How to Record a Phone Call on iPhone, Android, or Desktop

Depending on the nature of your business phone calls, there may be times when you’d like to record them. These call recordings can be useful to business owners for lots of reasons, such as marketing intel, monitoring call centers for quality assurance, order information, interviews for writing articles, or capturing details of a strategy call with a business partner.

In this article, we cover how to record a phone call, why you might want to record calls, some of the legal issues involved, call recording on various devices such as smartphones or desktop computers, and proper etiquette to use during call recording.

There are a variety of reasons to record phone calls for business. For example, when you are interviewing someone for an article, case study, or podcast. This makes it easier to conduct the interview without concerns of missing a detail or the distraction of frantically scribbling client notes or wishing you knew shorthand. Plus, the recording facilitates getting a transcript for easy reference afterward.

Additional reasons to record phone calls include:

The short answer to this question is yes. But it’s essential to get in the habit of asking call participants if it’s okay to record a phone call before doing so. Otherwise, recording the call could be seen as wiretapping or eavesdropping under federal law.

Asking permission to record a phone call is more than just a courtesy, it is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions. In many states, and under U.S. law, it is necessary to gain the consent of at least one call participant. But in other states, you must gain the approval of two or all call participants.

It’s best to check the call recording laws where all call participants will be at the time of the call to ensure legal compliance. Justia has published a great reference page which covers the call recording laws for all 50 U.S. states.

There are several options for recording phone calls on mobile devices and desktop computers. Check out the sections below to help you decide which method of call recording might work best for you.

Apple makes it impossible for an iPhone to record calls to protect your privacy and won’t allow third-party apps access to your phone’s microphone during a call. Although this makes recording a phone call on an iPhone difficult, there are a few creative solutions.

The simplest way to record a call on your iPhone requires two devices, and your call needs to be completed on speakerphone. The other device can be another iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Mac computer. You make the call on any phone with a speaker and record it on your iPhone. Or, you can make the call on your iPhone and record it on a second Apple device. In both cases, you can use the Voice Memos app to record on the second device.

Admittedly, this option is not for everyone. Making calls over speakerphone is not ideal, and you may not have two Apple devices to work with. If this is the case, check out our other suggestions below for call recording for iPhone.

Despite the fact that the call recording function on Android devices isn’t obvious, and Google no longer allows third-party recording apps, it is still possible to record phone calls. In fact, Google’s Phone app has call recording functionality, but there are additional conditions you must meet to be able to use the app to record phone calls including:

If you meet these criteria, call recording using the Phone app is relatively easy, provided that Google ensures all parties on the call are notified of the recording. Follow these simple instructions to use the Google Phone app to record phone calls on your Android phone:

Please note that you cannot start recording a call that is already in progress, but you can set up the Phone app to automatically record and automatically store recorded calls for a designated period of time.

Recording software and phone call recording apps for desktop and laptop computers facilitate many different methods for easy call recording. Here are a few examples of software and apps available for use on both PCs and Macs:

If you don’t want to download another app or software to your device, you can always use an external recorder. Where recording devices used to always involve using a snarl of cords, much of today’s external call recording hardware comes with wireless capability, connecting to your phone via Bluetooth.

The Zoom series of handheld recorders, or similar portable recorders from Tascam are popular solutions for many different on-the-go audio recording applications. There are also many different smaller, more economical brands of recorders you can try out. Check listings on Amazon, Best Buy, or other hardware retailers.

There is a great assortment of free and premium call recording apps available online. Here are a few popular ones worth considering:

A good option for recording incoming calls is the Google Voice app. This app works on Android, iPhone, and desktop devices. To use this app for recording, you simply need to set up a Google Voice account and turn on the Voice calling options. Then, recording a call with the app is as easy as:

Note that all parties must be on the call before you can start the recording, so you have the ability to start recording calls midway, if needed, to capture key details. You even have the option to switch phones during the call if desired.

If you’re using an Apple device, the free Rev Call Recorder app enables you to easily record incoming and outgoing calls on your iPhone. This works because this app and the TapeACall app use a 3-way call merge process where you conference in the app as a third caller. An added perk with this app is it gives you the option to have the recordings transcribed through the Rev transcription service. Their claim to fame is that they only use human transcriptionists for greater transcript accuracy.

TapeACall is a recording app that works to record calls on both Android and iPhone, thanks to a similar creative workaround for Apple’s restrictions as Rev Call Recorder. It is available in over 50 countries and can be used to record both incoming and outgoing phone calls. Recordings are then stored on TapeACall’s server where you can label them and download them in MP3 format.

TapeACall offers a free trial option so you can try it before signing up for a paid subscription. The service also offers transcription powered by AWS for added accuracy so you don’t need to send them somewhere else if you need your calls transcribed.

To help you get the best results when recording phone calls with other participants, the best place to start from is to adhere best practices for business etiquette. here are some tips on etiquette for recording phone calls to be aware of:

To start recording phone calls for business, decide which device you will use to make your call and identify the best application, then check the call recording laws for the locations of all participants to ensure compliance. Determine what you want to accomplish on the call and prepare ahead of time. Finally, attend your call and remember to follow proper etiquette for a successful call with an excellent quality call recording.

Add a business phone line to your mobile device, and discover all the great professional features a virtual phone system offers by signing up for a LinkedPhone free trial today!