The next time you take a call on your iPhone, the other person could be recording every word you say, and you may not even realize it. Ever since iOS 18.1, Apple has offered a call recording feature on its smartphones. The feature has legitimate uses, and because of its embedded audio notifications, Apple would presumably argue that it meets both the “single party” and “all party” consent requirements in various states.
But the problem with Apple’s implementation is that the company has done a poorer job than it could have in letting users know precisely when their calls are being recorded—and has given them even less control over putting a stop to it.
Apple makes it easy for other people to record your phone calls
In iOS 18.1, which debuted a year and a half ago, Apple added a new iPhone call recording feature. As the description suggests, the feature enables someone to record a phone call directly from the Phone app, rather than using a third-party solution or relying on other methods, such as putting the call on speakerphone and then recording it with a recording app on another device.
When Apple first announced the feature in beta, in the summer of 2024, I thought it was an odd move for a company that prides itself on privacy. But I also expected that Apple would have strong notification and privacy protections built in, and let either party put a stop to a call recording whenever they wanted. I also assumed that Apple would allow all iPhone users to entirely opt out of letting their calls be recorded.
But when iOS 18.1 shipped in the fall of 2024 with the Phone app’s call recording feature enabled, it did not offer the person being recorded any control over the recording, nor did it provide a reasonable notification that the recording was in progress. This has not changed to this day, even with the recent release of iOS 26.4.
When an individual starts a recording, both participants receive an audible alert (as they do when the recording ends). However, only the initiator receives a persistent on-screen notification that a recording is in progress, and only they can stop it.
And the person being recorded? They see nothing on their screen to alert them that a recording is in progress. If they miss the initial audio announcement—which is easy to do while fumbling to put in AirPods—they would have no clue their call is being recorded, especially if they hang up first, before the initiator ends the recording.
A false sense of security
Perhaps even worse than the fact that someone being recorded has no persistent on-screen indication that their call is being captured is that Apple provides a somewhat misleading “Audio Call Recording” control in the Phone app’s settings, which many probably assume disables the feature.
You navigate to it by opening the Settings app, and then tapping Apps > Phone > Audio Call Recording. On the final screen, there is a switch called “Audio Call Recording.”
This switch, Apple explains, “allows you to use the Phone app to record a conversation during the call, then transcribe and summarize in the Notes app. An audio notification will automatically play before a recording begins.”
A reasonable person might assume that, due to the way this message is worded, toggling the switch off will prevent others from recording their calls. But that is not the case. Instead, if you toggle this switch off, you will no longer be able to record phone calls, but anyone else will still be able to record yours.
As a matter of fact, there is absolutely nothing an iPhone user can do to prevent others from using Apple’s built-in call recording feature, other than hanging up the phone if they happen to catch the initial, brief audio call recording notification.
Apple should take action
Part of me understands why Apple introduced call recording: it can be a legitimately useful tool. But in its current form, Apple’s iPhone call recording feature is completely antithetical to the company’s ethos of putting users in control of their privacy.
Apple should dramatically revamp the iPhone’s call recording feature by adding a persistent on-screen notification on each user’s device when a recording is in progress. Both participants should also be able to stop the recording with a tap of a button positioned within the persistent notification.
Furthermore, Apple should add an initial haptic alert when the recording begins in order to give callers a physical indication that something is happening, spurring them to look at their screen, where the visual notification could be displayed.
Finally, Apple should expand the “Audio Call Recording” setting to let a user block callers from recording their calls in the Phone app entirely, or, better yet, make the feature opt-in to begin with.
Until then, maybe think twice before answering a call on your iPhone.
