iPhone Call Recording: How can You Record a Call on iPhone

If you are planning to purchase a new iPhone and want to know whether the call recording is possible in iPhone or not, this article will help you.

I have done a lot of research on call recording functionality and in this guide, I’ll try to put everything you need to know about iPhone call recording. Once you read this guide, you’ll have complete knowledge and all answers about the call recording feature in iPhones.

UPDATE: Popular Truecaller app now allows iPhone users to record phone calls:

[Tip] Truecaller Enables Call Recording on iPhone and Android Smartphones

Why do We Need Call Recording Feature in Our Mobile Phones?

Recently I decided to switch from my Google Android smartphone to Apple’s iPhone. I’m using Samsung Galaxy S series phones since many years and I never faced any problem with these mobile phones.

But now-a-days the weight and size of all touch smartphones have increased a lot. It has become really hard to find a good compact and lightweight smartphone which can provide best features and top performance similar to high-end smartphones.

All smartphones from famous brands come with at least 6″ screen size which makes the smartphones bulky, heavy weight and difficult for single hand use. I always like small size smartphones as I don’t watch videos or play games on my phone. I generally use it for calls and messages.

That’s why I decided to switch to iPhone as the iPhone Mini phone (12 and 13) perfectly fits to my requirements. It’s small 5.4″ screen size and super lightweight (135 gram) which is perfect combination in my opinion. Since it’s a premium smartphone, there will be no performance issues.

And here comes the Call Recording issue which we are going to discuss in this article!

Call recording has become a very important part of our lifestyle now-a-days. As many people are working from home and attending online meetings and conference calls, call recording is a must have feature in smartphones. Why? Let me explain!

Many times when I join conference calls with my colleagues or talking with my wife, friends, etc, sometimes I forget things told on the call and if I recorded the call, I can listen the recording and find out what was told to me. Sometimes it might be a phone number, a list of important stuff to be purchased from market, an address, a website URL or anything else.

The thing is if we forget something after the phone call, we can listen the recording to recall it. People attending interviews might find call recording very useful. Sometimes you may need call recording to record your conversation with a brand’s customer care or service center.

Now we have discussed why call recording is important in today’s era. Now let’s discuss whether it’s possible to record a phone call in iPhone?

Call Recording is NOT Possible in iPhone By Default, BUT!

By default, Apple’s iPhone doesn’t come with call recording feature. If you are planning to move from Android ecosystem to iOS and want call recording functionality, you might be disappointed to know that iPhone doesn’t support call recording.

You’ll not find a single option to enable call recording in iPhone.

But it doesn’t mean that you can’t enable call recording, keep reading.

Why iPhone does not have Call Recording?

Call recording is considered illegal in many countries. Although there are some countries which allow call recording legally but you must tell or notify the other party on the call and ask for the consent/permission whether you can record the call or not.

Since call recording is not legal everywhere, Apple wants to stay on safe side and doesn’t provide call recording facility at all.

If Call Recording is Illegal in Many Countries, Why Android Smartphones Allow it?

Now you might be wondering if call recording is considered illegal in many countries, why many Android smartphones come with native or built-in call recording feature?

It’s because Google Android is an open-source operating system and OEM companies (mobile phone manufacturers) are free to customize it before installing the OS on their smartphones.

So it’s up to the mobile manufacturing company whether they want to include call recording feature or not. Popular companies like Samsung provide native call recording feature in their smartphones but they hide or deactivate it in those countries where it’s considered illegal.

Android smartphone companies use different ROM (mobile firmware) for different countries so it’s easy for them to enable/disable call recording and other smartphone features based on countries and locales.

On the other hand, Apple uses universal ROM or firmware for all iPhone models and it’ll be hard for them to modify it based on countries.

What is Native or Auto Call Recording?

We used this term in above section and you might be wondering what is native call recording?

Native call recording means built-in feature which comes preinstalled or enabled when you purchase a smartphone. You don’t need to install any 3rd party app or software to enable it.

Many Android smartphones come with native or built-in call recording such as Samsung.

In native call recording, the recording can be made automatically so you don’t need to manually record a call. Whenever you make or receive a call, it’s automatically recorded in your smartphone.

What About Free Call Recorder Apps Available on Apple App Store?

Since iPhone doesn’t come with native call recording, it’s natural to go for 3rd party apps which claim to enable call recording feature in iPhones.

If you check Apple App Store, you’ll find plenty of free as well as paid call recorder apps to bring call recording facility BUT!

Most of these apps depend upon 3-way call conference workaround. Please note many of these apps are fake or useless and only few of them work.

These apps work in following way:

• When you want to call a number, the call recorder app first calls their own server number.
• Once the call is connected to the app server, the server starts recording the call.
• After it the app dials your desired mobile number and automatically merges the new call with the previous call which is being recorded on the app server.
• When you disconnect the call, the call recording app first disconnects your desired call and then saves the call recording on the server and at last terminates the phone call.
• At last you are provided with a link or built-in option to listen or download the call recording on your iPhone.

