PLAUD NOTE

Yes. Most phones block call recording at the OS level, which is why Otter and similar apps cannot capture phone calls. PLAUD works around this by physically routing audio through the magnetic attachment — when you hold the phone to your ear during a call, PLAUD's microphones capture both sides of the conversation. The result is clean dual-sided phone call audio that gets transcribed and summarized like a regular meeting. For many professionals, this is the product's main value proposition.

It depends on jurisdiction. The US has a patchwork of laws: 38 states allow one-party consent (only one participant needs to know), while 12 states require two-party consent (all participants must know). The EU under GDPR generally requires consent from all participants. PLAUD does not enforce consent rules — you are responsible for compliance in your jurisdiction. For two-party consent states and the EU, the safe approach is to disclose recording at the start of each call. PLAUD provides compliance resources but ultimate responsibility is on the user.

Different problems. Otter captures video meetings (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet) where you are already on a computer. PLAUD captures phone calls and in-person conversations where you are not. For a business traveler in coffee-shop meetings, airport phone calls, and field sales visits, PLAUD solves problems Otter cannot touch. Many users run both — Otter on the laptop, PLAUD in the pocket — for complete coverage.

PLAUD NOTE's battery supports 30+ hours of continuous recording on a single charge, and standby time exceeds a month. For business travelers, this means a weekly charge is typically enough. The magnetic phone attachment does not draw power from the phone — PLAUD is fully independent, which also means it continues recording if your phone dies.

For anyone recording more than a few meetings per week, yes. The free Starter plan is limited to 300 minutes monthly — enough for 5-6 hours of recording total. Pro unlocks 1,200 minutes (20 hours), multi-language support, speaker diarization, and faster processing. For $7/month, Pro is genuinely cheap compared to Otter's $20/month and includes unique phone-call capture functionality.

Yes for recording — the device captures audio to onboard storage without any network connection. Transcription and summarization require an internet connection because they happen in PLAUD's cloud using Whisper and proprietary models. When you reconnect, recordings upload automatically and process within minutes. This is useful for travelers who want to capture conversations in planes, remote locations, or areas with poor connectivity.