What to do if the call recorder does not work on Android. Are you wondering why the call recorder does not work on Android? You should know that many people have used the call recorder on their smartphones in order to have a proof about something that is said during the phone call, it can be, for example, an explanation of an online contract, an argument, clarifications, but also a shopping list, steps to follow to perform something, and so on. There are really many possible reasons why a person might need to record a phone call. It happens, however, that call recorders that can be used by installing special third-party apps on Android phones stop working, but in that case you should know that you are not the only one who is unable to record phone calls anymore, in fact this is an attempt by Google to block call recording for apps that are downloaded from the Play Store.
As of May 11, 2022, Google has changed its rules that are actually intended to prevent third-party apps from being able to make use of the accessibility API for recording phone calls. Why this choice? It seems that so many developers have abused the open source Android system, and in the Play Store you can find several third-party apps that allow you to be able to record phone calls, but these apps often go live recording the call without the caller’s knowledge. Google, knowing that calls were often being recorded by the person installing the app, without the person on the other end of the phone being aware of it, decided to put a permanent end to these types of apps by removing the permissions that gave apps the ability to record calls. However, this applies only to third-party apps in the Play Store, while where allowed in the world, on Samsungsams for example, call recording with its native feature is still possible, as well as for phones branded Huawei, Xiaomi etc..
API blocking then, applies to third-party Play Store apps, which can no longer access certain permissions and consequently will no longer be able to be useful in being able to record calls, violating people’s privacy if they were not first informed that the phone call was recorded. The disabling of call recordings was necessary because it goes against the privacy laws of the country in which you are. Let’s be clear, not every country in the world has the same privacy laws, so in some places it will still be possible to go ahead and record calls without each other’s knowledge without violating any privacy laws. Often users complained that a simple app could be used to be recorded without being aware of it, while still others loved this feature, which perhaps was not used for anything negative, but could also be used as evidence to defend oneself against someone.
With Android 6.0 begins Google’s first attempt to block call recording
Android 6.0 was the first version of the operating system with the green dot with which Google tried to block access to call recording. Developers, however, by passing authorization from the microphone were able to start recording the conversation during the call, and this prompted Google not to underestimate the problem, and so with Android 10 it added a new modification by which the operating system prevents third-party applications from being able to access the microphone when there is a call running. Truecaller and other similar apps that allow call recording have thus begun to make use of the Accessibility API, but Google has decided, as of May 11, 2022, to block their use, permanently blocking apps in the Play Store from being able to make use of the API to be able to perform call recording. Google states in its new policy, that the Accessibility APIs were not designed and cannot be required to be able to perform call recording. The impact must have been really hard and insurmountable, as Truecaller, just to always mention one of the most well-known call recording applications, no longer offers this feature or at least if you try to use any application that records an incoming or outgoing call, it is only able to record the voice of the person initiating the recording, but not the person on the other end. For more details, you can also watch this YouTube video where you will find more details.
Will no one be able to record calls then?
As has already been mentioned, third-party apps that are used to record phone calls and that can be downloaded from the Play Store have been hit hard by this change by Google, and this therefore prevents you from having an app to download that can actually record the voice of the person on the other end of the phone, a feature that for some people in some cases might have been a need for various reasons. But the same restrictions did not apply to the default Phone app that comes with the device. On Samsung phones, as well as on Xiaomi’s Mi Dialer and Google’s Dialer app that we find pre-installed on Oneplus, Pixel, etc. devices, they still allow call recording if you are in a part of the world where this is allowed, such as in Spain, Finland, Canada, Sweden, India, the Czech Republic, etc. On Huawei devices for example, the ability to record calls was removed years ago for the Italian territory, but as we saw in the guide explaining how to add the call recorder on EMUI 11-12, it was enough to install the right file to recover the feature that still records perfectly today.
Conclusion
If you are no longer able to record calls using third-party applications, you should know that this is not a problem due to your Android smartphone, but is due to Google now preventing applications from being able to use the necessary API to be able to record phone calls. Unless it is that developers can come up with some other thing to be able to record calls, the apps that promised this feature have now become useless and will no longer be able to record the caller, but at most will only record the voice of the person initiating the recording. This is true for third-party applications, while for system applications this limitation by Google has not been applied, the only problem being that for example in Italy you cannot record calls without consent because it is a violation of privacy, which is why call recording many of the latest generation of phone devices no longer have it by default. Many of these smartphones, however, can continue to record calls in countries around the world where call recording does not violate privacy because the feature has not been disabled, so you generally only need to get a phone from that country or you can install a specific file that activates the call recording feature even in countries around the world where it has been disabled.
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