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Glossary · Compliance

What is Call recording?

  • Also called: record calls, call recording software

Reviewed by Sujan ThapaliyaLast updated

Definition

Call recording captures the audio of a conversation for later review, training or evidence. Whether it is lawful depends on whose consent is required where the parties are: some jurisdictions need only one party to know, others need everyone on the call.
The three STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, which underpin how call recording behaves in practice: A asserts both that the carrier knows the customer and that the customer may use the calling number, B asserts the customer only, and C asserts neither. A shared number pool can reach B at best, which is why number ownership keeps recurring in these definitions.
Attestation is the backdrop to most caller-ID and deliverability terms, call recording included.

In practice

How call recording actually works

The consent rule follows the participants, not the company. A business in a one-party state calling into a two-party state generally has to meet the stricter rule, which is why national outbound operations usually announce recording on every call.

An announcement is only the beginning. Retention, access control and the ability to delete a specific recording on request are the parts regulators ask about, and they are the parts most often unplanned.

Payment information is the sharpest edge. Card details keyed or spoken during a recorded call end up in the recording unless it is paused or the tones are masked.

Worked example

A recording containing a spoken card number brings obligations most businesses are not equipped for. Pausing the recording for the payment step costs nothing and removes the whole problem.

Call recording: common questions

Do I have to tell people I am recording?
Assume yes. Several US states require every party to consent, and the safest workable rule for any operation calling across state or national lines is to announce recording on every call.
How long should recordings be kept?
Long enough to serve the purpose you recorded for, and no longer. Set a retention period deliberately, document why, and make sure deletion actually happens rather than being a policy nobody runs.
Can I record card details?
You should not. Pause recording during payment capture or mask the keypad tones, because a recording containing card data brings obligations most businesses are not equipped to meet.

Sources

  1. Combating Spoofed Robocalls with Caller ID Authentication — Federal Communications CommissionThe STIR/SHAKEN framework, the attestation levels carriers sign calls with, and the mandate requiring providers to authenticate caller ID.
  2. 47 U.S.C. § 227 — Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment — Cornell Legal Information InstituteThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act itself — the consent requirements, calling-hours limits, and private right of action.
  3. ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan — International Telecommunication UnionThe international number format, the 15-digit maximum, and how country codes and national numbers compose.

See call recording in the product

Call recording captures conversations for coaching, quality assurance, dispute resolution, and compliance. Consent rules vary by jurisdiction: some US states require every party to agree, so the platform announces and logs consent per call rather than leaving it to the rep.

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