All journalists will need to record a phone call at some point during their careers. Some journalists, especially those in radio, may need to record interviews on a daily basis. The reason so many reporters have been frustrated with their iPhones is because there isn’t a clear-cut way to record calls. People have had to develop work-arounds, and some can be costly. Many apps charge per month, or per minute, which can cost a bundle when interviews last upwards of 30 minutes. That’s why TapeACall Pro is such a great option. Journalists can pay a one-time fee (about $10) and start recording phone calls almost instantly. It’s also available on Android. [1]
Price
$9.99 for iPhone
$9.99 for Android
You’ll be using the app to start a conference call between you, your interviewee, and a remote recording device.
Open TapeACall Pro and click on the record button (the red dot). This will access your phone and automatically call a number in your country, so the call should be free (but could use your phone plan minutes). Once enabled, tap “add call.†You’ll be able to access your contacts, favorites, recent calls, and keypad. Dial your interviewee’s phone number. Once enabled (this could take up to 30 seconds), tap “merge calls.†To ensure the calls merged, take a look at the top of the screen. It will soon say “conference.†If you were already on the phone with your interviewee (and you don’t want to hang up and redial them), you can put them on hold, open the app and merge calls.
Once the interview is over, end the call. To retrieve the recording, open the TapeACall app and press play (the triangular image below the record button). You’ll see a list of recordings. Tap on the recording you want and it will download.
You can play the recording on your phone or forward it to email, Evernote , dropbox, twitter, or get a link to the recording online.
Is This Illegal?
We’re not attorneys here at JournalistApps, so we cannot give legal advice. Every US State has it’s own set of laws governing phone recordings. Phone recording laws in foreign countries vary as well. Journalists should get familiar with those laws and their own organization’s rules regarding taping calls. It is common courtesy (and a darn good idea) to get permission from your interviewee to use the recording for broadcast, (don’t forget to record their permission and save it, just in case). TapeACall has a category called “Phone Recording Laws†which will take a user to a wikipedia page.
This app works in several countries including the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, and many, many others. The reason it works in some and not others has to do with access numbers. The app tries to provide a local number in each country which means most of the time you’ll be able to call this number for free.
You’ll also have to make sure your phone number matches the one you used to activate the app. If your number is different, or if you block caller ID, you’ll get an error.
How Much Can I Record?
TapeACall insists it doesn’t limit how many recordings you make. Nor does it limit the length of the recording. If your interview lasts five hours long, you’ll have a five-hour recording. It’ll just take extra time to download it.
Tips
- Make sure you “merge calls†before the interview begins. If you forget this step, you won’t have a recording (even if you opened the app and pressed record).
- If you don’t see your recording in the list, pull down on the menu to refresh it. If you’ve recorded a very long interview, this could take a few minutes.
- The Lite version of the app is free, but you’ll only be able to hear the first minute of your recording.
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