How Snag works
Snag turns every music identification attempt into a saved moment. Tap to listen, and the audio is saved, so a failed or offline ID is never the end of the story.
What is Snag?
A free music identification app for iPhone, powered by Apple’s ShazamKit. It records a short audio clip with every attempt, so you never lose a song.
The four steps
From tap to saved song, here is the whole flow.
-
Tap to listen
Open Snag and tap once. Snag starts recording and runs Apple’s ShazamKit to identify the music playing around you.
-
Snag saves the audio
Every attempt keeps a short audio clip, whether or not a match is found. Nothing is lost if the identification fails.
-
Get the result, or retry later
If the song is identified, you see the title and artist with a link to Apple Music or Spotify. If not, or if you are offline, the saved clip is ready to retry later or play for a friend.
-
Build your history
Every snag lands in a history you can browse with the date, an optional location, and your own notes, so you can scroll back to it any time.
Why Snag saves the audio
Most music identification works in a single shot: it listens, and if it recognizes the song you get an answer, and if it does not, the moment is gone. Snag is built the other way around. It records first, so the audio of every attempt is preserved before recognition even finishes.
That small difference is the whole point. Recognition can fail for ordinary reasons: a noisy room, a track that is not in the catalog, an edit or a bootleg, or simply no signal. When that happens, Snag still has the recording, so you keep something you can act on later instead of nothing at all.
When recognition fails
You can replay the clip, retry the identification later, or play it for a friend who might know the track. Snag’s Retry Analysis also re-checks the saved audio across several different windows, so a song the first tap missed can still turn up on a later pass. The recording stays until you delete it.
Using Snag offline
Snag records the audio the instant you tap, with or without a connection. The recognition step itself needs the internet, so when you are offline Snag holds the clip and you run the identification once you are back online. Capture now, identify later.
This is what makes Snag useful in the places where you hear the most new music and have the least signal: clubs, festivals, warehouse parties, and basements.
Snag uses Apple’s ShazamKit, so it recognizes the same catalog Shazam does. But because Snag saves the audio, its Retry Analysis can re-check a recording across several windows of the clip, and that sometimes identifies a song a single Shazam tap missed.
Your history and diary
Every snag is saved to a history you can browse, organized by date. You can add the place where you heard a song and your own notes, turning a list of identifications into a real music diary you can look back through.
Your snags are stored privately on your iPhone and your own iCloud account, with no account to create and nothing sold or used for advertising. Learn more on the privacy page.
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a song with Snag?
Open Snag and tap to start listening. Snag records a short audio clip and uses Apple’s ShazamKit to identify the music. If it finds a match, you see the song and artist with a link to Apple Music or Spotify. Either way, the recording is saved to your history so you never lose the moment.
What happens if Snag cannot identify the song?
The audio clip is still saved. Unlike a one-shot recognizer that leaves you with nothing when it fails, Snag keeps the recording on your device so you can retry the identification later, play it back, or share it with a friend who might know the track. Snag’s Retry Analysis also re-checks the recording across several windows of the audio, which sometimes identifies a song the first attempt missed.
Can I use Snag without internet?
Yes. Snag records the audio the moment you tap, even with no signal. The recognition step needs a connection, so when you are offline Snag saves the clip and you run the identification later, once you are back online. This is useful in clubs, festivals, and basements with no reception.
How do I retry an identification later?
Open the saved snag from your history and run the identification again against the stored audio. Because Snag keeps the actual recording, you can retry as many times as you like, including after you move somewhere with a better connection.
Where are my Snag recordings stored?
Your recordings are stored privately on your iPhone. Snag has no account to create. If you turn on iCloud backup, they also sync to your own iCloud account, and they are never sold or used for advertising.
Start your music diary with Snag.
Free on iPhone. Every attempt is saved, so the next song you hear is one you can always come back to.
