Sweden-based leading caller ID and spam blocking app, Truecaller will not offer its call recording feature from May 11, 2022.
The development comes soon after Google announced that it has updated its Play Store policy restricting the access of third-party applications to the Accessibility API from May 11.
According to the statement, “The first party dialler apps and the Google Dialer pre-installed on phones will still allow users to record phone calls in specific regions.”
Google has brought this change to provide more privacy to Android users and to comply with call recording laws globally.
“Call Recording on Truecaller was free for everyone, permission-based, and required users to enable the feature using the Google Accessibility API,” Truecaller said in a statement adding that the company introduced the call recording feature for all Android smartphones after receiving an overwhelming consumer demand.
“However, as per the updated Google Developer Program policies, we are unable to offer call recording any longer,” the Sweden company added.
Google said in a statement that, “The Accessibility API is not designed and cannot be requested for remote call audio recording.” The users who are using a smartphone that runs on Android 10 or newer versions of Google’s operating system will no longer be able to record apps using third-party apps.
The Accessibility API is also utilized by apps designed to help users with accessibility issues on Android. The policy change will not affect Android handsets that have call recording built-in natively.
“Furthermore, the smartphones which ship with the Google Dialer pre-installed will still be able to record phone calls, however, it will depend on the region and manufacturer,” as per the statement.
