If you’re curious about how to record a call on an iPhone, you’ve come to the right place. Recording conversations with candidates can be extremely useful during the recruitment process.

After all, you’ll often need to discuss each applicant’s relative merits with your wider team, and having call recordings at hand makes that much easier.

Nevertheless, it’s crucial to consider compliance. Rules around recording business calls vary from area to area, and you need to be sure you fully understand them. In this article, we’ll look at how to use an iPhone to make call recordings while remaining compliant at all times.

Recording calls: the legal situation

First, it’s essential to be aware of the legality of recording calls. The legal situation surrounding call recording varies depending on where you’re located.

In particular, the party consent rules are different in different jurisdictions. Party consent rules are about who’s required to give consent before a call recording takes place.

The rules are designed to respect individuals’ privacy, and ignoring them can lead to serious repercussions for your company.

At the very least, your brand reputation is likely to suffer. And you could even be subject to fines or other penalties if you don’t get proper consent before recording phone calls.

So, before you even think of hitting that record button, double-check the law in your area. US states fall into two groups:

  • One-party consent states
  • All-party consent states

In one-party consent states, at least one participant in the conversation must give their consent to record a call.

In practice, this could mean that you don’t specifically need to get affirmative consent from a candidate who’s calling. That’s because the person answering the phone on your company’s behalf can give their consent, and that meets the inferred consent requirements.

In all-party consent jurisdictions, which is sometimes known as “two-party,” everyone on the call has to give consent. You must actively seek consent at the beginning of the call; only proceed with recording if you get it.

It’s crucial to account for this in any of your systems where you might want to set calls to record. For instance, if you use an AI virtual assistant to screen calls, then you should make sure it requests consent to record in advance.

How to record a call on iPhone running iOS 18.1

So, let’s turn our attention to how to record a call on a modern iPhone. The first thing to note is that it hasn’t always been possible to record a call natively on iPhones.

For a long time, Apple designed its smartphones to disable recording through the built-in microphone during calls. This was mainly due to the complexity of the law surrounding recording calls, as we’ve just explored.

However, that all changed with the introduction of iOS 18.1. If your iPhone runs this system or a later one, you’ll be able to record business phone calls like candidate interviews for later review.

Here’s how to record outgoing calls using this method:

  1. Begin the call and ask for consent to record if necessary.
  2. Tap the “record call” icon in the upper-left corner of the screen. The phone will send a notification that recording has started to everyone on the call.
  3. When the call is finished, the Notes app will send you a notification. Tap it to access the audio files of your recordings. Notes also provides effective call transcriptions so you can read through each phone conversation.

The real power of this method shows itself when you integrate it into your recruitment workflow systematically.

For example, let’s say you use the kind of applicant tracking system UK and US companies often favor; you can share your call recordings with the centralized tracking hub so that they’re easily accessible to the whole recruitment team.

How to record a call on iPhone using a second device

If the built-in call recording system isn’t supported on your device due to lacking iOS 18.1, there are other options available to explore. You don’t need a whole host of advanced features or an in-built call record function to record calls.

One thing you can do is simply use a second device. It may be a bit of a low-tech way to do it, but it can be equally effective. Of course, the sound quality can be less impressive than with native call recording solutions.

So, when you’re using a second device to record audio from your iPhone, test your setup first before using it to record actual calls.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Set the iPhone you’re using for the call to speakerphone.
  2. Use another device that has the Voice Memos app installed. You can download this from the App Store. This could be any device running iOS, such as another iPhone, an iPad, or even an Apple Watch.
  3. When you’re ready to record, open the Voice Memos app on the second device and tap the red button to begin recording.
  4. Tap the red button again to stop recording.

The audio file will appear in the app, either numbered or, if you have Location Services enabled, with your current location in the title.

Then you can transfer the file to your preferred destination via email or the messaging platform of your choice. Options include Google Drive, Slack, iMessage, and AirDrop.

A few alternative recording methods

There’s a third option beyond the built-in iPhone call recording feature and using a second device. You can also use a third-party app to record calls. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Google Voice

The main function of the Google Voice iOS app is to let you make voice calls over Wi-Fi. It also has an in-built recording feature.

Bear in mind, though, that if you only have a personal Google account, you’ll only be able to record incoming calls. This might not be ideal if you’re calling candidates to interview them.

If your iPhone is linked to a Google Workspace account, however, you’ll be able to record outbound calls and conference calls as well.

Just open the app and press 4 on the keypad to begin recording, then tap it again to finish. You’ll then be able to access the recording via the record menu.

Rev Call Recorder

Although it might not be as advanced as professional call center software, the Rev Call Recorder app is certainly good enough for making recordings.

The audio quality is pretty good too. When the call is finished, it saves the recording on your device as an MP3 file.

Another advantage is that it provides free AI-generated call transcriptions of all your phone call recordings. It also offers professional transcription services by humans for a small fee.

TapeACall

The last one on our list is the TapeACall app. Of all the methods for recording calls listed here, this one has the most unusual design.

Essentially, it allows you to merge calls with a dedicated recording line. You pay a one-off upfront fee, for which you get unlimited recording capacity.

This app also offers premium transcription services for an additional charge. You’ll benefit from high-quality audio recordings that you can access via the cloud when you log in to your account.

Compliance and call recordings: the bigger picture

Just one more thing to bear in mind before we take in a few final thoughts. Getting to grips with recording calls on your iPhone isn’t just useful for reviewing candidate calls during the recruitment process.

Having this skill can also contribute to big-picture compliance initiatives across all of the paid and free business apps or software you might use.

For instance, let’s take something like the ICFR framework. What is ICFR? Well, it stands for Internal Control over Financial Reporting, and it comprises specific controls that ensure a company’s financial reporting is accurate and reliable.

A key element of ICFR is transparent communication. Recording business calls contributes to good practice in this area, as long as all relevant regulations are followed and the recordings are securely stored.

Stay compliant while recording calls on iPhone

Overall, using a recording app or the native recording capabilities of your iPhone for business calls can be a good move.

That’s especially true when it comes to recruitment since there’s a lot to remember when you’re interviewing a candidate. Being able to revisit conversations afterward simply makes sense.

That said, it’s vital that you don’t drop the ball on compliance. Remember to double-check the consent rules applicable to your location before you pick up the phone. And always make sure any call recordings are securely stored so only the relevant stakeholders can access them.

Call recording FAQ

Is it legal to record candidate phone calls?

It is, as long as you abide by the law surrounding consent. The exact details of whose consent you need to get varies depending on which state you’re in. So, it’s crucial to double-check beforehand so you know where you stand.

How do I turn on call recording on my iPhone?

You’ll only be able to do this if your device is running iOS 18.1 or later. Previous versions of iOS don’t support in-call recording.

Assuming you do, you just need to tap the “record call” button in the upper-left corner of the screen when you’re on a call. You then access the recording later via the Notes app.

How can I store and manage my recordings?

That depends on which of the methods of recording calls you go with. If you use the iPhone’s native recording function, then you can store them in Notes or transfer them to your storage app of choice.

If you’re using a third-party recording app, you’ll generally be able to manage recordings through the app itself or an account connected to it.

Originally published Aug 13, 2025