The impulse to learn how to record a phone call on Android has increased among users over the years. While there are several reasons behind this, many phone manufacturers usually don't include an option to record calls on their phones, leaving the user to either find an alternative way or do without recording their calls.
Despite that, Android folks always have a way out. And if you find yourself in need of learning how to record a phone call on Android, here you have it.
How to record calls on your Android phone
There are various ways to record your phone conversations. But you’ll want to take advantage of the stock phone app if it has a built-in call recorder; this is a staple feature on most TECNO, Infinix, and itel devices.
But if it’s the other way around, then you'll need to invest in any of the call recorder apps on the Play Store. That said, built-in call recorders and even third-party only work on some versions of Android. This means you may download a recorder app and still not be able to carry out your mission.
With that out of the way, here’s how to record a phone call on Android.
Using the Stock Phone app
Depending on your phone brand, you could record both outgoing and incoming calls following the steps below. (We tested this on a TECNO phone running Android 11).
How to record ongoing individual calls manually
- Make or receive an incoming call to ensure the call is ongoing.
- Tap the Start Recording button on the screen to record the call.
- The button will indicate that your call is being recorded, showing the duration.
- Tap the Record button again to stop recording the call.
It’s as simple as that on most TECNO and Infinix devices. The steps may vary slightly on your phone, but you’ll get it if supported.
Meanwhile, you may also want to enable Auto call recording to let your phone record every conversation or select some contacts you want to record their conversations automatically.
How to record all phone conversations automatically
- Launch the Phone
- Tap the cog icon in the top right to show the menu.
- Toggle on "Enable auto call recording” to trick the phone into recording every incoming and outgoing call.
How to record calls for some contacts automatically.
Do you want to always record some people's conversations but not everyone on your contact list? Here's how you can. But first, you'll need to disable "auto call recording" as said above.
- Open the Contacts
- Select the contact you want to always record his/her phone calls.
- Tap the 3-dot icon in the top right, then select “Enable auto call recording”
The "Phone by Google," the stock dialer on some Android phones, also has an in-built call recorder, but not in all regions. It also has some other criteria you must pass before you can record calls on your Android phone.
If your stock Phone app doesn’t feature a native call recorder, you'll need to try one of the vast call recording apps available on the Play Store. We'll get to that soon.
Is it legal to record calls?
Whether or not it's legal to record a phone call depends on where you live, and sometimes, who you’re calling. Some local, state or federal governments don't allow their citizens to record calls: a chief reason the call recording feature doesn't come natively on most phones.
Meanwhile, some places don’t care if you record or not. But before you start recording phone calls, you need to research thoroughly if it's allowed in your region. Perhaps you may need to seek the caller’s approval, and both of you agree in unison to record the call.
The key idea is: inconsiderate of why you want to record your phone conversations, take note it may incur legal consequences. So, before embarking on how to record a phone call on Android, ‘Do Your Own Research’ first.
Do you need an app to record calls on Android?
Yes, you’ll need an app to record calls on your Android phone if they do not build the feature into the stock phone app. The Google Play Store is a home for tons of call-recording apps you can try on your phone.
The good news is that they’ll help you achieve your goal – to store your phone conversations. The bad news, however, is that these apps might not work on recent Android versions because of a good deal of privacy/security features that have been introduced. Nonetheless, they're worth trying.
To get started, you’ll need to download one of the apps from the Play Store and set it up. You may want to try several of them since they offer various distinguishable features. Some offer you the ability to save the calls on your Google Drive storage, set outgoing and incoming call options, add/remove phone numbers (contacts) to record, and many more.
Here are some of the best call-recording apps you can get on Android:
- Automatic Call Recorder
- Boldbeast Call Recorder
- Call Recorder Automatic
- Blackbox Call Recorder
- Otter Voice Notes, and many more.
Things to consider before you record a professional call
As said earlier, the law binding the acceptability of call recording. So, the main thing to consider before you record a phone call is to consult your local, state, and federal laws if call recording is acceptable in your region.
In most regions, you’ll need at least one person’s consent to record a phone call. In others, you may need both parties' agreement before you carry on, and may even increase in case of a conference call (including three or more people at a go.)
That said, you’ll also want to ensure that your caller’s region supports call recording. If not, legal consequences may arise. And that also can be complex since you can’t assume the person’s region from the area code on her phone number. For instance, someone may be a +234 area code and not be calling from Nigeria, and many other reasons like that.
All in all, you’ll want to confirm that call recording is allowed before setting your gears to record your next phone call.
Wrap up
Knowing how to record a phone call on Android is advantageous in many cases. It's also straightforward if your phone’s manufacturer supports the call recording feature natively. Nonetheless, you may bypass that with an app if your Android version and state security allow you.
All in all, it's recommended that you do your research well before embarking on a professional or non-professional call recording to avoid facing legal consequences.
Peace.
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