Ever answer a call — nowhere near a notebook where you can write stuff down — and think, “It’s ok, I’ll remember the details later.” And then you don’t remember later?
Yeah, it’s happened to the best of us, which is why many business owners rely on call recordings. You don’t have to worry about remembering details from the call, and you can review the recording later.
If you’re looking to record phone calls on an Android phone, there are a few different call recording apps you can check out.
How to record a phone call on an Android device
Google’s phone app offers a built-in recording feature (different from the device’s phone app, like a Samsung device).
To turn on call recording, open the Google phone app and tap More options at the top right, followed by Settings, Call recording, and Always record. You can turn on call recording for your contacts, unknown numbers, or both.
This feature’s availability depends on your location, device, and carrier. It’s not available on Pixel devices, for example.
But even if this feature is available to you, call recording alone might not be enough for business communication, especially when there are tools that combine call recording with features like team collaboration and contact management to make staying organized easier.
Scenarios when you need more than a standalone call recording app
If you know you need to record a phone call and aren’t using a business phone system, you might struggle to keep up with everything your business needs. Here are a few reasons a call recording app alone might not be enough:
You need context for your call recordings
While you can play back recordings in a standalone call recording app, you can’t see the complete history of your communication with the caller. Sometimes, you need additional context (like text messages exchanged before/after the call) to see the full picture.
As a business phone system, OpenPhone shows all call recordings, text messages, and voicemails within a single thread for the contact. In addition to the recording, OpenPhone provides call transcripts and AI call summaries to simplify reviewing phone conversations.
You can even integrate OpenPhone with a CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce to manage a pipeline or give your team a single source of truth for your business contacts.
You need to collaborate with a team
If you record calls with a standalone Android app, it’s tricky to share the recordings with other people. Most apps save recordings to your phone, so you’d need to send files manually or use other apps to share them — which takes extra time and effort. A business phone system lets you collaborate with your entire team more easily.
For example, OpenPhone’s shared phone numbers and inboxes mean every call, message, recording, and voicemail is stored in one place for all the right team members to access.
It also means they can review (and respond!) to customer communications without missing a beat Shared responsibility ensures no important calls are missed.
Plus, OpenPhone’s internal threads let you bring team discussions right into customer conversations (without the customers knowing what’s going on behind the curtains).
Need a colleague’s input or a supervisor’s approval? Start an internal thread on any call or message, and tag your teammates for real-time collaboration. You can even react to interactions with an emoji to confirm you’ve seen them. It’s a simple way to keep everyone on the same page while staying efficient.
You want to add notes to the recording
Whether you want to add a note for yourself or provide information to another person on your team, adding notes to call recordings can be useful. You can rely on notes to coach people, train new employees, or give feedback on customer interactions.
With OpenPhone, you can add additional context to your contacts by using custom properties. For example, you can tag contacts with labels like “VIP” or “Prospect,” add follow-up dates, or note their preferences.
4 best apps for recording phone calls on Android
Since the built-in Google phone app for call recordings is so limited, you’re better off using a third-party app. The Google Play store has several call recording app options, and the best one will depend on your particular business needs. You may need specific features or want a free option so you can record your calls.
1. OpenPhone: Best for recording business calls
Price: Starts at $15 per user per month
If you want a business phone system that not only records your calls and offers robust features, OpenPhone is the perfect solution. With VoIP call recording, you can record phone calls on all mobile devices (Android or iPhone) as well as your desktop (Windows or Mac).
In addition to the call recordings, you’ll also receive a transcript for each call with a speaker breakdown and timestamps. AI-generated call summaries will tell you any action items or next steps after the call. To start recording, simply click on Record Call from the phone menu.
Business plans enable automatic call recording in the Workspace Settings. To turn on auto-record:
- Go to Phone Numbers.
- Select the number you want to record (auto-recording is phone number specific).
- Scroll down and toggle the Auto-record calls option.
