La call recording is one of the most controversial features in the Android world, but not only. In reality the situation is very simple: the work operating Android has its own rules Customization mountain above (MIUI for Xiaomi, ColorOS for Oppo and so on) has others. The rule that states that a call can be recorded or not does not depend on personalization but on Google's rules, that is, who "owns" the operating system. That said, there are news.
There is something new: Google updates its policy and starting from 11 May third-party apps will not be able to record calls
Google has discouraged the call recording on android During the years. Starting with Android 6.0, Google has eliminated the official registration API. This prompted app developers to look for unofficial ways to enable call recording. But once again, Google has eliminated some of these workarounds in Android 9.0. With Android 10, the company has completely blocked the recording of calls via microphone. There are tricks to register, however they don't always work because the laws on privacy in Europe they do not allow it.
There are news that will start from 11 May: Google has announced that will not allow third party apps to use the accessibility API for call audio recording. In a recent developer webinair, Google made it clear that this change it will only affect third party apps:
[…] Refers to the audio recording of the call where the person on the other end is unaware that the recording is taking place. Therefore, if the app is the default dialer on your phone the accessibility feature is not required to gain access to incoming audio and thus would not violate the rules. As this is a clarification to an existing policy, it will apply to all apps starting May 11
What changes then?
So there are two ways:
- if the smartphone has a pre-loaded app (that of Google Phone to be clear) with the call recording function, then we have nothing to worry about: the recording will continue to work as expected
- if the smartphone does not have a pre-loaded app, we will no longer be able to use call recording with third-party apps
Through | XDA Developers
Source | Google
