You’re actually both somewhat correct, it just depends on when you last checked! The guy you replied to is right about the old way it used to work. For years, Google blocked native call recording in Europe because of GDPR liability. Technically GDPR doesn’t outright ban it, it just requires strict consent, but Google took the easy route and disabled it by default for EU models to avoid legal headaches.
Youre right about it being present in recent software updates tho because thankfully Google finally rolled out native call recording to European Pixels not that long ago. To get around the legal side, they built a mandatory audio warning into the app. The moment you hit record, it loudly tells the other person they’re being recorded, which checks the legal boxes for consent under EU privacy laws.
Hell, I’m in the USA and I still remember call recording being disabled on my Samsung phone only just a few years ago. I also remember being pissed I couldn’t record things such as my therapy appointments so I could simply remember things easier. It wasn’t until years later when I was finally able to have that feature in stock OneUI/Android. You could also get that feature back if you bought an unlocked phone not tied to a carrier. Not sure if it is necessary anymore here in the US tho.
Call recording is super useful and should be available anywhere imo, especially for accessibility reasons such as the hearing impaired. If the average person gets their phone calls recorded every moment they call a company, then the average person should also be allowed to have their own recording as well!
To get around the legal side, they built a mandatory audio warning into the app. The moment you hit record, it loudly tells the other person they’re being recorded, which checks the legal boxes for consent under EU privacy laws.
As a resident of a one-party-consent state, I absolutely loathe that fucking thing. Who the fuck does Google think it is, to unilaterally decide that I’m not allowed to exercise my right to record without notice?!
That reminds me, I need to check if GrapheneOS gets rid of the asinine warning.
Even when the default app recording is disabled there are plenty of audio recording applications which work quite well - including with transcription. Ever need a transcript of a meeting? Put the phone in your shirt pocket with a recording app active - it’s amazingly efficient.
You’re actually both somewhat correct, it just depends on when you last checked! The guy you replied to is right about the old way it used to work. For years, Google blocked native call recording in Europe because of GDPR liability. Technically GDPR doesn’t outright ban it, it just requires strict consent, but Google took the easy route and disabled it by default for EU models to avoid legal headaches.
Youre right about it being present in recent software updates tho because thankfully Google finally rolled out native call recording to European Pixels not that long ago. To get around the legal side, they built a mandatory audio warning into the app. The moment you hit record, it loudly tells the other person they’re being recorded, which checks the legal boxes for consent under EU privacy laws.
Hell, I’m in the USA and I still remember call recording being disabled on my Samsung phone only just a few years ago. I also remember being pissed I couldn’t record things such as my therapy appointments so I could simply remember things easier. It wasn’t until years later when I was finally able to have that feature in stock OneUI/Android. You could also get that feature back if you bought an unlocked phone not tied to a carrier. Not sure if it is necessary anymore here in the US tho.
Call recording is super useful and should be available anywhere imo, especially for accessibility reasons such as the hearing impaired. If the average person gets their phone calls recorded every moment they call a company, then the average person should also be allowed to have their own recording as well!
As a resident of a one-party-consent state, I absolutely loathe that fucking thing. Who the fuck does Google think it is, to unilaterally decide that I’m not allowed to exercise my right to record without notice?!
That reminds me, I need to check if GrapheneOS gets rid of the asinine warning.
In the old terms: there’s an app for that…
Even when the default app recording is disabled there are plenty of audio recording applications which work quite well - including with transcription. Ever need a transcript of a meeting? Put the phone in your shirt pocket with a recording app active - it’s amazingly efficient.