Google is killing call recording apps on Android phones from May 11

• Google is killing the ability of third-party to record calls.
• The new policy will come into effect from May 11.
• This will not prevent in-built apps from offering call recording functionality.

Google is working on a new update to the developer policies to the Play Store that will prevent applications from offering call recording functionality to Android users.

According to a post by a Reddit user, a new Play Store policy that comes into effect from May 11 will stop third-party apps from recording calls on Android devices.

This is not the first time that Google has tried to stop call recording. With the Android 10 update, Google completely removed the call recording feature on its devices. Google claimed that this was done keeping in mind privacy and security. Another reason for this could be that call recording laws are different from country to country.

After this, several third-party apps such as TrueCaller and ACR Phone started using the Accessibility API to record calls. However, Google has come down heavily on this and has announced that Accessibility API can no longer be used to record calls.

“The Accessibility API is not designed and cannot be requested for remote call audio recording,” Google said on its support page. “The use of the Accessibility API must be documented in the Google Play listing,” Google added.

The new policy change affects the ability of third-party apps to use the Accessibility API for recording calls. Do note that this will not affect the ability of native call recording functionality on devices from Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, among others to record calls using the in-built phone app.

During a webinar, Google clarified that this does not affect default dialer apps. “If the app is the default dialer on the phone and also pre-loaded, accessibility capability is not required to get access to the incoming audio stream, and hence, will not be in violation.”

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