Posted By Paul Kafasis on February 26th, 2015

Many users of the new Audio Hijack 3 have asked about recording phone calls from their iPhone. If you’re using Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and iOS 8.1, it’s easy to record these calls with Audio Hijack.

Thanks to a new feature called Phone Relay¹, you can use your Mac as the receiver for making and receiving phone calls. That can be handy on its own, but adding Audio Hijack makes it even better. By setting FaceTime as the source in Audio Hijack, you can record those calls for later reference!² Have a look:

Audio Hijack recording a Phone Relay call via FaceTime

In-Depth Explanation

If you set up your pipeline as above, you’ll be in great shape. Some explanation of just what the pipeline is doing may be helpful though.

This setup began with the “Voice Chat” template, found in Audio Hijack’s Template Chooser (just select “New Session” to get it). We set the Application Block’s source to FaceTime, as that’s the source through which Phone Relay routes audio. The audio then flows through VU meters before branching off. At the top, the audio is simply recorded to MP3 (you can of course change the recording format and other settings).

The bottom portion of the chain is the audio you’ll hear through your headphones, and Audio Hijack makes some adjustments to optimize this. The Channels block duplicates the right channel, which contains the remote audio, so you’ll hear the other party and not your own voice.

Make It Go

Once you’ve got your Session setup, just hit the Record button in the lower left, then make your call in FaceTime, or just pass it over from the iPhone. You’ll see it recorded, just as desired!

Many people have asked about recording iPhone calls, so we’re certainly glad to show how it’s done. If you don’t have Audio Hijack yet, just download the latest from our site and get recording!

Footnotes:

1. 9to5Mac has a great overview of Phone Relay. ↩

2. People are sometimes unclear on the legality of call recording, but in most places it is entirely legal. In the United States, you’re always allowed to record your own calls, though you may also be required to inform the other parties on the line that you’re recording, and obtain their consent. You’ll want to research the laws in your area and consult a lawyer if necessary. ↩

Update (May 29th, 2015): This post was updated to show a simplified setup, thanks to updates in Audio Hijack 3.1 (and up)!