Recording phone calls: How to do it, what are the benefits and is it legal?

Recording a phone call is a breath of fresh air. It is so incredibly handy! Did you momentarily forget whether you had agreed to meet on 14 or 15 June? Was it 10:00 or 11:00? Just grab your call recording and you immediately know what you agreed on.

So call recording is definitely an advantage. However, there are some snags: what about the GDPR legislation? You know, the one that has also been bombarding you with cookie notifications since 25 May 2018. 

It's all about privacy. 

Because while those cookie notifications may be out of our noses by now, they are very important to us as consumers. It gives you more control over what information you do or do not share and offers you more protection.

So what do you need to comply with according to the GDPR legislation? And how do you actually record conversations? We'll walk you through it! ↓

Last updated: 16 February 2023

How do you record phone calls?

To get right to the point: you cannot simply listen back to phone calls or record a phone call without an additional app. Android phones and iPhones simply do not support this.

There is a very good reason for this: there are in fact legal implications to phone call recording and Android and iPhone probably do not want to be associated with this in any way.

Also, you cannot "turn on" call recording through your mobile provider (think Vodafone or TELE2). Nor do they currently offer this.

So, how do you do it?

With the call recording function within My Rinkel! With a Expert subscription, you have the option to turn this feature on. Your calls are stored for 60 days so you can listen to them back in the app.

Want to keep your recorded calls even after 60 days? Then you can download them from the My Rinkel environment.

The benefits of recording a phone call

"Welcome to the customer service department of Company XYZ. This call may be recorded for training purposes. Please stay on the line. A member of staff will speak to you soon."

How many times have we heard phrases like this by now? Large companies often make eager use of it to improve their services as they go along.

Recording telephone calls used to be reserved for the big boys. This was because such calls were stored locally, which made it very expensive and costly. Especially if they were long conversations!

Nowadays, recordings are stored in the Cloud. With this, this important feature is now affordable and accessible to small businesses as well.

But, apart from for training purposes: what other advantages are there in recording a phone call?

• Need a third opinion? Then just have your colleague listen back to the call recording. Saves you both time and effort.
• Telephone agreements are also binding. When you record conversations, you have proof that you (or a client) did or did not enter into this agreement.
• An extra reminder after an important conversation: you no longer have to rely on your notes alone.
• Had an interview? Turn your recording up loud and let Word or Google Docs dictate your interview. Saves a whole lot of time in editing!
   

Is recording phone calls legal?

The laws around recording phone calls differ for consumers and businesses. For instance, a consumer does not have to indicate in advance that a conversation is being recorded. As a business, however, you must.

In addition, as a recording party, you must also participate in the conversation yourself. If you do not, it will be seen as wiretapping. This is illegal for 'ordinary citizens'.

Want to know more about the legal implications of recording phone calls? Then read the opinion of the Personal Data Authority or contact a lawyer. Rinkel is a telecoms organisation and cannot (and should not) give advice on the legal implications.

When you turn on the call recording function within My Rinkel, you agree that you are responsible for complying with legal requirements. This sounds scary, but in fact it is nothing more than participating in the conversation and informing you in advance that you are recording the conversation.

TIP: Record a voicemail or order a professional voice-over announcing this!

Setting up call recording within My Rinkel

Your My Rinkel environment is completely set up for your use. That means you can control everything yourself in the platform. Also your call recording!

Your recorded calls are kept in My Rinkel for 60 days. After this period, they are deleted from our servers and are therefore really gone. Fortunately, you can easily download them before then! 

Recording a phone call is available for Expert users and for all types of phone numbers. So: whether you have a 085 number, 088 number or a regional number, you too can record calls.

Read how to set up call recording within My Rinkel in our FAQ.

Please note that as long as you do not have call recording enabled, phone calls will not be recorded. This, in the context of the GDPR legislation. So do you want to keep a telephone conversation as evidence, or reflect on it after a discussion? Then this is only possible if you have turned on call recording beforehand.