# This call may be recordered... Can I legally record them then? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256 "2012-10-19T18:36:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diovanti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@diovanti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diovanti)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/1 "2012-10-19T18:36:32Z")
If I’m on the telephone with a company and they play a message that says “This called may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance purposes”, can I legally record the conservation I have with them without informing them? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/2 "2012-10-19T18:37:35Z")
Depends on the state where you live, honestly. ---
**Author:** ![Hairy\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hairy\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hairy_Bob)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/3 "2012-10-19T21:36:53Z")
IANAL, but it seems to me that the wording is such that it could be argued, they are in fact giving you permission. Does “This call may be recorded” = “You may record this call”? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/4 "2012-10-19T21:47:10Z")
If they are allowed to record by simply announcing they’re doing it and not actually asking for permission, why can’t I record by simply repeating the same phrase back at them. It’s not my fault they only have a machine on the line at the time. They don’t know I’m listening either if I don’t respond. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/5 "2012-10-19T21:55:47Z")
Seems to me the moment after the voice says, “This called may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance purposes,” you should say from your script, “Yes, thank you. I am also recording this call for accuracy, honesty, legal and quality assurance purposes.” 😃 That way you’re covered. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/6 "2012-10-19T21:58:00Z")
> [@Hairy\_Bob](#): > > IANAL, but it seems to me that the wording is such that it could be argued, they are in fact giving you permission. Does “This call may be recorded” = “You may record this call”? Yes, it could be argued in court by a lawyer whom you are paying $400 an hour. Maybe you’ll convince the judge, maybe you won’t. In either case you have to pay your lawyer. Is it worth it? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/7 "2012-10-19T22:55:53Z")
I am not a lawyer, but I do work in a call center. There are many states where it’s legal to record a conversation without informing the party on the other end. But in some states (including mine–IL), it is patently \*illegal \*to do that. And in the age of geographically-separated call centers, you cannot be sure whether the person you’re talking to is located in Connecticut or California. So why not announce it, just in case? I can promise you that, if you’re recording your end of the call, the employee on the other end is not going to be offended when you announce that. All you have to say, in a professional (not snotty) voice, is, “Hi!My name is \_\_\_\_\_, I’m calling on a recorded line. I’m calling you because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” I field dozens of calls like this every day, it’s no big deal. As far as consent goes, staying on the line and conversing on a line you know is recorded, without stating that you don’t want to be recorded, means you consent. If you don’t consent to be recorded, you have 2 options: 1. Hang up. 2. Tell the rep you want to speak on an unrecorded line. We are required to accommodate that request. We will get someone to call you back on an unrecorded line within 5-10 minutes to discuss your problem. I don’t know if this is a legal requirement, and it’s not something I’ve ever personally encountered. But it’s possible, and I imagine most places would give you this option if you asked. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/8 "2012-10-20T07:41:08Z")
What if I either receive or place a call, and the “party” on the other end is an automated robotic speaking machine? (And supposing it’s obviously so.) Does that machine count as a “party” to the “coversation”? I would like to believe that an automated robotic voice machine is not a “party” having any legal rights. (ETA: In particular, a machine has no right of privacy.) If I am having a “conversation” with one such, I would like to argue that I am the _only_ real party to that “conversation”, and that I can therefore unilaterally choose to record the proceedings. Separately from that, I think that if the other “party” – whether live or automated – says “This call may be recorded [for whatever purpose]”, then that, taken literally, says “This call may be recorded [by whichever party wishes to do so].” What could be clearer than that? ETA: Didn’t we have this same discussion in another thread just a few days ago? ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/9 "2012-10-20T20:24:03Z")
After automated, machine passes to human… Caller: “Hello, the previous message said this call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes.” Call center person"Yes, it is." Caller, “Good, I just wanted to be sure you also know it is being recorded. Do I have to tell everyone else who comes on the line, or do all the people there know the call is being recorded?” CCP: “…?” Notice you did tell them the call was being recorded, just not the detail that it was you also doing it. If they think you’re a weird person who repeats back their auto-answer message, that’s their problem. Is it illegal to record a phone announcement, or just a conversation with a live human? A tape recording has no expectation of privacy. ---
**Author:** ![al27052](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@al27052](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/al27052)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/10 "2012-10-22T12:44:32Z")
> [@diovanti](#): > > If I’m on the telephone with a company and they play a message that says “This called may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance purposes”, can I legally record the conservation I have with them without informing them? Is this just idle curiosity, or what? Are you having a problem with a specific company? ---
**Author:** ![diovanti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@diovanti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diovanti)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/11 "2012-10-22T14:02:15Z")
> [@al27052](#): > > Is this just idle curiosity, or what? Are you having a problem with a specific company? Sometimes during a conservation a representative may promise something, like a discount or refund for a service. Later on however this is not delivered and the company may “conveniently” not have any record of said promise. Now I do. I understand that what they may have “promised” might not be legally binding, but I’d like to have something that I can leverage against them. I’m not trying to actively screw anyone. It’s just sometimes shadier companies will promise A,B, & C just to get the customer off the phone, while not planning to honor those things. ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/12 "2012-10-22T15:05:50Z")
