Mobile Phone Recording
Introduction
This document provides an overview of approaches to recording audio calls made on
smartphones. Options described include both paid and free software apps for phones running
the Android and iOS operating systems as well as a cross-platform hardware option. There are
certainly other software and hardware approaches beyond those mentioned here, and the
selection below serves as a curated overview of a handful of methods rather than an all-
inclusive survey.
Options are divided into two main sections, Software Options and Hardware Option. The
Software Options section is further divided into two subsections, one for each of the common
mobile phone operating systems, Android and iOS.
Things to know
When recording using a mobile phone the fidelity of the resulting recording is fundamentally
constrained by the limited sound frequency bandwidth of mobile phone audio transmission. In
addition, call fidelity is also impacted by the quality of the call connection and the capabilities of
the phone’s hardware. While recordings made between mobile phones can sound better than
those made between landline phones, they will not have the fidelity of recordings made in-
person using quality equipment, or remote recordings using some other available methods.
This stated, recording an interview using a mobile phone can be convenient and, for the
interviewee, requires no technical knowledge beyond familiarity with their own mobile or landline
telephone, no high speed internet connection, access to a computer, or any other additional
equipment.
As noted above, call connection will impact the quality of the resulting recording. If calling
mobile-to-mobile, try to determine that both parties have strong service at the time/location of
the call. If calling mobile-to-landline, the Interviewer should be sure service on their end of the
call is strong.
Software Options
The apps available for call recording depend on the operating system on the phone.