How to Record a Phone Call on an iPhone

Today I’m going to show you how to record phone calls. Consultants, researchers, grad students, product managers, and salespeople use it to focus on the person instead of note-taking or in business meetings for record-keeping purposes. And people use it for customer service calls over billing disputes so they have evidence of what was said.

How to Record a Phone Call on an iPhone with Rev's Call Recorder?

With Rev's Call Recorder, you can record calls like interviews, especially helpful for journalists and writers. It records you, the other person, in fact, everyone connected to the call, and once recorded, Rev uses real humans to transcribe everything said. It's super easy to get set up.

Download the app, run it, and follow the directions on the screen. Now when you want to record a call, press Start Recorded Call. For an outgoing call, enter the number or use your contacts. For an incoming call, Rev prompts you to connect with their Call Recorder, then simply merge the two calls. When you're done with the call, you'll see the recorded file in the list. You can share the recording like you would share anything else on your phone. You can also rename or delete the recording. If you want a transcription of the call, press Transcribe, and you'll get a complete transcription in the app and by email, done by real humans, not a robot, at $1 a minute.

I know what you're thinkin', lawyer stuff. There are all sorts of laws when it comes to recording calls. Just keep it simple. Tell the person you're recording the call, and you're good. Which, by the way, their agreeing to be recorded has been recorded.

Using Third-Party App to Record Phone Calls

Unless the phone maker prohibits it, a number of Android applications can directly record a call. Recording phone calls is not possible on the iPhone. There is a workaround in the applications that do exist to record a call—and there are a lot of them—but it typically costs money.

The only reason iPhone recorder applications work is because they employ three-way conference calls, which may be incoming or outgoing. The third "caller" is a recording line supplied by the app's creator as part of a service. Obviously, 3-way calling is a must for this to operate, so check to see whether your carrier allows it. The major three carriers in the United States all do, but several smaller carriers don't—at least not in the way that these applications require. One disadvantage of these applications is that they are not as simple as pressing a key on the number pad since you must take extra steps to make the merging happen with the third number recording. They may all be triggered in the middle of a phone call, and you'll have simple access to recordings in the app, which you can listen, download, share, or export as needed.

By merging in a Rev recording number on a 3-way conversation, Rev, our top-rated transcription service, offers an app to make recording incoming and outgoing calls easier. The recordings are found in the app's Conversations section.

Which Method for Recording iPhone Calls is Best for You?

Because every cell carrier and iOS device is a little different, you may need to test a few different recording techniques before you find the one that works best for you.

Using a speakerphone or paying for a third-party service to record a phone call are the two most dependable ways to record a phone call on your iPhone. In any event, you must always tell the other person that you are recording them in order to operate lawfully.