You might want to record a phone call on your iPhone, but find there aren’t many ways to do it, as Apple has put privacy restrictions in place. With the Voice Memos App, you can easily record calls on your iOS device.
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How to record a call on your iPhone
Step 1: Put your Voice Memos app to the test
First, make sure you have an iPhone and another iOS device with the Voice Memos app, like an iPad or another iPhone. Most devices already have the Voice Memos app on them, but you can also get it for free from the App Store.
Open the Voice Memos app, tap the red record button, and start talking for long enough to make sure the sound quality is good enough to record and then clearly understand a conversation. When you’re done recording, press the red button again, and an audio file should appear with the words “Voice Recording (number)” in it.
Step 2: Listen to the sound file and make changes.
Now, play back the file to see if you can hear the sound. If you need to make any changes, do so before you record a phone call. For example, if the sound quality isn’t good enough, you might need to speak louder, turn up the sensitivity of the microphone, or move the speaker closer to your mouth.
Step 3: Begin to record
Set up the second device so Voice Memos can start recording. Put the device close to the caller’s phone and press the red button again to start recording. Starting the recording before the call may add a few seconds of silence to the file, but it will make sure you don’t miss any of the conversation. Start the phone call on your iPhone in Speakerphone mode.
A hint: The Voice Memo app’s red lines show how well the app is picking up sound. When the red bars are bigger, more sound is being picked up. If the lines stay flat, you may need to turn up the phone call volume or move the devices closer together.
Step 4: You might have to let the other person know that you’re recording.
For legal reasons, you should find out if the state where you live and record is a one-party state or a two-party state when it comes to recording consent. One-party states only need one person on the call to agree to be recorded, which would be you. In a two-party state, both the person doing the recording and the person who is being recorded must agree to be recorded.
Step 5: Stop recording and send the file to yourself.
When the conversation is over or you have all the information you need about your grandmother’s secret recipe for Apple Pie, press the red button again to stop recording.
From within the Voice Memos app, choose the file of the recording, tap the ellipses button (three dots) to bring up sharing options, and send it directly to your iPhone via text message, mail, AirDrop, or even Google Drive.
As I said before, the above steps are the easiest, most efficient, and least obvious way to record a phone call. Here are some options if you or a trusted third party don’t have another iOS device to spare.
Google Voice
With the Google Voice app for iOS, you can make free calls over Wifi and record them. Through the app, you can choose which device you want to make a call from. You can turn on or off the option to record incoming calls by going to Settings > Calls > Incoming Calls. Press the number four (4) on the keypad to start and stop the recording once everyone is on the call. After the call is over, the option to record it will be in the menu.
Rev Voice Recorder
The Rev Voice Recorder app is also free, can record while you’re using your phone, and can transcribe your files after a conversation is over. Keep in mind, though, that the transcription option costs $1.50 per minute. After you download your file, it will show up on your device as an MP3 file. This is also a great and simple way to record phone calls and add voiceovers to screen recordings.
The TapeACall Pro
This $11 app might be worth the price if you want to record important business phone calls, conference calls, or interviews. For this app to record, you have to make a “conference call” where the TapeACall app is one of the people on the call. Then, open the app and press the record button to record and have the app “dial in” at the same time. You do have to combine all “three” calls, so keep in mind that this is a bit more time-consuming and a lot less subtle.
Is it against the law to record calls?
Federal law says that you need at least one person’s permission to record a conversation. This means that you have to be a part of the conversation you’re recording or get permission from at least one person in the conversation. If not, it could be seen as wiretapping or illegal listening in. Some states have even stricter laws that say everyone in the conversation has to agree to it.
Always check your state’s laws before you record a conversation.
Is there an iPhone app that lets you record calls?
There are a number of things that do this in one way or another. But Apple doesn’t let third-party apps use the microphone during a phone call very often. Because of this, most apps that let you record phone calls must use clever ways to get around this problem. People also use Google Voice, TapeACall, and Rev Voice Recorder in addition to the Voice Memos app method shown above.
You can also record phone conversations with most computers and a microphone, as long as the phone is on speaker or the microphone is close to the speaker next to your ear. There are many kinds of audio recording software for both iOS and Windows computers.
This content was originally published here.
