When it comes to knowing how to record a phone call, many people have questions. They range from:
Here are the five most common questions companies ask us about call recording and some expert advice.
Yes, it is legal to record phone calls. You just need to know the federal and state laws. They vary by state and fall under the wiretapping category, which sounds ominous. As long as you follow the call recording guidelines, you can legally record phone conversations while being protected by the law. It works both ways and recording phone calls has many handy benefits.
In most states, you don’t even need to tell the caller they are being recorded. That sounds sort of odd, but it is true.
Call recording is perfectly legal in the U.S. and Canada. There is; however, a distinction between certain states. Some states require that both the caller and the person or company they called agree to recording the conversation. But most states only require one party to agree.
One Party Consent States
In 39 of the 50 U.S. states are one-party consent states. This means that the employee at your business is the only person who needs to know the call is being recorded. The caller need not know that you are recording phone calls.
They do not require you to play the ‘this call is being recorded’ greeting.
You need not alert the caller at all. Only one person on the phone needs to know it is being recorded. This includes the employee at the business receiving the call.
Two Party Consent States
These states, 11 of them, require consent of the both parties on the calls. Both the caller and the employee must agree to recording the phone call.
Basically, this means you need to play the little greeting that says ‘This call may be recorded…’
As of January 2020, the 11 states that require the two-party consent for recording calls are:
If you would like to read the details and fine print of the laws for recording phone calls and conversations, the Digital Media Law Project is an excellent resource. Here’s the link for the legal guide to recording phone calls.
Where things can get tricky is if someone from Maryland calls one of the 39 states that have one-sided consent for recording phone conversations. The one party consent business employee that answers the phone knows he is being recorded. However, the Maryland caller may not be okay with the call being recorded.
THE BEST ADVICE:
Businesses should play a pre-recorded greeting announcing that they are recording phone calls.
Before we can answer this, we need to ask some pre-qualifying questions.
Who is recording the call?
What is the purpose of the call?
Are you recording just one call or many calls?
First, “who is recording the call?” For an individual, the call will most likely take place on a mobile phone. So you’ll need to know how to record a phone call on an iPhone or android device.
If you are an individual wanting to record a phone conversation, then you are most likely on your mobile phone. Unfortunately, if you have an iPhone recording a phone call involves downloading an app. The free options for iPhone recording apps are okay but the paid versions are much better. For a few phone call recordings, the free app if probably okay. A paid version is worth it when you need to record many phone conversations.
We found a few credible articles that should help you pinpoint the right approach for recording phone conversations on your iPhone.
The first is from Digital Trends and they call the guide, How to record calls on your iPhone.
The other helpful resource we found is: How to Record Phone Calls on Your iPhone. Gadget Hacks originally published the article in 2015, but they published an update in September 2019.
Similar to the iPhone, if you have an Android phone, you will need to download an app for capturing and recording your phone calls. We read many articles, and this is the best guide that we found.
The first one is from Android Authority (sounds like a good resource). 10 best call recorder apps for Android! published in October 2019. Dates matter here since a guide to functionality and apps can be useless within a year or two.
Another blog had great information but annoying pop-ups. It’s on the SYS Tweak blog, 8 Best Call Recording Apps For Android And iPhone In 2020. The bonus with this blog is that they review four apps for the iPhone, as well as, four apps for the Android smartphone.
THE BEST ADVICE:
Individuals should get an app for recording calls on their smartphone.
Before you know how to record a phone call, make sure you understand the legal policies in the states you operate. Review the legal section above.
Most, if not all, phone providers offer a call recording feature. Start by checking with your phone service or VOIP to see how you can enable call recording. Often one issue with recording phone calls is that service subscribers must have a way to store and retrieve the recordings. Storage for call recordings is not always built-in by phone service companies.
One work around is to use a call tracking company such as Convirza for call recording. Our recording software automatically records all phone calls while capturing all caller details. We do not delete the recordings after a certain number of days. You have access to the recordings indefinitely.
THE BEST ADVICE:
Going with a call tracking solution is the best advice if you record many or all of your business phone calls.
Some advantages of going with a company that manages phone calls is the attribution, analytics, and automation. Here’s a short list of call recording features that you get with call analytics software.
THE BEST ADVICE:
Record and analyze all your phone calls to improve marketing, sales, and customer service.
