Ever walked away from a meeting and realized hours later that Hedy was still recording? Auto-pause solves this by automatically pausing your session when no speech is detected, so you never have to worry about forgotten recordings again.
What is Auto-Pause?
Auto-pause monitors your session for speech activity and automatically pauses recording when no one has spoken for a configurable period (1-15 minutes). This prevents Hedy from running indefinitely if you forget to stop your session, while also saving processing power and keeping your transcripts focused on actual conversations.
Enabling Auto-Pause
Open Meeting Settings: Tap the slider icon in the navigation bar
Find Auto-Pause Section: Look for "Auto-pause after inactivity"
Toggle On: Switch the toggle to enable the feature
Set Duration: Use the slider to choose how many minutes of silence before auto-pause activates (1-15 minutes)
How It Works
When auto-pause is enabled, Hedy continuously monitors for speech during your session:
Active Monitoring: During your session, Hedy tracks when speech is detected in the transcription
Warning Phase: When no speech is detected for half your configured time, a warning banner appears with a countdown
Confirmation Option: You can tap "I'm Still Here" to reset the timer, or "Pause Now" to pause immediately
Auto-Pause: If the countdown reaches zero without speech or interaction, the session pauses automatically
Notification: You'll receive a system notification that your session was paused
Resuming a Paused Session
When your session is auto-paused, a dialog appears with two options:
Resume Session: Continue recording from where you left off
End Session: Stop the session and save your transcript
If you're away from your device, you can also resume by opening Hedy from the notification.
Voice Activity Detection Requirement
When using on-device transcription (Whisper), auto-pause requires Voice Activity Detection (VAD) to be enabled. VAD helps Hedy accurately detect when speech starts and stops.
If VAD isn't enabled when you turn on auto-pause, Hedy will prompt you to enable it. You can:
Enable VAD: Allow Hedy to turn on voice detection for reliable auto-pause functionality
Not Now: Skip enabling auto-pause for this session
VAD is only required when using on-device Whisper transcription. Cloud-based transcription providers have built-in speech detection.
Best Use Cases
Forgotten sessions: Never worry about leaving Hedy running after a meeting ends
Long meetings with breaks: Auto-pause during coffee breaks or intermissions
All-day recordings: Ideal for conferences or events with gaps between sessions
Battery conservation: Reduces processing when there's nothing to transcribe
Pro Tip: Set a shorter auto-pause time (3-5 minutes) for focused meetings, or a longer time (10-15 minutes) for events with natural breaks.