Recording phone calls is perfectly legal, and the good news is that on Android smartphones it’s also free: here’s how to do it
There’s been a lot of confusion about call recording for a long time. Is it legal or not, many have wondered? Recently, a decision of the Court of Cassation has dispelled any doubts: whoever answers the phone implicitly accepts the risk of being recorded, so it is not necessary for the recorder to ask for consent.
Recording a call on the phone between two people present but without the knowledge of one of the two, therefore, is lawful and does not require any consent from the recorder, nor authorization from the judge or the police. According to the Supreme Court, the act of introducing a recorder into one room and going into another is illegal, as it sets a “trap” for those who speak in the vicinity of the recorder, making them believe they are free to speak in total privacy. Recording calls from your Android phone, therefore, does not break any laws: here’s how to do it for free.
How to record calls with the native app
Makers of some Android smartphones install an app on their models at the factory that allows you to record calls, so that customers don’t have to worry about searching for one on the Google Play Store the moment they need to record a phone call.
Each manufacturer implements the ability to record calls in its own way, so it’s impossible to indicate precise steps to take in order to keep the contents of a phone call in memory. So while it’s impossible to give precise instructions on how to record calls with the native app that are valid for everyone, it is possible to give some general guidelines that can be adapted slightly to the brand and model of Android smartphone you own.
In fact, after starting the call, you can simply tap on the Record button to start recording the conversation on the phone. At that point, the phone will usually emit an audible alert that can be heard by the callers to alert both of them of the recording in progress.
When the conversation is over, you simply hang up to stop the recording, but if you want to stop it earlier you can usually do so through the on-screen Stop button, which might be named slightly differently – it’s worth remembering – depending on the smartphone model.
How to record calls with third-party apps
If, on the other hand, the Android smartphone you want to record calls with doesn’t provide for recording conversations because it’s absent or because the manufacturer itself, for some reason, has disabled it, don’t worry: it’s not difficult to fix it, and it’s free to do so.
Many of you will be familiar with the Truecaller app, and just as many will probably remember that the call recording feature was chargeable. However, there is good news: since version 12 of Truecaller the developers have enabled call recording even for users who are not subscribed to the service, i.e. with a free profile. Convenient, simple and free.