OpenPhone also has AI call tags that identify the type of call (like a customer service recording) or the customer sentiment (like a negative interaction). You can use the tags to review certain kinds of calls. The tags also identify trends among your call recordings. This feature is currently in Beta.
2. Google Voice: Best for personal use
Price: Free (personal) or starts at $20 per person per month for Google Workspace
If you already have a Gmail account, you can use a free Google Voice account and the Google Voice app. Google Voice allows you to record incoming calls. You can record on-demand within the app by tapping Record or set up automatic call recording by accessing Settings, Calls, and Incoming call options.
If you use Google Workspace, call recordings aren’t available on the Starter tier. You can only use the on-demand call recording feature on the Standard tier ($20 per user per month).
Automatic call recording is only available on the Premier tier ($30 per user per month). Keep in mind you need an active Google Workspace subscription. (If you’re paying for several users and want automatic call recordings for your business records, Google Voice can quickly become pricey.)
3. Cube ACR (+Helper): Best for call recording backups
Pricing: Free or $19.99 per year (Premium version)
Cube is a call recording app for Android (and Apple iOS) devices. With Cube, you can back up your audio files to your Google Drive or email them to yourself.
This is great if you need to maintain copies of your call recordings, but it’s only available on the Premium version. You can also record phone calls on Android via services like Skype and WeChat, as well as record voice memos.
After installing the Android app, navigate through the prompts to provide Cube with access to your device. This lets it automatically record all calls. And if you’re running Android version 10 or higher, you also need to install the Cube ACR Helper app.
Android made some changes that prevented Cube from obtaining the permissions it needed to work. As a workaround, you can get the Helper app in the App Store or download it from Cube’s website.
4. All Call Recorder: Best for storing call recordings on your device
Pricing: Free
Unlike other call recording apps that store call recordings in the cloud, All Call Recorder stores call recordings directly on your device. If you have concerns about storing recordings in the cloud — or simply prefer to have them on your phone — All Call Recorder is your best option. You can also opt to record the other party’s voice or only your voice.
After you install the app, you’ll need to open All Call Recorder whenever you want to record a call (it doesn’t happen automatically) and hit the record button.
One thing to note is that audio quality is sometimes an issue. Users have reported that if you switch to or from speakerphone mode mid-call, the call recording will have issues because the app can’t determine where the sound is coming from. The app also contains ads.
Legal considerations when recording calls
If you plan to record calls, you need to familiarize yourself with call recording compliance requirements, which vary by location.
In the US, under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (an update to the Federal Wiretap Act), at least one person needs to consent to the recording (known as one-party consent). But some states require all parties to consent. Other countries, like Canada, have their own laws for call recordings.
As a best practice, you should get consent to record, even if you don’t legally have to. You should also clearly state why you’re recording and what you plan to use the recording for.
You can also reference the US Federal Communications Commission’s Recording Telephone Conversations guide or consult with an attorney about call recording legality, if necessary.
💡 Learn more about how to legally record phone calls.
Get the full context of your customer interactions with OpenPhone
Call recordings make it easier to serve your customers because they help you ensure nothing is overlooked or misunderstood. But customer interactions are far more than the calls: they’re also the sum of texts, voicemails, and internal discussions with your team.
OpenPhone enables small businesses to serve their customers better by providing a complete workspace of business phone features.
In addition to calling and texting features, you can manage your business contacts and collaborate with your team. Integrations with other tools and automated workflows keep your business operations simple, allowing your team to spend more time with customers (and less time fiddling with your tech stack).
To see how OpenPhone can benefit your business, you can try it for free for seven days.
FAQ
If you have a Samsung device, you can use Google’s built-in phone app instead of the Samsung phone app. With Google’s phone app, you can record all calls in your Settings.
No, Android devices don’t have any native call recording features. You need to use the built-in call recording of the Google phone app or install a third-party app to record calls.
If you don’t see the option to enable call recording, it’s likely unavailable in your location due to legal restrictions. Call recordings are also not available on all devices or carriers.