Short answer: You don't need a recorder, a cable, or a pricey app to record and transcribe a phone interview. Put the call on speaker and record it with a second device, use your phone's built-in call recording where available, or — for calls that happen in a browser — record the tab directly with meaty, which returns a speaker-labeled, timestamped transcript the moment you hang up.
Most guides to this question were written years ago and describe a two-step slog: record with one tool, then upload the file somewhere else to transcribe it. The tools have moved on. This guide covers every method that actually works in 2026 — honestly, including the ones that aren't ours — plus the consent rules you need to get right before you dial.
First: tell your source you're recording
Competing guides bury this at the bottom. It belongs at the top, because it changes which methods you can even use.
In the US, recording laws come in two flavors:
- One-party consent — federal law and most states. The recording is legal if one participant (you) consents.
- All-party consent — around a dozen states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Everyone on the call must agree. If you're in a one-party state calling a source in an all-party state, the safe assumption is that the stricter rule applies.
The definitive state-by-state resource is the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press recording guide — bookmark it. Outside the US, rules differ again (several countries block call-recording features entirely, as you'll see below).
Beyond the law, there's the craft. Telling a source "I'd like to record this so I can quote you accurately — is that okay?" is standard professional practice. It takes five seconds, it protects you, and sources almost always say yes because accurate quotes are in their interest too. Ask on tape, so the consent is part of the recording.
This isn't legal advice — when in doubt, check the RCFP guide or ask a lawyer.
Which recording method should you use?
Here's the honest comparison. Every method below works without buying hardware; they differ in cost, friction, and what you end up holding when the call ends.
| Method | Best for | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speakerphone + second device | Any phone call, any phone | Free | Audio file only |
| Call-recording app (TapeACall etc.) | Frequent cellular calls | Subscription | Audio; transcription costs extra |
| iOS built-in call recording | iPhone calls (where available) | Free | Audio + basic transcript in Notes |
| Browser tab recording (meaty extension) | Zoom/Meet/Teams web, Google Voice | Free to start | Speaker-labeled transcript + summary |
| Speakerphone + phone-browser recorder (meaty) | Any call, or in-person interviews | Free to start | Speaker-labeled transcript + summary |
Now each method in detail, with the gotchas the resource pages skip.
The classic: speakerphone plus a second device
The method journalists have used forever, and it still works on literally any phone: put the call on speakerphone, and record the room with a second device — a laptop, a tablet, an old phone running Voice Memos.
How to do it well:
- Take the call somewhere quiet; speakerphone picks up every keyboard clack and espresso machine.
- Place the recording device between you and your phone's speaker, not next to your mouth.
- Turn the call volume up so both voices land at similar levels.
- Do a ten-second test call first if the interview matters.
The drawback isn't the recording — it's what you're holding afterward: a raw audio file, with the transcription still ahead of you. That's the two-step workflow most older guides stop at.
The one-step upgrade: make the second device do the transcription. Open meaty in the second device's browser — it records from any phone or laptop browser, no app-store install — and hit record. When you hang up, you get the transcript with speaker labels, a summary, and timestamps, instead of an MP3 you still have to deal with. Same speakerphone setup, but the work is done when the call is. (This also makes it the method for in-person interviews — more in our guide to recording a meeting on your phone.)
Call-recording apps: what TapeACall actually costs
Dedicated apps like TapeACall exist because iOS historically gave apps no access to call audio. Their workaround is a three-way call: the app dials the company's recording line, you merge it into your call, and their server records the conference. That's clever, but it comes with real caveats — as of August 2026:
- It's a subscription. TapeACall is sold through recurring in-app purchases — App Store listings show monthly tiers around $7.99 and annual plans running roughly $49.99–$129.99, with transcription sold as a separate add-on ($5.99–$7.99). Pricing changes; check their site.
- It needs carrier support for three-way calling. Some carriers and plans no longer support conference calling, and the app simply doesn't work on them.
- Your call routes through a third-party server. For sensitive source conversations, think about where that audio lives.
- The merge dance is easy to fumble mid-call, exactly when you're trying to focus on your questions.
If you record many cellular calls on an older iPhone and don't mind the subscription, these apps still do the job. For most people, the built-in option below has made them unnecessary.
iPhone's built-in call recording (iOS 18.1 and later)
Apple finally shipped native call recording with iOS 18.1 in October 2024. On a current iPhone, you start a call, tap More → Call Recording, and the recording lands in a "Call Recordings" folder in the Notes app, with a transcript on supported models.
Two things to know before you rely on it (as of August 2026, per current iOS guides):
- It announces itself. When you start recording, the phone plays "This call will be recorded" to both parties, and the announcement can't be turned off. For a journalist this is arguably a feature — consent is baked in and on tape — but it means no discreet recording, ever. Tell your source before you tap, so the robot voice isn't how they find out.
