{"id":442002,"date":"2022-04-22T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-22T08:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=442002"},"modified":"2022-04-22T10:32:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T08:32:20","slug":"google-banning-call-recording-apps-from-play-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/442002-google-banning-call-recording-apps-from-play-store.html","title":{"rendered":"Google banning call recording apps from Play Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google has announced a new policy for developers banning them from offering call recording in apps published on its Play Store.<\/p>\n

The new policy was initially announced on 6 April 2022<\/strong><\/a> and was picked up by Reddit user NLL-APPS<\/strong><\/a> two days ago.<\/p>\n

Google previously disabled call recording capability in Android 10, stating that the feature threatened user privacy.<\/p>\n

App developers circumvented this by using the Accessibility API to enable call recording.<\/p>\n

However, in the new policy, Google states explicitly that the API is not designed and cannot be requested for remote call audio recording, effective from 11 May 2022.<\/p>\n

NLL-Apps is the developer of a call recording app on the Play Store with a million downloads.<\/p>\n

They criticised the change, arguing that it would only force users to search for apps that can perform call recording outside the Play Store, potentially exposing them to harmful software.<\/p>\n

Popular third-party call-screening app TrueCaller also has a built-in call recording feature, which is likely to be affected by the change.<\/p>\n

\"Truecaller<\/a><\/h3>\n

A Google webinar on the new policy clarified that it would not impact apps set as the default and come pre-loaded on the device, so OEMs could still include the capability in their stock apps.<\/p>\n

Google itself offers call recording capability through the Google Phone app, exclusively available on its Pixel smartphones.<\/p>\n

Samsung and Xiaomi have also been providing a recording feature in their respective stock Phone and Dial apps for some time.<\/p>\n

However, manufacturers or carriers disable these features in certain regions due to possible legal ramifications, which seems to be the case in South Africa.<\/p>\n

MyBroadband could not find call recording features on several Samsung and Xiaomi smartphones in our office.<\/p>\n

Under the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA), you do not have to get consent to record calls you are party to in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Although the law says that you must generally give consent before a recording can take place, this is aimed at regulating the interception of communications by third parties.<\/p>\n

RICA provides for the following circumstances under which you may record without consent:<\/p>\n