If you suddenly notice that your favorite call recording app isn't recording incoming audio on Android, you're not alone. This is a deliberate attempt by Google to ban all call recording apps from the Google Play Store. The company reversed this and announced a new policy change (effective May 11, 2022) to prevent third-party apps from using the Accessibility API to record calls. Some third-party developers have been abusing the open nature of the Android operating system. The Google Play Store is full of third-party call recording apps that could violate privacy and security by allowing users to record calls without the recipient's consent. Finally, Google has pulled the plug and removed the required permissions that allow apps to record calls.
Call recording is a difficult topic.
User privacy laws vary from region to region. This is why you'll see Android phone makers or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Samsung offering call recording only in a few countries while disabling it in the US and other parts of the world.
Privacy advocates have long called on Google to take strict action against third-party call recording apps on Android. These apps allow calls to be recorded without user consent, a practice considered a direct violation of user privacy and security—regardless of the region in which they are located.
Since Android 6.0, Google has made steady progress in preventing call recording on phones. However, developers have always found a way to implement the feature. Let's back up a bit here.
Google is trying to block call recording on Android.
Starting with Android 6.0, Google blocked access to real call recording on Android 6. Developers moved to microphone permission and started accessing it during calls to record conversations.
Google has gone ahead again and implemented another change in Android 10. The system blocks microphone access to third-party apps during an active call (iOS does the same). Truecaller and other call recording apps have started exploring the Accessibility API for call recording.
The software giant recently announced As of May 11, 2022, apps on the Google Play Store will no longer be allowed to use the Accessibility Service to record calls. The new policy states that “the Accessibility API is not designed for, and cannot be requested for, remote call audio recording.” You can check Webinar Video For more details, Truecaller has already stopped advertising and offering call recording in its Android app.
We tried several third-party call recording apps on the OnePlus 10R, and none of them were able to record incoming audio on the device. Our voice recording only came from one end.
There is light at the end of the tunnel.
We understand that some businesses rely on call recording, and you may also need the feature for your daily use. The above restrictions only apply to third-party apps in the Play Store. Google has not placed the same restrictions on the default Phone app that comes with your device.
For example, it allows Samsung Phone App For users to seamlessly record calls (where permitted by law). Similarly, the Mi Dialer app (Xiaomi phone app) and the Google Dialer app preinstalled on OnePlus, Vivo, Pixel, Nokia, and Motorola phones offer call recording functionality.
If call recording is essential to you, make sure you purchase an Android phone with a dialer app that allows you to record calls. Even if you download the Google Phone app from the Play Store, it will come without any recording functionality (as Google Phone will be treated as a third-party app on your phone).
Once again, let us remind you that these built-in dialer apps only offer call recording in areas where the law of that territory allows it. In countries such as India, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, and so on, recording conversations in which you are a participant is completely legal.
Do not record calls without user consent.
Google has learned how third-party apps have been abusing the Accessibility API to record calls. It's time for the company to put a stop to this practice and deliver the final nail in the coffin of call recording apps. So think twice before you hit the download button or consider paying for a call recording app on Android. Don't go after positive reviews either. They're likely to be published before the policy changes are rolled out.
