Google Phone app: Update brings call recording and "Caller Views"
Google is bringing call recording to its Phone app. Users of the app will also receive iOS-like contact posters for outgoing calls.
Phone app: Google is rolling out the call recording feature to more users.
(Image: Andreas Floemer / heise medien)
After Google initially allowed call recording to be tested in its Phone app a few weeks ago in the beta version, the company is now apparently gradually rolling out the feature to all users. The company is also introducing contact posters for outgoing calls.
Google's Phone app can record calls
Call recording has been possible on Samsung devices for a while; the feature was introduced in April 2025 with One UI 7. Now Google is catching up and integrating the feature into its Phone app, which is pre-installed on many Android devices. According to Google, the feature can be used on Pixel devices from the Pixel 6 onwards, provided at least Android 14 or newer is installed – currently Android 16. On smartphones from other manufacturers, at least Android 9 or newer must be installed.
(Image:Â Andreas Floemer / heise medien)
Users of the Phone app can activate call recording directly via a selection window during a call. In the app settings, users also have the option to record all calls from unknown numbers. You can also set up automatic recording for specific phone numbers. The recorded calls can be listened to and shared directly in the call overview. According to Google, the saved calls remain only locally on the device and do not end up in the cloud.
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Only with express permission
Before using the feature, you should know that in Germany, you cannot secretly record a call without the consent of the other party: According to Paragraph 201, Section 1 of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch), unauthorized recording of telephone conversations is prohibited – otherwise it is a “violation of the confidentiality of the spoken word”. To record a call, you need the explicit consent of the conversation partner. Violations can result in prison sentences of up to three years.
The conversation partners are “audibly notified that the call is being recorded” when it starts, Google emphasizes. According to Google, both parties are also informed when the recording ends that the call is no longer being recorded. However, these notifications do not replace an agreement, and it is not sufficient that the function is audibly announced by Google. Without an explicit “Yes, I agree to the recording of the conversation” from the other party, users of the feature are in a poor legal position. It is also prohibited to use an unauthorized recorded telephone conversation and to pass it on to third parties.
Contact card for outgoing calls
Less problematic is another feature that Google has announced for its Phone app: Following the contact posters for incoming calls, which users of an Android smartphone must create themselves for their contacts, Google is expanding the feature: Users can customize the appearance of the caller views themselves in the future, thus determining how their “business cards” appear to the other party.
(Image:Â Google)
Users can select a photo of themselves in their “business card” and set their favorite color and font. The feature is initially being rolled out on Android smartphones and later also for smartwatches with Wear OS. We are currently only offered the feature in the beta version of the Phone app.
The feature is not only intended for Pixel smartphones and Android 16, but should reach all current Android smartphones on which Google's Phone app is pre-installed by default.
(afl)
