With iOS 18, Apple has finally provided us with the most requested feature – call recording. While it may seem like a trivial feature to Android users, iPhone users have remained bereft of it for so long. Thankfully, gone are those days. Now, you can natively record your calls on your iPhone without needing a third-party app. However, if your device is not on the list of iPhones compatible with iOS 18, there are other methods you can try. So, here’s how you can record calls on iPhone.
Note: In many regions, it’s illegal to record phone calls without the consent of the other party. So, make sure to do it responsibly.
Method 1: Use iOS 18 Call Recording Feature
With iOS 18, you can record calls directly from the Phone app. The best part is that you also get the transcribe feature for recorded calls which saves the transcript in the Notes app. It is noteworthy that transcribe call recording functionality on iPhone is only available in English (U.S., UK, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore), Spanish (U.S., Mexico), Japanese (Japan), Mandarin Chinese (China mainland, Taiwan), Cantonese (China mainland, Hong Kong), and Portuguese (Brazil).
- Make a call using your iPhone and when the call connects, tap on the Record button on the top left corner of the call screen.
- You will see a prompt reading “This call will be recorded” on the screen. This message will be played before the call recording begins to inform the other party that you’re recording the call. If you cross it, the call won’t record.
- Now, you can tap on the Stop button whenever you want to stop the recording.
- The transcript of the call recording will be saved in the Notes app. You can access it by visiting Notes> Call Recordings.
If you don’t have an iOS 18 compatible iPhone, you can try below methods to record calls on iPhone.
Method 2: Use Voice Memos app
I know it may sound out and out ridiculous to many. But hey if you don’t want to mess up with any third-party alternatives, it won’t be a bad idea to record a speakerphone chat using the powerful Voice Memos app to record audio. The app in question works pretty well in letting you record anything. What’s more, it also offers a better way to edit the recordings, manage them all efficiently, and even share the recordings with anyone without breaking any sweat.
Note: You’ll need a secondary iPhone or an iPad for this method.
1. Open the Voice Memos app on your secondary device (an iPhone or iPad) and bring it closer to your iPhone. Hit the Record button before you make a call.
2. While you’re making the call from your iPhone, don’t forget to put it on Speaker mode with the maximum volume. This will allow the Voice Memos app to hear and record the entire conversation. Otherwise, it will only record what you’re saying.
3. Once you’re done with the call, tap the red button on the other device to stop the recording.
4. You can now tap the three dots on the right side of the recording and hit the Share button to move this recording to your iPhone.
Method 3: Best iPhone Call Recorders You Can Try
While there is no dearth of call recording apps for iOS, not all of them do what they advertise. Plus, a lot of the apps only work after you subscribe to them, which means you can’t even test things out before paying. Having tried a number of iPhone call recorders, I have chosen the three best ones based on the user interface, reliability, and how they handle call recordings.
1. ACR Call Recorder – for iPhone
Both in terms of versatility and efficiency, ACR Call Recorder lives up to the mark. You can use this feature-rich iPhone call recorder to record incoming/outgoing calls, domestic/international calls with/without an internet connection.
ACR Call Recorder has a neat interface and allows you to organize your recordings in different categories. So, you can keep all of your recording files perfectly organized for hassle-free access. Even in terms of editing the audio recording, I have found it quite good. Thus, you can use the built-in editing tools to fine-tune your recording or remove unwanted parts.
What’s more, ACR Call Recorder also supports speech-to-text recording in more than 50 languages and lets you upload your recordings to Google Drive, Dropbox, and Slack. Though the $4/week or $14/month price tag makes it very expensive, you can’t go wrong with it considering the wide range of features and reliable performance.
2. Call Recorder
Another iOS call recording app that has managed to catch my attention is Call Recorder. With more focus on ease-of-use, the app lets you record incoming and outgoing calls easily. Besides, it also comes with handy editing tools to let you trim and rename your recording.
The app features a “Record” button to let you kickstart the process of recording a phone call on your iPhone with a quick tap. After the call ends, it stores the recorded calls inside the ‘Recordings’ screen for convenient access.
Once you have recorded and edited your audio, you can choose to share it via iMessage, email, WhatsApp, and Twitter. Not just that, it also allows you to share the audio recording via Slack which could be a big plus for collaboration.
3. TapeACall
TapeACall has long been one of the best call recorders for iPhone. Given the reputation (more than 4 million users) and high ratings, it deserves a mention. The app has got a pretty intuitive user interface and boasts a plethora of features to let you record and manage phone calls efficiently on your iPhone.
Notably, TapeACall provides a better way to store and organize your call recordings. Depending on your needs, you can categorize your recordings and even label them so that you will be able to find them with ease. Besides, the flexibility to record zoom meetings automatically and upload the recordings to Google Drive, Dropbox, and Evernote can further enhance the user experience.
But what I have loved the most about this app is the ability to transcribe recordings into text accurately. Of all the phone recorders I have tried, it has done a far better job in terms of transcribing recordings into text. So, I would definitely recommend you to give it a shot.
Method 4: Use Google Voice to Record Incoming Calls on iPhone
If you are still hunting for a way to record a phone call for free on your iPhone, try out Google Voice (available for free). While it’s not a full-fledged call recorder per se, it can live up to the task with some limitations.
Before we move any further, here’s something you need to know about Google Voice:
- First and foremost, Google Voice is currently available for personal Google Accounts in the US.
- Second, you can record only incoming calls, and not outgoing calls.
Here are the steps to record calls on iPhone using Google Voice:
1. Open the Google Voice app on your iPhone -> Settings -> Calls and toggle on Incoming call options. When you’re using Google Voice for the first time, you’ll be asked to choose a free phone number and specify the device you’ll be using to make the calls.
2. Once the call has started, tap “4” on the number pad to start recording the call.
3. Now, a robot voice will let you know that the recording has started. if you want to stop the recording, tap “4” again or hang up. It’s worth noting that the app allows you to hit the “4 key” as many times as you want to stop/start recording.
4. Once the call is over, Google Voice will show you a pop-up with the recording. You can also find it under the Voicemail tab in the app.
Method 5: Try Out Call Recording Headphones
If you don’t want to try out third-party call recorders on your iPhone, the call recording headphones could be worth checking. They are easy to use and reliable in letting you record calls on iOS.
As for the downside, most call recording headphones feature a 3.5mm headphone plug. That means you can use them only on your iPhone 6s or older device, or with a headphone dongle. If you don’t mind this shortcoming, check out the Olympus TP-8 Telephone Pick-up Microphone ($22.33).
