Android has several calling recording apps available on the Play Store that lets you record and manage call recordings. Some custom Android skins including MIUI, OxygenOS, and ColorOS come with a built-in call recorder. If there’s no built-in call recording feature, Android users can install third-party call recording apps and start recording calls. Unfortunately, these third-party call recording apps will stop working starting May 11.
Google started discouraging call recording on Android starting Android when it killed the official call-recording API. Developers moved to unofficial ways to record calls but Google also killed these workarounds in Android 9. Starting Android 10, Google completely blocked call recording via microphone. So, developers started using Android’s Accessibility Service for call recording. That’s the reason call recording apps still work on Android.
Now Google will block access to the Accessibility API for call audio recording to third-party apps. That means all call recording apps will stop working. The native call recording feature of the custom Android skin will keep working. Google has also clarified that the change will only affect third-party apps. So, Android users will still get the option to record calls.
Also see: Best Call recording apps for iPhone
“If the app is the default dialer on the phone and also pre-loaded, accessibility capability is not required to get access to the incoming audio stream, and hence, will not be in violation,” Google clarified in a recent webinar.
This news will surely disappoint several Android users who do not have a native call recording feature. It will be interesting to see if these apps will keep working after May 10. Developers of these apps may have already started figuring out a workaround to see if they can keep their apps running.
