Call Recording Now Easier In New York, But Is It Legal?

Recording a phone call is now a simple as one click, but can you do that in New York without letting the other party know?

Has anyone else accidentally hit the record call button on their iPhone after the most recent iOS update? It seems to be something that most Apple users are experiencing on their iPhones and it is nothing short of annoying.

Thanks to the latest update, there is a small button on the top of your call that will allow you record the call with one click. However for me, I keep hitting that damn button almost every time I have to put the phone up to my ear like we used to do in the olden times. It makes an announcement, similar to Zoom, that the call is now being recorded. Not only you, but the person on the other end of the call hear that. Which as it turns out is a very good thing.

Telephone calls fall under "digital media" and are part of that particular law that coverts wiretapping as well as the recording of public meetings and inside of court rooms. Can those be recorded without everyone knowing?

The answer is, kind of?

In New York they have the one party consent rule. Not all parties on the call have to be aware of the recording, but at least one of the parties has to give permission. In the case of the iPhone recording that is generally between you and one person so you would need to get their permission to use that recorded call.

If you and the authorities worked together and needed you to make a recorded call to someone, you could give permission and the other person may not know about the recording. It's how the FBI and other agencies are able to do wiretapping for investigations.

Now, if Apple could move the button on the phone in the next update so I stop accidentally recording random conversations that would be great.