In the old days, if you wanted to record the contents of an important conversation, you had to grab a piece of paper and write notes as fast as you could.
Then smartphones popped up and saved us from that nightmare by giving us several third-party apps to record phone calls. These third-party apps have been a lifesaver for people of all kinds, but especially journalists, writers, and small businesses, who sometimes carry out important matters over the phone.
This is coming to an end. An upcoming Google policy change will ensure that third-party call recording apps are no longer supported by Play Store. Here are the details.
Google Play locks call recording apps
Google has announced in this Play Store policy update that it will block third-party apps from using its Accessibility API (Application Programming Interface) to record calls from May 11, 2022.
According to the policy update, the “Accessibility API is not designed and remote call sound recording cannot be requested.” This is because the accessibility API is only meant to be used by developers to build apps so that people with disabilities can access their devices.
An app developer noted in this Reddit post that this policy change is the latest in a series of steps Google has taken to stop recording calls on Android.
Android 6, released in 2015, blocked access to real-time call recording by removing Android’s call recording API. Android 10, released in 2019, blocked the recording of calls over the microphone. The accessibility API became a loophole for call recording apps to enter the Play Store because it was exempt from this blockchain. Now this loophole has also been closed.
Why is Google Play shutting down call recording apps?
Although the US federal government only requires the consent of one party to record calls, several states require all parties involved in the call to be made aware that the call is being recorded. Therefore, this policy update will help Google stay on the safe side of the law in all jurisdictions.
According to this Google webinar, this policy update is targeted at apps that record calls without alerting the other end to the call being recorded (the relevant part is 49:50).
However, even if call recording apps notify all parties before recording a call, they will still not be able to use the accessibility API. Google has explicitly made it clear that call recording is an inappropriate use of the accessibility API, according to The Verge.
“Only services designed to help people with disabilities access their device or otherwise overcome challenges arising from their disabilities are eligible …,” said a Google spokesman.
This policy only affects third party apps. Therefore, if your phone has its own built-in call recording feature, it will continue to work. For example, you can still record calls on the Google Phone App, and you can also record calls on Samsung phones. However, you must still be in a country or territory where recording calls is legal.
Will call recording apps go out of business?
Recording calls is an important need for many businesses and people. If removed from the Google Play Store, Android users may be forced to install dubious call recording apps.
In fact, as The Verge writes, apps that use three-way calling (where the third party in the call is the app that records the call) are still out there. However, these apps can be expensive, difficult to use, and may or may not be reliable enough to store your audio data.
Google needs to be aware of the vacuum it will create when it launches call recording apps from the Play Store on May 11th. Therefore, this might just be a short-term measure to comply with the law while operating on a future version of Android that supports call recording apps, but only where the law allows it.
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