This is how the call recorder apps for iPhones work. If you are concerned about the privacy, you might not want to use these apps.

Also some of these apps ask to purchase monthly/yearly subscriptions to continue using their services.

Why iPhone Call Recorder Apps Use Call Conference Workaround?

Because Apple doesn’t allow 3rd party apps to access the default phone dialer app and microphone while the call is being made. It has been done to improve the security and discourage 3rd party apps to enable call recording in iPhones due to legal issues.

That’s why all available call recorder apps for iPhones take benefit of call conference workaround.

Workarounds like screen recording, etc also don’t work and if you try to record iPhone screen during a call, screen recording will immediately stop.

Google Voicemail and Other Workarounds to Record Calls in iPhones

Some people use Google Voice to record incoming calls but Google Voicemail is not available in all countries. For example, In India we don’t have Google Voicemail.

Google Voicemail can be used to record only incoming calls on iPhones. You can enable it by sign into your Google Voice account and enable “Settings -> Calls -> Incoming call options“. Now whenever you receive an incoming call, you’ll be able to record it by pressing ‘4‘ number on dialer keypad. But it’s only a workaround as it can’t record outgoing calls and not available in all countries.

Some people also suggest to use physical or external devices like tape recorder to record calls after putting on speakerphone which is not a feasible solution. We can’t bring an external device connected with our iPhone everywhere.

Many people use a secondary smartphone to record calls on their iPhones. They put the phone call on loudspeaker in their iPhone and then open Voice recorder app in other Android phone or Voice Memos app in another iPhone to record the call.

Will iPhone Ever Provide Native Call Recording in Future?

It’s a question which everyone wants to ask to Apple. If you ask me, I’ll say NO. I don’t think Apple will put call recording feature in iPhones in coming years. iPhones sale is excellent and very few iPhones users complain or care about missing call recording feature.

People who purchase iPhones, want top performance and security and that’s the reason behind iPhones popularity.

In past, there was a leaked screenshot of iOS 14 settings page where call recording option was available and people started thinking that call recording is coming in newer iOS versions but it never happened.

That screenshot was not fake. According to Appleinsider, it was leaked by some internal Apple employee who was using a testing build (Alpha, Beta) of iOS in his iPhone for testing purposes. The built was not for public distribution.

How to Record Phone Calls on iPhone Without Apps

Now let’s discuss the ultimate solution to enable call recording feature in iPhone.

DISCLAIMER: This section is for education purpose only and should be followed by advanced users and experts.

You might have heard about Jailbreak process which is similar to Root process in Android smartphones. Jailbreaking an iPhone means modifying iPhone’s firmware or operating system and removing restrictions from the iOS implemented by Apple.

Once you jailbreak an iPhone, you are reducing the security of your phone and allowing 3rd party apps to access its filesystem and internal system data which is a dangerous task.

In some countries jailbreaking may also void your iPhone warranty. Also many apps such as UPI (PayTM, PhonePe, GPay, etc) might detect that your iPhone is jailbreak and can stop working.

After jailbreaking, you are free to install and use many 3rd party apps available on other unofficial app stores into your iPhone. These unofficial app stores provide call recording apps as well which can bring native call recording to your iPhone.

The call recording will be automatic and will be saved locally on your iPhone just like Android smartphones. So you’ll not need to store and download recordings from clouds. You’ll be able to automatically record phone calls on iPhone.

BUT unlike rooting Android smartphones which is quite easy, jailbreaking iPhones is a complicated task. Jailbreaking is done by using loopholes found in iOS versions. Once a loophole is found, jailbreaking methods and apps are released on Internet.

But Apple is very fast in fixing or patching those loopholes. So once you upgrade or install new iOS versions, it removes the jailbreaking.

Similarly, if you purchase a new iPhone model, it’ll come with latest iOS version which might not be supported for jailbreak.

At the moment, jailbreaking is supported for iOS 14 and older versions only. iOS 15 can’t be jailbroken at the moment. But who knows in coming time, we’ll have a working jailbreak method for newer iOS versions?

So if you have an older iPhone which contains iOS 14 or previous version, you have an option of jailbreak to enable call recording in your iPhone.

BUT I’ll never recommend anyone to jailbreak iPhone as it’ll remove security restrictions applied by Apple which might be harmful for you.

Final Words: Can You Record a Phone Call on iPhone?

I’m sure there will be many people like me who want to switch to iPhone but the inability to record phone calls stops us from moving to iPhone ecosystem.

I can only hope that one day Apple will understand our situation and will provide a built-in option to record calls in iPhone based upon the countries.

Also Check:

iPhone Hidden Secret Service Codes and Tips-n-Tricks

[Tip] Enable Call Recording in Your Smartphone Using Truecaller

[Tip] Simulate a Fake or Spoof Call on Your Smartphone Using Truecaller

[Tip] How to Make Calls Directly from Lock Screen Without Unlocking Your Mobile Phone?