You need a record of a phone call. The landlord who agreed to fix the boiler by Friday, the insurer who said the claim was approved, the bank that promised to refund a charge. For years the honest answer to how to record a call on iPhone was "you can't, not properly", and everyone reached for a dodgy app or a second phone on speaker.
That changed with iOS 18.1, and the recorder is now built into the Phone app. It works well. But it has two catches that most guides skip over: it tells the other person out loud before it starts, and UK users spent the first part of its life getting recordings with no transcript at all. Here is how it works on current iOS, who hears what, and what to check when the button simply isn't there.
How to record a call on iPhone, step by step
On current iOS the record control has moved off the main call screen and into a menu. This is the sequence on iOS 26 and later, which matches Apple's own UK support guide:
- Make or answer a call in the Phone app as normal.
- Tap More, the button with three dots, on the call screen.
- Tap Call Recording. A short countdown runs, then an automated voice announces that the call is being recorded.
- To stop, tap More then Stop, or just end the call.
The recording saves itself to the Notes app, in a folder called Call Recordings, with a transcript alongside the audio if your language is supported. It only lives on the iPhone that started the recording. The other person gets nothing.
If you're still on iOS 18
On iOS 18.1 and later versions of iOS 18, the record button sits directly on the call screen rather than under More. Same countdown, same announcement, same folder in Notes. If you are reading an older guide that tells you to look for a waveform icon in the top corner and you can't find it, that's why - the Phone app redesign in iOS 26 moved it.
FaceTime audio works too
The same steps work for one-to-one FaceTime audio calls. According to Technobezz's walkthrough, Apple only documents this for audio calls, not FaceTime video, so don't expect it to capture a video call.
Who hears the warning, and can you turn it off?
Everyone on the call hears it, including you. Apple's guide puts it plainly: "Both call participants hear an audio notice." There is no setting to make the recording silent, and no region where it switches off.
That also works in reverse. If someone starts recording a call with you, you will hear the announcement, and you can't stop them other than by hanging up. Apple's Personal Safety guidance, quoted by Technobezz, says exactly that.
I think the warning is the right call for the uses most of us have. When you are recording a bank or an insurer, the announcement means nobody can later claim they didn't know. The one practical tip: say "I'm going to record this so I have a note of it" before you tap the button, so the robot voice isn't the first the other person hears about it.
Is it legal to record a phone call in the UK?
I'm not a lawyer, so treat this as a pointer rather than advice. As Sonetel's summary of UK rules puts it, recording conversations for personal use is generally not illegal in the UK. The trouble tends to start when a recording made without the other person's knowledge is handed to a third party without their consent.
Businesses sit under different rules. Recording customer calls brings in UK GDPR and the Lawful Business Practice Regulations, and the expectation is that callers are told. If you run a small business from your iPhone, that's a reason to check properly rather than assume.
Here's the bit worth noticing. Apple's built-in recorder is stricter than UK law requires for personal use, because it always announces itself. So the question most people are really worried about - "am I secretly recording someone?" - doesn't arise with Apple's tool. You can't use it to record covertly even if you wanted to.
Why your call recording has no transcript (the UK English problem)
This is the part that tripped up a lot of UK users. When call recording arrived, recording itself worked in dozens of languages, but transcription supported only six. According to Macworld's breakdown from December 2024, English (United States) and English (Australia) were on the list. English (United Kingdom) was not.
The result was confusing. UK iPhone owners pressed record, got the audio in Notes, and found no transcript. One thread on Apple's Community forums from December 2024 shows exactly that, with the only suggested workaround being to switch the whole phone's language to US English.
That has changed. Apple's feature availability page now lists English (United Kingdom) under Call Transcription Summaries. Apple can't summarise a call it hasn't transcribed, so if you tried this in 2024, got no transcript and gave up, it's worth another go on current iOS with your iPhone set to English (UK).
Transcripts and summaries are not the same thing
A transcript is the scrolling text alongside the audio. A summary is the short Apple Intelligence description of what was said, and it needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence: the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, the iPhone 16 range and later, and the iPhone Air. On an older iPhone you can still record, you just won't get the summary. If you want to know which Siri and Apple Intelligence features the UK actually gets on iOS 27, I covered that in my iOS 27 UK release date guide.
Call recording button missing? Check these five things
If there is no Call Recording option under More, it's almost always one of these:
- Your iOS version. You need iOS 18.1 or later. The iPhone XS and XR stop at iOS 18, and the iPhone 11 is the oldest model on iOS 26.
- The setting is off. Go to Settings, then Apps, then Phone, and look for Audio Call Recording in the Calls section. Technobezz says it is on by default, but it's the first place to look.
- It's a conference call. Recording needs exactly one other person on the line. Merge in a third and the option disappears.
- It's a work iPhone. A managed device can have call recording disabled by your employer or school, and you won't be able to switch it back on.
- Where you are. Apple doesn't offer the feature everywhere, and Technobezz lists the European Union among the gaps. UK iPhones get it.
Can you record WhatsApp calls on iPhone?
Not with Apple's tool. It covers calls in the Phone app and one-to-one FaceTime audio, and that's it. WhatsApp, Teams, Zoom and the rest are outside its reach.
The fallback is the old one: put the call on speaker and record it on a second device with Voice Memos. It works, but you're recording the room as much as the call, so expect echo and background noise. Third-party call recorder apps exist, but they work by bridging your call through the developer's own servers, which is a privacy trade I wouldn't make for a call with my bank.
How to save or share an iPhone call recording
Open Notes, go to the Call Recordings folder and open the recording. Tap More, then choose Save Audio Files to put the audio in Files, or Share Audio to send it somewhere. If you need the text, copy the transcript out first, because deleting the recording deletes the transcript with it.
It's the same logic as screen recordings: the file is yours, on your phone, and nobody else gets a copy unless you send one. If you want the visual side of a call or an app on record, my guide to how to screen record on iPhone explains why some apps record as a black screen.
And if the call you want evidence of is a nuisance caller rather than a company, recording is less use than stopping them. See how to block a number on iPhone, and why blocking alone won't stop most spam.
FAQ
Does the other person know I'm recording on iPhone?
Yes. Before recording starts, an automated announcement plays to everyone on the call, and there is no setting to turn it off.
Where do iPhone call recordings go?
They save to the Notes app, in a folder called Call Recordings, on the iPhone that started the recording. The transcript sits alongside the audio in the same note.
Can I record a WhatsApp call on iPhone?
Not with Apple's built-in recorder, which only covers Phone app calls and one-to-one FaceTime audio calls. The only workaround is to put the call on speaker and record it on a second device.
My take
Use it, and tell people first. For the calls most of us want a record of - banks, insurers, landlords, the council - the announcement is a feature rather than a flaw, because nobody can dispute that they knew. And if you tried call recording in the UK a while back and got audio with no transcript, that was the missing English (UK) support rather than anything you did wrong. Try it again.
Source: Record and transcribe a call on iPhone, Apple Support
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