How To Do Phone Recording On Iphone

As a result of country and state-specific laws, Apple has not created a built-in phone recording option. Apple's impeccable privacy settings are one reason it has attracted so many worldwide customers. However, you can still record iPhone phone calls using some workarounds.

Secretly recording a phone conversation could lead to difficult legal consequences. If you're going to use any of these methods, make sure you notify the person on the other end of the call and gain their consent to being recorded.

Once you're all set, there are a few ways to record an iPhone phone conversation.

How to Record Calls on an iPhone Without Apps

This is probably the quickest and easiest way of recording a phone call from your iPhone. You'll need another device with a microphone that can record audio (like another iPhone, iPad, computer, or portable recording device) to make it work.

Check out our podcasting microphone recommendations for some high-quality audio recording options.

Provided you're in a quiet environment and can use your iPhone's speakerphone, it's simple to pull off:

Call your contact and tap on the Speaker icon. Notify the other party that you'll be recording the conversation.
After gaining consent, on your external recorder, start recording.
Place the phone close to the microphone of the recording device. Stay physically close to the recording device if you want your own audio recorded as well.
End the call.
Save your recording.

On a separate iOS device, you can record the call using Apple's Voice Memos app. On a Mac or PC, we'd recommend free audio editing and recording workhorse Audacity. You can check out this guide for using Audacity if you've never used it before.

Record Incoming iPhone Calls Using Google Voice

Google Voice is a free VoIP calling service available in the US and Canada. It provides you with a free phone number, a voicemail inbox, and the ability to make calls both domestically (free) and internationally (as per Google's Voice calling rates).

One perk of the app is its ability to record phone calls. Before you can do this, though, you'll need to take some time setting up the service:

Download and launch the Google Voice (Free) app. Sign in using your Google account.
Tap Search. Select the new phone number you want to associate with your Google Voice account.
Confirm your number. Hit Next until you're asked to enter your phone number.
Enter your iPhone's phone number. Confirm and wait for a verification code.
Verify your new Google Voice setup using the code you just received.

There's one final step you need to complete before you can record calls. Open the Google Voice website and sign in to your Google account. Click the gear icon in the upper-right corner of the page to open the Settings menu.

Here, select the Calls tab menu on the left side of the page. Then scroll down and enable Incoming call options by tapping the widget on the right.

When you receive a phone call via your Google Voice account, you'll be able to press the 4 key on your iPhone dial pad to start recording the conversation. When you do this, Google will notify the other party that they're being recorded. You'll find your recording in your Google Voice inbox, where you can download it for safekeeping.

Unfortunately, due to legal and safety purposes, there's no way to record an outgoing phone call using Google Voice.

Use a Third-Party App to Record Phone Calls

A third-party app known as Rev Call Recorder is another good option for recording phone calls if you live in the United States and have a working US phone number.

First, download and open Rev Call Recorder (Free, in-app purchases). You'll need to confirm your phone number by adding it when prompted and entering the code you receive. The process is a little complex, but fortunately, the app offers a built-in tutorial.

Once that's done, tap Start Recorded Call, then choose Outgoing Call or Incoming Call. For outgoing calls, you need to call the Rev Call Recorder service, then call the person you want to talk to. After both calls are connected, tap the Merge Calls button to begin recording.

For incoming calls, the process is slightly different but just as simple.

Once the call is complete, Rev will contact you when your recorded call is ready to download. Optional paid transcription services will also appear at this point.

The major advantage of Rev Call Recorder is that, unlike many other call recording services, the person you're talking to will see your phone number, rather than an unknown number.

Your calls are stored on another company's servers, though, so you probably don't want to use this service for private or sensitive matters.

How to Record Calls on an iPhone Using Your Voicemail

This final method depends largely on your cellphone service carrier for functionality. First, you need to check whether your carrier allows you to download your voicemail messages.

Launch the Phone app on your iPhone and tap on the Voicemail tab in the bottom-right corner. If you see a list of voicemail messages appear, that's great! You can download them and keep them on your device for future playback purposes.

If you only see a Call Voicemail option, you're not so lucky. You won't be able to download voicemails. However, you may be able to save them in your carrier's audible voicemail. This means you'll have to continue calling your voicemail every time you want to playback the message.

To download these messages externally, perhaps try using the speakerphone method we discussed above. Depending again on your phone provider, you can try a similar recording method using call merging and your voicemail:

Call your contact and gain consent to record the call. Ask them to hold.
On your iPhone, tap Add Call to start a three-way conversation.
Call your own phone number. You should get your own voicemail inbox.
Wait for the voicemail greeting to finish. Tap Merge Calls to start the conference.
End the call. Your conversation should record as a message you can retrieve from your voicemail inbox.

Which iPhone Call Recording Method Works for You?

Every cell provider and iOS device functions a little bit differently, so may need to try out a few recording methods until you discover which is right for you.

The two most reliable ways of recording a phone call on your iPhone are using the speakerphone method or paying for a third-party service to record the call for you. In any case, to operate legally, you should always make sure you notify the other party that you're recording them.

How to Screen Record on Your iPhone (With Sound)

Here's how to screen record on iPhone with the built-in screen recording tool, as well as some great third-party apps.