Google Is Banning Call Recording Apps on Android

pcmag.com:

Google is poised to remove an entire category of apps—call recorders—from the Play Store.

Reddit user "NLL-APPS" posted a thread on April 21 revealing Google's plan to update a policy involving the Accessibility API that Android developers used in their call recording apps.

"The Accessibility API is not designed and cannot be requested for remote call audio recording," Google says, which probably comes as a surprise to all the developers using it for that purpose. The company explained its reasoning in a webinar it published as an unlisted YouTube video.

Google says in the video that call recording can be offered by an Android phone's built-in dialer app. Any software downloaded from the Play Store, however, cannot offer recording capabilities if anyone on the call might be unaware their conversation is being recorded.

NLL-APPS claims that "only phone app that come with your phone or made by Google can access the call audio," however, and that third-party apps don't have similar access. If that is the case, this policy change might spell the end of call recording apps in the Play Store.

Google is set to restrict developers' access to the Accessibility API on May 11. The company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on what this change means for call recording apps, or the accuracy of NLL-APPS' claim that third-party apps can't access call audio.

Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!