Google will remove all applications for recording phone calls that use the Accessibility API
Apps that used the API to access audio recording during a phone call will soon disappear from the Play Store. From May 11, Google will change its store policy to remove the workaround in the form of access to the Accessibility API.
XDA notes that Google is struggling with call recording and has already removed the official API from Android 6.
“Only services designed to help people with disabilities can use this API” – Google Representative Dan Jackson
This does not mean that recording calls is prohibited on Android smartphones. Google’s proprietary phone program allows you to record by default. Samsung’s devices also have call recording features because they do not use a similar API. To protect privacy, such programs should alert the other party to the recording, as required by law in some countries.
Now, Google can force you to embed the necessary tool for recording calls on Android. But this is unlikely to prevent potentially malicious software from recording calls without the user’s knowledge. The API is still running, and it is unlikely that hackers are following Play Store rules. And perfectly legal recording programs can be removed from the store in May.
