Recording phone calls on an iPhone used to be very difficult due to legal, ethical and technical considerations. But with IOS 18.1 updateApple introduced a built-in call recording feature on the iPhone that simplifies this process but comes with privacy concerns. After updating to iOS 18.1, here's everything you need to know about the call recording feature on the iPhone.
There are a few things to know about call recording in iOS 18.1. First, Apple’s call recording feature is designed to comply with local and international privacy laws. Second, when you start recording, everyone on the call will automatically receive a notification that the conversation is being recorded. You won’t be able to disable this notification, so transparency is built into the feature by default.
Supported locations and languages for call recording
Call recording laws vary widely depending on your location. In the United States, some states require all parties to consent to recording, while others only require one person to consent. Similarly, countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have their own rules. Europe is subject to the strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which typically requires explicit consent from all parties. In Canada, federal law generally requires one-party consent, but there may be additional regulations at the provincial level.
If you live in the European Union or one of these countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, you will not be able to use call recording at least for now, it may be available later.
Information:
Apple does not check your location, nor does it take into account the location or the country of the SIM card, but only checks the region settings, so if the call recording feature is not activated for you, just change the region to America.
Supported devices for recording calls on iPhone
Call recording, along with automatic transcription, is available on all iPhones compatible with iOS 18. Just make sure your iPhone is running iOS 18.1 or later and that the region in your device settings is a supported country, such as the US. Call transcription is only available for English.
Call to text feature is not linked to Apple's smart features and you do not need to set your device to US English to use it and it works on most devices unlike all Apple smart features.
How to Record Calls on iPhone in iOS 18.1
Here's how to do it in the Phone app for regular calls, three-way calls, and FaceTime audio calls:
◉ Click on the Record Audio button at the top left of the call screen.
◉ If this is your first time, click “Continue” in the explanation.
◉ The countdown starts in 3 seconds. You can click the cancel button (X) if you change your mind.
◉ After the countdown, everyone will hear “This call is being recorded”, ensuring compliance with transparency rules.
◉ The recording bar will appear, showing the volume levels during the conversation, the elapsed time, and the stop button.
◉ You can tap the stop button to end the recording and continue talking. Everyone on the call will hear “This call is no longer being recorded.” The audio will be saved even if you or the other person ends the call before the recording is finished.
◉ You will receive a notification from the Notes app saying “View saved call”.
How to Access Call Recordings on iPhone in iOS 18
After the call recording is complete, you can tap its notification to jump directly to the new note with the embedded audio recording. Alternatively, you can open Notes, tap the Call Recordings folder at the top, and select the most recent note to open the audio recording. If you record multiple times in the same call, they’ll all be in one note.
On the voice recording card, you'll see the date, time, call type, duration, and a Play button. If you press Play, it turns into a pause button with skip back and skip forward options surrounding it so you can easily control playback. There may also be a transcript available.
If you have an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, you’ll see a preview on the card summarizing the text. Without Apple Intelligence, you’ll see the beginning of the text instead. If you have a device that supports Apple Intelligence but you don’t see any summaries or previews, make sure it’s enabled in Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Touch and tap a recording to view quick actions to play from the beginning, rename, view summary, copy, save audio to files, share audio, report a problem, and delete. Or tap the preview or text on the card to open the full transcript.
Click the More button (•••) in the full transcript to see options for renaming, adding text to a note, copying text, searching the transcript, saving audio to files, sharing audio, and deleting. When you play audio in the transcript, the audio will stay in sync with the transcript, so you can easily follow along. You can click the transcript button to display the audio player interface and quickly navigate through the recording.
When you add text to your note, it will appear directly below the recording. As you scroll, a mini-player of the recording will follow you.
If you have an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, you can view a summary of the recorded call, which may be more in-depth than the preview in the note. Tap the More button (•••) to see options for copying the summary, sharing the summary, and reporting a problem.
Automated Texts and AI Summaries
One of the standout features of the call recording system in iOS 18.1 is the integration with the Notes app, where recordings are automatically transcribed. Each transcript includes key details like the date, time, and duration of the call.
As mentioned earlier, any iPhone running iOS 18.1 will get live transcripts in the Notes app when recording phone calls. However, the summaries will only appear on devices that have Apple’s intelligence.
Currently, call transcripts are available in several languages, including Cantonese (Hong Kong), English (United States, Australia), Korean (South Korea), Mandarin Chinese (Mainland), and Spanish (United States, Mexico).
Disable call recording feature on iPhone
If you don't need to record calls or are afraid of recording by accident, there is an option to disable call recording on iPhone through Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Recording.
Turning this setting off simply removes the call recording button from the phone's interface. However, it will not prevent anyone else from starting recording during your phone calls. If you feel uncomfortable with the recording, you can inform the person recording or end the call.
This new feature in iOS 18.1 is a simple and seamless way to record and process your calls, but it is important to respect the privacy and legal obligations associated with it. Whether for personal use or professional needs, the call recording tool in iOS 18.1 is important and required for many users.
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