Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Google Bans Third Party Call-Recording Apps Over Privacy Concern

May 11, 2022
Call-Recording Apps

The call recording app will not work from today due to a change in the Google Play Store policy. Also, users of other apps, including Truecaller, will not be able to record calls on their Android phones. After the change, the so-called Accessibility API shouldn’t be used for “remote call audio recording”. This is being done for privacy and security reasons. Google had earlier announced in this regard.

According to Google, these call recording apps are being banned for security reasons. Call recording apps require a variety of permissions. Because many developers are taking the wrong advantage of it.

The law regarding call recording apps is also different in different countries. So society develops. Google’s new policy will completely shut down the call recording app from today. Due to this policy, Truecaller has also confirmed that it will no longer be possible to record calls with Truecaller. However, the built-in call recording app will still work. This means that phones that have already been given the ability to record calls will continue to function. You don’t need to worry about it.

Last month, the company held a YouTube webinar for all of its developers to help them comprehend the changes. “In this context, remote refers to call audio recording in which the person on the other end is ignorant of the recording. So, if the app is the phone’s default dialer and comes pre-loaded, accessibility isn’t required to access the incoming audio stream, and the app isn’t in breach. The revised phrasing will apply to all apps starting May 11, as this is a clarification to an existing guideline,” Google explained in the webinar.

Google’s policy change is limited to third-party call recording apps on the Play Store only. Native call recording functionality on phones such as Google Pixel, Xiaomi and others may not be affected. “If the app is the default dialer on the phone and also pre-loaded, accessibility capability is is not required to get access to the incoming audio stream, and hence, will not be in violation,” said the presenter in the developer webinar discussing the Google Play policy updates.