> [@diovanti](#): > > Sometimes during a conservation a representative may promise something, like a discount or refund for a service. Later on however this is not delivered and the company may “conveniently” not have any record of said promise. Now I do. I understand that what they may have “promised” might not be legally binding, but I’d like to have something that I can leverage against them. > > I’m not trying to actively screw anyone. It’s just sometimes shadier companies will promise A,B, & C just to get the customer off the phone, while not planning to honor those things. Completely agree. I wish I had done this when my cable company promised a promotional rate for two years but jacked me up to an outrageous rate after one. > [@Rachellelogram](#): > > I am not a lawyer, but I do work in a call center. There are many states where it’s legal to record a conversation without informing the party on the other end. But in some states (including mine–IL), it is patently \*illegal \*to do that. And in the age of geographically-separated call centers, you cannot be sure whether the person you’re talking to is located in Connecticut or California. So why not announce it, just in case? I can promise you that, if you’re recording your end of the call, the employee on the other end is not going to be offended when you announce that. All you have to say, in a professional (not snotty) voice, is, “Hi!My name is \_\_\_\_\_, I’m calling on a recorded line. I’m calling you because \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” I field dozens of calls like this every day, it’s no big deal. > > As far as consent goes, staying on the line and conversing on a line you know is recorded, without stating that you don’t want to be recorded, means you consent. If you don’t consent to be recorded, you have 2 options: > > 1. Hang up. > 2. Tell the rep you want to speak on an unrecorded line. > > We are required to accommodate that request. We will get someone to call you back on an unrecorded line within 5-10 minutes to discuss your problem. I don’t know if this is a legal requirement, and it’s not something I’ve ever personally encountered. But it’s possible, and I imagine most places would give you this option if you asked. I did talk to one bill collector, who told several lies on a previous call, that I would only speak to him if the conversation was recorded. He refused, I have a hilarious five minute conversation about why he would not a allow the conversation to be recorded if he was not lying. :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/13 "2012-10-22T15:34:22Z")
Bank of America callers have advised me that they were recording the call, and then hung up when I told them I was also recording it. ---
**Author:** ![diovanti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@diovanti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diovanti)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/14 "2012-10-22T17:30:26Z")
> [@Mr.Slant](#): > > Bank of America callers have advised me that they were recording the call, and then hung up when I told them I was also recording it. This why I’d like to be able to record them, WITHOUT telling them 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/15 "2012-10-22T18:27:22Z")
I wonder if telling them “All future calls will be recorded” would cover it… ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/16 "2012-10-22T19:11:22Z")
I am pretty sure that you are legally allowed to record whatever you do, as you please. Now, what you do with the recording, is another matter altogether. I would guess, with no reason for my guess other than common sense, that you’d likely need permission to publicize such a recording, depending on the purpose of your publication. Making a profit from the recording, immediately springs to mind as something that might be a no-no. [Single party consent](http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems pretty fair to me. > [@](#): > > Federal law permits recording telephone calls and in-person conversations with the consent of at least one of the parties. See 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d). This is called a “one-party consent” law. Under a one-party consent law, you can record a phone call or conversation so long as you are a party to the conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/17 "2012-10-22T20:20:18Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > I am pretty sure that you are legally allowed to record whatever you do, as you please. > > Now, what you do with the recording, is another matter altogether. I would guess, with no reason for my guess other than common sense, that you’d likely need permission to publicize > such a recording, depending on the purpose of your publication. Making a profit from the recording, immediately springs to mind as something that might be a no-no. > > [Single party consent](http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/recording-phone-calls-and-conversations) seems pretty fair to me. From your link: > [@](#): > > **Twelve states require the consent of every party to a phone** call or conversation in order to make the recording lawful. These “two-party consent” laws have been adopted in **California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington (Hawai’i is also in general a one-party state, but requires two-party consent if the recording device is installed in a private place).** Although they are referred to as “two-party consent” laws, consent must be obtained from every party to a phone call or conversation if it involves more than two people. In some of these states, it might be enough if all parties to the call or conversation know that you are recording and proceed with the communication anyway, even if they do not voice explicit consent. See the [State Law: Recording](http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/state-law-recording) section of this legal guide for information on specific states’ wiretapping laws. 9Bolding mine.) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/18 "2012-10-22T20:23:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Although they are referred to as “two-party consent” laws, consent must be obtained from every party to a phone call or conversation\*\* if it involves more than two people\*\*. Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/19 "2012-10-22T20:37:15Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > From your link: > Although they are referred to as “two-party consent” laws, consent must be obtained from every party to a phone call or conversation if it involves more than two people. If the FBI is wiretapping me, do I need their consent as well? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256/20 "2012-10-22T20:53:37Z")
As noted above, in some states it is required that all parties to a call know they are being recorded. (This is why **Dr\_Doom** ’s cite is inapposite – the fact that something is legal under federal law doesn’t mean that a state can prohibit it on their own hook, and several have.) You might theoretically be OK making your own recording of a call in a two-party state if the other party is also making a recording; I don’t know if that would fly or not. HOWEVER, it’s well within the realm of possibility (and in fact, I used to work at a call center that did this) that the company says the call may be recorded, but does not actually do so. If the employees you talk to know that their company does not actually record calls, then they are not on any notice that the call is being recorded unless you tell them. As such, it would not be safe to rely on the other party’s statement that the call is being recorded to give you permission for your own recording. They might be telling a fib. –Cliffy [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-call-may-be-recordered-can-i-legally-record-them-then/638256.md?page=2)