Automatically record a phone call on Android

Can an Android phone record a call by itself?

Sometimes. Whether there is a record button in your call screen depends on your brand, your model and your country, and where it exists the other party gets a notice the moment recording starts. Where it exists, you can also set the Phone app from Google and from Samsung to record calls with chosen numbers automatically. Ajora, a Dutch app that joins your phone calls, works regardless of brand and model: with call forwarding on, Ajora joins incoming calls by itself too, as long as your carrier allows call forwarding.

Android has no recording feature that works the same way on every handset. Google’s Phone app does have call recording, but Google states itself that you have to be in a country or region where it is supported and that only certain devices and carriers can do it. For Pixel devices that means Pixel 6 and up with Android 14 or later.

And if it does work for you, it does not happen quietly. Before recording starts, Google notifies everyone on the line that the call is being recorded. Manufacturers such as Samsung ship their own record button in their dialler, also varying by country, and there too both sides are told. The quickest way to find out where you stand: call someone and see whether a Record button appears in your call screen.

Why is there no call recording on my Samsung?

Samsung puts call recording in its own Phone app, but does not ship it in every country or with every software version. If the Phone app settings show no option to record calls, your Samsung does not have it, and an app from the Play Store will not add it.

Checking takes half a minute: open the Phone app, tap the three dots and then Settings. Samsung’s Dutch support page adds that the Record button sometimes has to be switched on first, under Supplementary services. If there is an option to record calls, your phone can do it by itself, and both you and the other person get a notice that the recording is running. People look this up for every range, from the Galaxy A54, A55 and A56 to the S23, S24 and S25 Ultra, and the answer starts with the same check each time.

For Ajora the model makes no difference. Call forwarding is a feature of the network, so it works the same way on every Galaxy, incoming calls included.

Why do call recording apps often fail on Android?

Since 11 May 2022, apps on Google Play may no longer use the Accessibility API to record call audio. Only Google’s own dialler and the one your manufacturer ships can still reach the call.

The developer policy puts it literally: the Accessibility API is not designed for, and cannot be requested for, remote call audio recording. That is why the recording apps you could still find in the Play Store a few years ago have disappeared, or now capture only your side of the call.

The apps and devices that still manage it work around the call audio. TapeACall dials its own recording line and has you merge it in; devices like Plaud and Pocket read the sound out of your phone’s housing. Both work, and both come with conditions of their own. They are written out in Ajora vs TapeACall and Plaud vs Pocket vs Ajora.

So how do you capture every call on Android?

By having someone join the call. Ajora joins as an extra participant: outgoing you dial from the app, and for incoming calls you switch on call forwarding. To your phone it is an ordinary conference call, so it works on any brand and any Android version.

How do you set up automatic recording on Android?

In three steps: create an account, install the Ajora app from the Google Play Store and switch on call forwarding with Activate Ajora. After that there is nothing left to do while you are on the phone.

1. 1

   Create an account and install the app

   Set up your account at debrief.ajora.io/register; the first seven days are free, with 60 call minutes and no payment details needed. Then download the Ajora app from the Google Play Store and sign in with the same details.

2. 2

   Switch on call forwarding

   In the app you land on the Turn on call forwarding screen. Tap Activate Ajora and the forwarding is set up for you. If that button does nothing, do it yourself in the Phone app: three dots, Settings, then Call forwarding (sometimes under "Supplementary services" and then "Voice calls"), and there Always forward with your Ajora number in it.

   

3. 3

   Call the way you always do

   From now on Ajora joins automatically. You hang up as usual and a few minutes later the debrief is waiting in the app, with an email that takes you straight to it. Setting up call forwarding covers the steps per brand in more detail, with screenshots.

Does this work with every brand and every carrier?

Call forwarding is a function of the mobile network rather than of your phone, so your brand does not matter: Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, OnePlus and Motorola all work. Your carrier does have to allow it.

KPN, Vodafone/Ziggo and Odido allow it, and so do most other plans. A few carriers, Budget Mobiel for example, do not support call forwarding. If you cannot switch it on, add Ajora to your calls by hand following the step-by-step guide.

Where the setting lives inside your phone does differ per brand. On a Samsung, forwarding sits somewhere other than on a Pixel, and some brands bury it under "Supplementary services". The button in the app exists precisely so you do not have to go looking.

Rather decide per call?

Then leave call forwarding off and add Ajora only to the calls you want captured. That costs you a few taps during the call, and it only works on calls you start yourself.

Save Ajora once as a contact, using the number from your account. During a call tap Add call, dial Ajora and then tap Merge. The full walkthrough with screenshots is in adding Ajora to your call by hand.

Are you allowed to record a call on Android?

In the Netherlands you may capture a call as long as you take part in it yourself; that follows from Article 139c of the Dutch Criminal Code. Use the write-up for business and the GDPR applies on top, which means telling the other party the call is being captured.

So the fact that it is technically possible says nothing about whether it is allowed, and that differs per country. With Ajora there is no beep and no announcement when the call is being captured, so telling the other party is on you. The long version is in is it legal to record a call.

Where does the conversation end up?

Your transcripts are stored encrypted on servers in Germany, with a key tied to your account, and they are never used to train AI models. The recording is deleted automatically after transcription, within 24 hours at the latest.

What exactly is processed and how long it is kept is set out in the privacy statement and the security overview. If you work with client data, you can sign the data processing agreement.

Jort van Meenen

One of the three co-founders of Ajora. Jort focuses on user experience and growth.

Back to all articles