How to Record a Signal Call
Signal is explicitly designed to make recording difficult. The app has no recording feature and warns about screen-recording attempts. A participant who wishes to record must use a second device.
Native option
Signal has no recording feature. The Signal Foundation has been explicit about prioritizing forward-secrecy and ephemeral conversations; building a recording feature would conflict with the product’s posture.
Workarounds
1. Speakerphone plus a second device
This is the method that works regardless of platform-specific protections. Two sides captured acoustically, recorder is external.
2. OS-level screen recording
iOS and Android screen recorders can sometimes capture Signal call audio, though behavior varies and Signal does not officially support it. If recording for a legitimate reason (your own legal records, journalism with consent), let the other party know first — both because the law often requires it and because Signal’s norms are explicit on this point.
3. Ask the other party
Signal users tend to be privacy-conscious. The honest path — “I’d like to record this call for my notes; are you OK with that?” — is the right one. If they decline, do not record.
Where the recording lives and how to export it
Recorded files live on the second device or on the OS’s screen-recording library.
Common failure modes
- Other party’s audio not captured. Common when the recording device is not close enough or system audio capture is blocked.
- Other party objects. Stop recording. Signal users are usually clear about this preference; respect it.
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.