How to Record a Phone Call on Android

Here's how to record a phone call on Android: use the phone app that came with your phone. On most Android phones that's the Google Phone app: tap Record during the call (on a Pixel, tap Call Assist, then Call Recording). On a Samsung Galaxy, tap Record in the Samsung Phone app, or the three-dot menu, then Record call.

Both announce the recording to the other person. Neither works in every country or on every model, and that's where most people get stuck.

Priya runs a small cleaning company in Austin. At 7:50 AM a property manager calls with a new contract: four buildings, two start dates, and a cleaning schedule that changes on holidays. She's loading the van. By 9 AM she has the start dates and nothing else. (Priya is an illustration, not a real customer.)

This guide covers how to record a phone call on Android, phone by phone. Every step below comes from Google's and Samsung's own help pages, checked on November 7, 2026. You'll also see why the call recorder apps you remember stopped working, what to do when your phone has no record button, and how to turn the recording into notes.

Which method works on your Android phone

Find your phone, then jump to its section.

Not sure which dialer you have? Open your calling app and look at its settings. If you see Call recording, you're on the Google Phone app. If you see Record calls, it's Samsung's.

How to record a phone call on Android with the Google Phone app

Google's Phone app help page sets the rules. Non-Pixel phones need Android 9 or later. Pixel phones need a Pixel 6 or later on Android 14 or later. Both need the latest version of the Phone app.

Then the limits: "Call recording is widely available, but not in all countries or regions," and "only certain devices and carriers support recording calls." Google doesn't publish the country list for basic recording, so the honest test is to look for the button on your own phone.

Here's how to record a call on an Android phone with the Google Phone app:

1. Make or answer the call. Recording can't start before the call is answered.
2. On a non-Pixel phone, tap Record on the call screen. On a Pixel, tap Call Assist, then Call Recording.
3. Both of you hear a disclosure that the call is being recorded.
4. To stop, tap Stop recording (on a Pixel, Call Assist, then Stop), or hang up.
5. To play it, open the Phone app, tap the caller, and tap Play. Older calls are under History.

Google lists three moments when you can't record: before the call is answered, while it's on hold, and while you're setting up a conference call.

Record calls on Android automatically

In the Phone app, go to Settings > Call recording. Under Always record, you can turn on recording for Numbers not in your contacts, for Selected numbers, or both. You can also open a contact, tap Edit contact, and choose Always record calls.

Where the recordings are saved

On your phone only. Google says "calls aren't saved or backed up off-device." If you lose the phone, you lose the recordings, so tap Share to send any call you need to keep to email, a messaging app or cloud storage.

You can also set an auto-delete period under Settings > Call recording > Delete recordings. Deleting a call from your call log deletes its recording too.

Call Notes on Pixel 9 and later

Newer Pixels can do more than record. Google's Call Notes page says Call Notes records the call and writes a transcript and summary on the phone. Participants are notified when you turn it on.

It has tighter limits:

• Pixel 9 or later (not Pixel A-series models)
• Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the US in English, and Japan in Japanese
• Pixel 10 series in India, in Hindi and English
• A SIM card from the country you're using it in
• Summaries in English only

Everyone else gets basic recording, with no transcript.

How to record a phone call on a Samsung Galaxy

Samsung has its own Phone app, and its own call recorder. Per Samsung's US help page:

1. Open the Phone app and make or answer the call.
2. Tap the Record icon. You may need to tap More first. On some models it's the three-dot menu, then Record call.
3. Everyone on the call hears an audio notification when recording starts and stops.
4. Tap Record again to stop, or hang up.

One catch Samsung calls out: people added to a group call aren't notified, so tell them yourself.

To record every call, open the Phone app, tap the three dots, then Settings > Record calls > Auto record calls. Samsung's Saudi Arabia help page (updated October 21, 2026) lists three choices: all calls, unsaved numbers, or specific numbers.

Recorded calls are under Settings > Record calls > Recorded calls. In Recents, a small microphone icon marks them, and they also show up in Samsung's Voice Recorder app.

Samsung limits by model, region and One UI

Samsung's US page notes the feature needs One UI 7.0 or higher. The Saudi page adds that "availability may vary depending on your region and One UI version." So an older Galaxy, or one sold in a country that restricts recording, may not show the option at all. Our Samsung call recording guide has the Galaxy steps and what to check when the option is missing.

Transcripts are a separate Galaxy AI feature called Transcript assist. Turn on Auto transcribe recorded calls under Settings > Record calls > Transcript assist. It needs a Samsung account and an internet connection. Samsung says the Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G, A26 5G and A17 5G don't get transcripts and summaries.

Our guide to Samsung Voice Recorder covers Transcript assist in more detail.

Why most call recorder apps stopped working on Android

If you search the Play Store for a call recorder, you'll find plenty. Most can't hear the other person, and there's a technical reason.

