Starting Next Month, Phone Call Recorder Applications Will No Longer Be Usable

Google call recording app. (photo: Photo Doc illustration. App Store)

JAKARTA - Google intends to disable some call recording applications on Android, because it is claimed that there are legal obstacles in several countries.

Accordingly, this specific policy change has affected the use of the Accessibility API by relevant app developers in recent years. This is done to increase security and privacy on the technology giant's mobile platform.

"The Accessibility API was not designed and cannot be requested for audio recording of remote calls," Google said.

On Android 10, Google blocks call recording by default. So to circumvent Google's policy, apps on the Play Store started using the Accessibility API to record calls.

However, that won't be possible after May 11, when the policy changes take effect. This means that third-party apps in the Play Store that were used to record calls will no longer work.

It's worth noting that the change doesn't affect phone brands like Google Pixel or Xiaomi that come with native call recording capabilities.

"If the app is the default dialer on the phone and is also preloaded, accessibility capabilities are not required to gain access to the incoming audio stream, and as such, will not be violated," Google said.

It will be interesting to see if Google will start removing call recording apps that violate its policies from the Play Store after May 11 or will it just stop working.