any interview.

4. Keep it safe

Name files with the date and topic, and keep them in two places, for example a cloud drive and a computer, or in an app that keeps recordings with the answers they belong to. Share access with a brother or sister so it doesn't depend on one phone.

5. What an AI voice can do

Today, a synthetic voice can be made from a few minutes of clear recordings of someone. It can then read new words aloud in a voice that sounds like theirs. Combined with a copy that has learned how they talk, it can answer a question in their words and their voice.

What it can't do: be them. It can get an intonation wrong, and it only says what the copy generates. That is why we think it should be clearly presented as a copy, made with consent, and easy to switch off.

How OtherMy keeps a voice

1. Make a copy of your mother or father under For Someone Else.
2. Let them answer questions by talking; the app writes their words down for you to check.
3. Add recordings of their voice: ones you make together, or ones you already have.
4. Add exported WhatsApp chats, so the copy learns how they write.
5. With Premium, a voice is made from their recordings, with consent, and you can call their copy and hear it answer in that voice.

Everything can be downloaded or deleted at any time, and the voice can be removed. More in how our AI works.