Android's developer documentation on sharing audio input spells out the rule for a live call. "The call always receives audio." An app you downloaded can only capture it if it's an accessibility service, or a pre-installed app with special system permission. Your phone's own dialer qualifies. A downloaded app doesn't.

Recorder apps used the accessibility route for years. Then Google changed its Play Store policy, from May 11, 2022, to stop apps using the Accessibility API for remote call recording, as Engadget reported. Pre-installed dialers weren't affected.

So the built-in Phone app is usually your best option. If an app's reviews say "only my voice is recorded," this is why. The same rule makes WhatsApp calls hard to capture; our guide on how to record a call on WhatsApp shows what works.

Two exceptions are worth knowing:

• Google Voice. If you have a Voice number, Google Voice Help says personal accounts can record incoming calls. Turn on Incoming call recording under Settings > Calls, then press 4 during a call. Everyone hears an announcement. It only covers calls to your Voice number.
• Your carrier or work phone system. Some business phone services record calls on their servers. Ask your admin before you install anything.

No record button? Two fallbacks that always work

Your country, carrier or model has no recording option. Or it's a group call. You still have two free routes.

Speakerphone plus a second device. Put the call on speaker and record the room with something else, like a tablet, a laptop or a second phone. It's not elegant, but it works with any phone and any number of callers.

Our guide to recording an interview on your phone has tips on where to put the recording device.

ParrotNotes fits here, on Android, iPhone and macOS.

It records through the second device's microphone, then gives you a transcript, a summary and action items.

To be clear about what it isn't: ParrotNotes is not a call recorder. Like every downloaded app, it can't capture a phone call on the same Android phone that's making it.

A spoken debrief. No recording at all? Hang up and spend 60 seconds saying what matters out loud into a voice recorder (how to record audio on Android shows the options): names, numbers, dates, and what you promised.

A debrief records only you, so no one else's consent is needed.

Here's how it plays out. Tomasz, an insurance broker in Hamburg, has an older Galaxy with no record option. When a client calls about a claim, he asks if he can record on speaker for his notes, gets a yes, and records on his tablet with ParrotNotes.

By the time the call ends, the summary lists the claim number, the two documents he still needs, and the date he promised a callback. (Tomasz is an illustration.)

Turn the call recording into notes you can use

A recording you never replay doesn't help much. Here's the routine:

1. Save the file. In the Google Phone app, open the call and tap Share, then save it to your Files app or cloud storage. On a Samsung, open Recorded calls (or Voice Recorder) and share the file the same way.
2. Import it into ParrotNotes. Open the app and import the audio file. It transcribes the call and writes a summary, key points and action items.
3. Draft the follow-up. Ask ParrotNotes for a follow-up email from the call, then edit and send it.
4. Clean up. Delete the original recording if you don't need it, once you've kept what matters.

On the free plan you get 100 minutes of recording a month, three imports a month, and an AI summary on every recording. Pro is $19.99 a month, or $14.99 a month billed annually, with 3,000 minutes a month and transcription in 99+ languages. Transcription needs an internet connection.

That's useful if your calls aren't in English. Google's Call Notes summaries are English only, and Samsung's transcripts depend on the languages you download.

Only need a transcript of one short call? Our free audio to text tool transcribes a file up to 10 minutes long.

Back to Priya in Austin. The next time the property manager calls, she says, "Mind if I record this so I get the schedule right?" He says fine, and she taps Record in the Google Phone app.

That evening she shares the file to ParrotNotes, gets the four building addresses and both start dates as action items, and emails him a confirmation. If you want the same routine, download ParrotNotes and try it on your next recorded call.

Consent: ask before you tap record

Google's and Samsung's announcements tell the other person the call is being recorded. Whether that's enough under the law where you both are is a separate question. This article isn't legal advice.

In the US, the rules vary by state. Some let you record a call you're part of; others require everyone on the call to agree. Our guide to one-party consent states lists every state's rule and what to do when callers are in different states. Outside the US, check your own country's rules, and your employer's policy, which may be stricter.

The habit that works almost everywhere: ask out loud at the start, and let the yes be the first thing on the recording.

Conclusion

The short version of how to record a phone call on Android:

• Use your phone's own Phone app first. Google Phone has a Record button (Pixel: Call Assist); Samsung has Record or Record call. Both are free and both announce the recording.
• Check the limits. Country, carrier, model and One UI version all decide whether you see the option.
• Don't count on downloaded recorder apps. Android only lets the built-in dialer hear the other side of a call.
• Use a second device when nothing else works. Speakerphone plus a recorder handles group calls and blocked regions.
• Always ask first, and check the consent rules for everyone on the call.

On an iPhone too? Our guide to recording phone calls on iPhone covers Apple's built-in recorder and its country list. And when you have the recording, download ParrotNotes free to turn it into a summary, action items and a follow-up email.