Status of call recording

eatinggrumble84

Is there a timeline of when it might be expected for call recording to be implemented in the dialer?

https://github.com/GrapheneOS/platform_packages_apps_Dialer/pull/12

MetropleX

eatinggrumble84 I may very well be corrected but the situation with call recording using the stock AOSP based Dialer is that while the linked approach is a Proof of Concept the Dialer is still actively maintained unlike other AOSP apps this makes introducing it and keeping it working a little more complex.

@[deleted] had mentioned in recent past that to Call Record at the minute requires a third party solution 'for now'. This could mean waiting for Android 13 which is taking precedence for dev time, and/or any update to the Dialer that comes with it.

UPDATE: June has since ceased work on it and thus it would require someone else to pick it up and contribute/maintain it.
From Matrix: @/tmp:tchncs.de i think june was working on native dialer call recording

June: not anymore

By all means keep your ear to the ground here, on Matrix etc or tracking commits to the OS. Please do not harass for ETA though.

[deleted]

The issue is it's way too much code for an AOSP app. While most AOSP apps are not frequently developed, AOSP Dialer is frequently developed. We can't easily maintain that patch. The implementation needs to be reworked or redone entirely to be significantly less code.

We also have more important things to work on so it's not going to be a priority on us.

[deleted]

As for me working on it, I simply do not have enough time and resources.

fll

Just wanted to add that one thing that might discourage Google from implementing it in AOSP Dialer is that it is illegal to record conversations without consent in many countries.

Edit: a workaround is to put your phone on speaker and just record your microphone

[deleted]

fll We consider call recording a tool and the user is responsible for what they do with it. If they get jailed for call recording, that's not our fault and we want nothing to do with that. We also don't want to maintain and watch all 200+ countries' regulations on wiretapping which includes non-consensual call recording. If we ever implement call recording, we will not add country allowlists/denylists and we will add multiple user-facing warnings that the user will be prompted with before enabling call recording.

eatinggrumble84

Any chance of implementing this basic call recorder?
Developer hopes to keep it as simple as possible to reduce the need for updates.
https://github.com/chenxiaolong/BCR

MetropleX

eatinggrumble84 it isn't necessary to implement a third party solution, we have proof of concept for including the feature in the OS already, however as @[deleted] has mentioned previously it comes down to time and resources. If call recording is paramount for you then building the OS https://grapheneos.org/build yourself with BCR included is always an option.

eatinggrumble84

MetropleX

Yes but as June mentioned above, the proof of concept isn't actually feasible in it's current state and would need to be reworked entirely. Plus having a customized Dialer app isn't ideal when it's frequently updated from AOSP. This BCR could be an easily implemented solution with minimal updates. I just wanted to bring it to attention for once there's time to look into this feature further.

[deleted]

Going to repeat what I've stated in https://github.com/GrapheneOS/platform_packages_apps_Dialer/pull/12

It's too much code for an AOSP project that is actively maintained so conflicts and issues will arise easily and maintenance will be extremely difficult. The way this is done is not getting merged.

A different implementation needs to be done that has less code.
It was a serious mistake publicising this because too many people are constantly bumping, pinging, and even emailing my personal and work emails about the status of call recording when it's actually a very bad implementation that has too much code and is incredibly difficult to maintain long term and I have serious concerns with database upgrading/downgrading with backups.

[deleted]

If you want call recording so badly, then I suggest you start investing your own time and effort and research and development and maybe even paying someone to make a far better implementation that can be submitted to either upstream AOSP or to us and is willing to make any changes that we request.

We're not contract workers, we're not accepting bounties, we're not doing something just because you keep on pinging us about it.