Tag: call recording

Truecaller Reintroduces Call Recording on iOS, Android for Premium Subscribers: Details

Truecaller is reintroducing support for call recording on its popular caller identification app for smartphones. The feature was previously available on Android smartphones, but was discontinued after Google cracked down on apps using an API designed for accessibility features to record calls. Now users on either an iPhone or an Android smartphone can record calls, thanks to a workaround. However, the feature will be only accessible to Premium subscribers, according to the company. Users will also have access to an AI-backed feature that generates transcripts of calls.

In a recent blog post, Truecaller announced the introduction of call recording support on iOS in the US. Once a call is recorded, it will be accessible in the Truecaller app, allowing users to listen, rename, delete, or share the recorded files. This feature will be available to users with a Truecaller Premium subscription.

Just like other third-party recorder apps on iOS, Truecaller has to work around Apple’s limitations, and the app manages this by dialling a recording line that you must merge with an incoming call. When the call ends, the user will be notified that the recording is ready, according to the company. For incoming calls, users will have to dial the recording line followed by the contact and then merge the calls.

While the company’s website does not list call recording as a feature available for Truecaller on Android, a Forbes report states that Android users who have set Truecaller as their default dialler app will be able to seamlessly record a call with the press of a button.

On the other hand, users who prefer the built-in dialler, such as Google’s Phone app, will see a floating recording button that will start recording the call. The company will also allow users to see searchable transcripts of their call recordings — this feature will roll out to users in the US over the coming weeks.

To inform the other user that an ongoing call is being recorded, Truecaller will play a beep while the call is being recorded. This is similar to the call recording experience on the inbuilt Google Phone app on many Android phones that plays a message alerting the other user when call recording begins and ends.

While the call recording feature for iOS and Android is currently available in the US, it is expected to roll out to other regions soon. A Truecaller spokesperson confirmed to Gadgets 360 that call recording for iOS and Android would roll out to users in India soon. The feature will be accessible to users with a Truecaller Premium subscription, according to the company.

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Oppo’s New ODialer App Allows Stealth Call Recording on OnePlus, Realme, Oppo Smartphones

OnePlus, Realme, and Oppo devices running on Android 12 or higher will now be able to record calls without an on-call voice disclaimer through a downloadable dialer app called ODialer. The app, developed by Oppo’s ColorOS and released on January 16, is currently available on Google Play Store only to users of the aforementioned smartphone brands’ eligible devices. Call recording feature on stock dialer apps triggers a voice disclaimer when switched on during a call, which can be avoided with the latest app.

Android phones have generally been seen shipping their smartphones with a version of their own default dialer applications or with the Google Phone app loaded as the default dialer. However, Oppo seems to be looking to change this, with the brand’s ColorOS team listed as the developer of the ODialer app on Google Play Store.

ODialer also includes a speed dial feature, that allows users to contact their top contacts easily. Oppo ColorOS’s ODialer app requires Android 12 and above and bears version number 13.1.5. The dialer also features a dark mode.

According to the app’s ‘About’ section on Google Play Store, it comes with a call management feature that allows users to organise recent calls in groups. However, the main feature of the app remains the support for call recording without an on-call disclaimer announcement.

Voice recording feature on stock Android dialer apps generally has a disclaimer announcement that notes “this call is now being recorded”, which could put off some call receivers. ODialer seems to solve this problem by removing the disclaimer altogether and allowing for stealth call recording. The app could, thus, also spark privacy concerns.

The app is currently rated 3.8 out of 5 on Google Play Store, with reviews suggesting that there are plenty of bugs in the current version of the app.

However, a Gadgets360 staff member was also able to verify the functionality of the app’s stealth call recording feature on a OnePlus device.

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Google to Kill Third-Party Android Call Recording Apps on May 11 by Restricting Accessibility API

Google recently updated its Play Store policy to restrict third-party applications from providing the ability to record calls on recent versions of Android. The Android maker had previously blocked apps from recording calls via the microphone with the launch of Android 10 in September 2019. Google is now cutting off another avenue used by developers — the Accessibility API, from being used for call recording on Android. First party dialler apps and the Google Dialer pre-installed on phones will still be able to record phone calls, depending on the region and manufacturer.

In a post to the Google Play Console support website, the company recently announced it was updating various policies, including the use of the Accessibility API, or application programming interface. Utilised by apps designed to help users with disabilities on Android, the Accessibility API is also used by many popular apps on the Play Store, including ACR Phone and Truecaller, to offer call recording functionality. “The Accessibility API is not designed and cannot be requested for remote call audio recording,” the company explains in the post, a point reiterated in a webinar. The new policy will go into effect on May 11.

The developer of ACR Phone, one of the apps that uses the Accessibility API to provide call recording functionality for calls on Android phones, took to Reddit to explain how the changes would affect third-party call recording apps. With the release of Android 10, Google blocked all applications (including call recording apps) from accessing the device’s microphone to record audio during calls, in order to protect user privacy and to comply with call recording laws across the world. Developers began to request the Accessibility API in order to continue offering call recording functionality on phones running Android 10 or later.

Apps that request the Accessibility API to record calls will have to stop doing so by May 11, according to Google’s updated policy. This means that users who are running on Android 10 or newer versions of Google’s operating system will no longer be able to record apps using third-party apps. However, users on specific devices and in specific regions may be able to record calls using the built-in dialler app. According to a comment from the ACR Phone developer, this is because system apps or Google apps can access the VOICE_CALL audio source on Android phones — this is not accessible to third party apps, according to the developer.

With the May 11 deadline approaching, users may soon have to resort to sideloading, or installing apps from third-party sources, in order to continue recording calls using third-party apps on Android — a risky process that could result in the installation of unvetted or maliciously modified applications downloaded from third-party websites on the Internet. Google is yet to specify whether existing call recording apps who continue to request the Accessibility API will be removed from the Play Store when the new policy goes into effect.

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