- It's not available everywhere. The feature is disabled in the EU and a long list of other countries due to consent laws. If your phone is set up in one of those regions, the button simply isn't there.
On Android, it's messier: Google restricted the APIs third-party recorder apps relied on, and native call recording exists only on some manufacturers in some regions. If the option is in your Phone app, it typically plays a similar announcement.
If you have the feature and just need audio plus a rough transcript, this is the best free option for cellular calls. What it won't give you: speaker labels you can trust for attribution, a summary, or timestamps designed for fact-checking.
Recording VoIP and browser calls in one step
Here's the shift the older guides miss: a growing share of "phone interviews" aren't phone calls anymore. They're Zoom, Meet, or Teams calls — or Google Voice calls — and all of those run in a browser tab. That changes everything, because tab audio can be recorded directly, cleanly, with both sides captured at full quality. No speakerphone, no second device, no merge dance.
With the meaty Chrome extension, you open the side panel, pick the tab running your call, and record. No bot joins the meeting — nothing announces itself to the other person's screen, which is why you ask for consent yourself, like a professional. When the call ends you get the transcript with speaker labels (you and your source, separated), a summary, and action items.
A note on Google Voice specifically: it has a built-in record feature, but it's limited — it only works on incoming calls, you press 4 to toggle it, and it plays an announcement to everyone on the call when it starts and stops. Since Google Voice runs happily in a browser tab, recording the tab covers outgoing calls too and skips the limitations.
For journalists doing most interviews over video calls, this is the closest thing to zero-friction — one step from "call ended" to "quotable transcript." More on the full toolkit in our guide to transcription for journalists.
From recording to transcript: what makes quotes usable
Recording is the easy half. The transcript is where interviews are won or lost, and two features separate a usable transcript from a wall of text:
- Speaker diarization. A transcript that doesn't separate your questions from your source's answers is a liability when you're attributing a quote on deadline. You want each line labeled, so "we knew about it in March" is unambiguously theirs, not your paraphrase.
- Timestamps. When an editor or fact-checker asks "did they really say that?", you jump to the exact second of audio instead of scrubbing through 40 minutes of tape. Timestamps turn verification from an hour into a moment.
This is why the two-step workflow (record here, upload there) persists: basic recorders don't do either. meaty does both automatically — every recording comes back with speaker labels, timestamps, a summary, and action items, and your audio is hosted in the EU. The free tier includes 120 minutes per month, and paid plans start at €4/month, which undercuts the call-recording apps above before you even add their transcription fees. For a deeper look at the transcription side, see how free AI transcription captures interviews.
Frequently asked questions
How do I record a phone interview on my iPhone without an app?
If your iPhone runs iOS 18.1 or later and you're in a supported region, use the built-in recorder: during the call, tap More, then Call Recording. It plays "This call will be recorded" to both parties and saves the audio to the Notes app. If the feature isn't available where you are, put the call on speaker and record with a second device or a browser recorder like meaty.
Is it legal to record a phone interview?
In the US it depends on the states involved: most follow one-party consent (your consent is enough), but around a dozen — including California, Florida, and Washington — require everyone's consent. When states differ, assume the stricter rule. The reliable habit is to ask your source on tape before recording. See the Reporters Committee recording guide for state-by-state detail; this isn't legal advice.
How do I record both sides of a phone interview?
Three ways: put the call on speakerphone so a second device hears both voices; use a built-in or app-based call recorder that captures the line itself; or, if the call runs in a browser (Zoom, Meet, Teams, Google Voice), record the tab's audio directly with a Chrome extension like meaty's. Tab recording captures both sides at full quality and labels each speaker in the transcript.
What is the cheapest way to record and transcribe a phone interview?
Free, if you combine the right pieces: speakerphone plus meaty running in a second device's browser costs nothing for up to 120 minutes a month and returns a speaker-labeled, timestamped transcript automatically. Call-recording apps typically charge a subscription for the audio and then more for transcription as an add-on, so the two-step app route usually ends up the expensive one.
The bottom line
Every method above gets a phone interview on tape without extra hardware — the difference is what you're holding when you hang up. The speakerphone classic and iOS's built-in recorder leave you with audio and hours of transcription still ahead. The one-step routes — a browser tab recorded with the meaty extension, or a speakerphone call captured by meaty in any phone browser — end with the thing you actually need: a speaker-labeled, timestamped transcript, plus the summary, before your notes have gone cold.
Whichever method you choose, ask your source first. It's the law in a dozen states and good practice in all of them.
Try meaty free — record your next phone interview from a browser tab or speakerphone, and have the quotable transcript the moment you hang up.
