Not legal advice. This site is an editorial reference. Laws change — always confirm with a qualified attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before recording, and check each page’s last reviewed date.

How to Record a Call on iPhone

Since iOS 18.1, the iPhone Phone app can record calls natively: tap the record button during a call, and everyone on the call hears an announcement that it is being recorded. Third-party apps still cannot access call audio, so if the built-in recorder is not available to you, the remaining options are a three-way-call service or a second device.

Native option

iOS 18.1 and later include call recording in the Phone app, on iPhone models that support the update.

  1. During a call, tap the record button (a waveform icon) at the top-left of the call screen.
  2. Everyone on the call hears an audible announcement that the call is being recorded.
  3. Tap the stop button, or hang up, to end the recording.
  4. The recording is saved to the Call Recordings folder in the Notes app, with a transcript where your language is supported.

Availability varies by country and language. If you do not see the record button, check that you are on iOS 18.1 or later and that your region supports the feature.

Legal note: Because the announcement is built in, this is the simplest way to meet all-party consent rules — in most all-party jurisdictions, staying on the line after a clear announcement is treated as consent.

Apple still does not expose call audio to third-party apps, which is why the App Store recorders below use a three-way-call bridge instead. Voice Memos cannot access the call audio stream. Pointing the iPhone’s microphone at itself does not work; iOS mutes other audio while a call is in progress, and Voice Memos is no exception.

Workarounds

1. Speakerphone plus a second device

Place the iPhone on speakerphone. Use a second device — a laptop, a digital recorder, or a second phone — to record the audio of the room. Both sides of the call are picked up acoustically.

  • Quality: Fair. Background noise and room acoustics matter. Holding the recording device 6–12 inches from the iPhone usually works well.
  • Notified: No.
  • Legal note: The recording happens in the room. If you are in an all-party state, this method does not get around the law — you still need the other party’s consent.

2. Three-way-call services (TapeACall, Rev, etc.)

These services give you a phone number you call before or during a conversation. The service joins the call, records its own copy, and uploads the file to your account.

  • Quality: Good. Both sides are captured at telephone quality.
  • Notified: Varies. TapeACall historically plays a brief announcement on outgoing calls; some competitors do not. Read the documentation before relying on the absence of notice.
  • Legal note: The service is technically a third party to the call, which has implications under some state statutes (the federal statute’s one-party-consent exception still applies because you are a party).
  • Cost: $10–$30/year for unlimited recording, depending on the service. See our TapeACall review and Rev review.

3. Google Voice (incoming calls only)

If you receive a call through a Google Voice number on your iPhone, Google Voice can record it. Press 4 during the call to start; a verbal announcement is played to all parties. Outgoing calls cannot be recorded.

  • Quality: Good.
  • Notified: Yes — verbal announcement.
  • Legal note: Notification is built in. This is the most legally-safe option in the United States.
  • Cost: Free for personal accounts.

4. Hardware recorder with a phone tap

A hardware in-line recorder that taps into the phone’s analog audio (typically via a headphone-jack adapter or Lightning audio interface) can capture both sides at high quality. This is the approach favored by journalists and investigators who need archival-quality audio. See our hardware recorders guide.

5. Record in a Zoom/Meet meeting instead

If your conversation can happen in a Zoom or Google Meet call rather than a phone call, those platforms have built-in recording with built-in notification. See Zoom and Google Meet.

Where the recording lives and how to export it

  • Built-in recorder (iOS 18.1+): the Call Recordings folder in Notes. Share the audio from the note to save it as a file.
  • Speakerphone-plus-second-device: the file lives on the recording device. Export by AirDrop, USB, or cloud sync.
  • Three-way services: the file lives in the service’s cloud. Download as MP3/M4A; consider exporting and saving locally if you care about long-term retention.
  • Google Voice: recordings appear in your voicemail/recordings list; download from voice.google.com.
  • Hardware recorder: typically a SD card or internal storage in the recorder; transfer via USB.

Common failure modes

  • No audio captured. If you are using a third-party service, check that the call actually merged into the three-way bridge. If the service’s line did not pick up, you are recording one side only.
  • Only one side captured. Common with poor speakerphone setups. Try a closer second-device microphone or a different room.
  • Low quality on three-way services. Cellular quality varies. Move to Wi-Fi calling if available.
  • Recording lost. Three-way services have had outages. For anything important, export the file as soon as the call ends.

Legal reminder

Whether you may record a call — with this platform or any other — depends on the law in every jurisdiction whose participants are on the call. See our jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction directory, the one-party vs. all-party explainer, and our consent script templates. Federal US law and most US states permit a participant to record, but thirteen US states and many countries require all-party consent.

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