Guides / Recording calls and meetings

How to record a phone call on a Mac

Updated 2026-09-03.

You can record a phone call on a Mac when it is an iPhone cellular call relayed to the Mac: on macOS Tahoe the Phone app has a Call Recording button that plays an audio notice to both parties and saves the recording and transcript to Notes. WhatsApp, Signal and other app calls have no record button on the Mac; a system audio recorder such as AirCheck captures the far side, and your own voice needs a separate microphone take.

Can you record a phone call on a Mac?

Yes, if the call reaches the Mac through your iPhone. Apple's Continuity feature routes cellular calls to a Mac that is signed in with the same Apple Account and on the same Wi-Fi network as the iPhone. Apple's support page 121583 says you can record a phone call or FaceTime audio call "on your iPhone starting in iOS 18, or in the Phone app starting in iPadOS 26 or macOS Tahoe." On the Mac, the Phone app guide describes it in one step: during a call, click the More button, then click Call Recording. "Both call participants hear an audio notice that the call is being recorded," and "Call recordings are automatically saved to a Call Recordings folder in the Notes app." Apple also asks you to check the macOS Feature Availability page, because call recording depends on language and region, and to "Make sure the other call participant is willing to be recorded." Nothing here needs third-party software. What it does not cover is any call that never touches the iPhone's cellular line: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Skype-style VoIP calls made in a Mac app. Those are handled below.

How do you record a phone call on a Mac step by step?

1. On the iPhone, open Settings > Apps > Phone > Calls on Other Devices and turn on Allow Calls on Other Devices, then select the Mac.
2. On the Mac, confirm it is signed in with the same Apple Account and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the iPhone. On macOS before Tahoe, turn on Calls from iPhone under FaceTime > Settings > General; on macOS Tahoe 26 the Phone app handles this.
3. Take or place the call on the Mac.
4. Click the More button in the call window, then Call Recording. Wait for the notice; the other party hears it too.
5. Click Stop, or hang up. Open Notes > Call Recordings for the audio and the transcript, or click View Saved Call.

The result is a single file with both sides, because Apple records inside the call path. That is the one thing every other method on this page cannot do in one take.

How do you record a WhatsApp call on a Mac?

WhatsApp for Mac has no record button, and neither do Signal or Telegram. The call audio still plays through Core Audio, so a system audio recorder gets the other person cleanly. With AirCheck on macOS 14 or newer:

1. Choose System Audio as the source and approve the Screen & System Audio Recording permission once.
2. Press Record before you answer, so the first words are in the file.
3. Stop after the call and export WAV or MP3; the file appears in ~/Music/AirCheck.

A 20-minute call is about 48 MB as MP3 320 kbps or 330 MB as 24-bit WAV (2.4 and 16.5 MB per minute, measured). For a WhatsApp video call where you want the picture, Shift-Command-5 records the window as a .mov with your microphone; Apple's options list has no system audio entry, so the other person is heard only through your speakers. The clean way to get both video and both voices is OBS, which captures desktop audio on macOS 13 and newer; see how to capture desktop audio in OBS on a Mac.

What does each method capture: the other person, you, or both?

This is where most phone-call recordings go wrong. A Mac has two separate audio paths. The output path carries what the Mac plays: the other person's voice. The input path carries the microphone: your voice. ScreenCaptureKit system audio capture reads the output path only, so a system audio take has the far side and not you. A microphone take has you and, through speaker bleed, a faint copy of them. Apple's Phone app recorder sits inside the call, so it has both. The consequences:

• Relayed iPhone call on macOS Tahoe: use Call Recording, one file, both sides, notice played.
• VoIP app call, you mostly listen: system audio take is enough.
• VoIP app call, both voices matter: run a system audio take and a microphone take at the same time and align them, or use Audio Hijack ($69) to mix mic and app live. The setups are compared in how to record both sides of a call on a Mac.

Why can't I record the call on my Mac?

• Calls do not ring on the Mac at all. The iPhone and Mac are on different Wi-Fi networks or different Apple Accounts, or Calls on Other Devices is off. Fix those three first.
• No Call Recording entry in the More menu. Apple ties the feature to the Phone app on macOS Tahoe and to FaceTime audio calls with one other person; it is also unavailable in some languages and regions. Fall back to system audio capture.
• System audio take is silent. The Screen & System Audio Recording permission was not granted, or the call audio is going to a device whose stream stalled. AirCheck checks every 2 s and restarts capture into the same file after 5 s without buffers, showing "Audio input stalled, reconnecting".
• Your voice is missing. Expected with any system audio recorder; see the section above.
• The other party did not know. Only Apple's recorder plays a notice. Everything else is silent, so tell them. The consent rules by country are in is it legal to record a call on a Mac.

Both call participants hear an audio notice that the call is being recorded.

Apple, Phone App User Guide for Mac

Ways to record a phone call on a Mac and what each one captures

Apple's recorders capture both sides because they run inside the call; local tools see only one audio path each.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck is the tool for calls that Apple's recorder cannot touch: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram or any VoIP app on the Mac, or a relayed call on a Mac older than Tahoe. It captures the other person's voice through ScreenCaptureKit on macOS 14 or newer, with no virtual driver, at 24-bit, and exports WAV or MP3 into ~/Music/AirCheck. $39 once, 14-day refund. Long calls are fine; the longest real take in the author's library is 2 h 5 min.

When you do not need it: For an iPhone call relayed to a Mac running macOS Tahoe, the Phone app's Call Recording captures both sides in one file, adds a transcript and notifies the other party; AirCheck captures the far side only. And if your own voice must be in the file, a system audio recorder alone is the wrong tool.

Questions people ask

Can I record a phone call on my MacBook Pro?

Yes, when the call is your iPhone's cellular call relayed to the MacBook and the Mac runs macOS Tahoe: click More, then Call Recording in the Phone app. Both parties hear a notice and the file goes to Notes. Other app calls need a system audio recorder.

Can I record a WhatsApp call on a Mac?

WhatsApp has no record button on the Mac. A system audio recorder captures the other person's voice; your own voice needs a separate microphone take or a mixing tool such as Audio Hijack. For a video call with picture, use OBS.

Does the other person know when I record a call on my Mac?

With Apple's Phone app or FaceTime Call Recording, yes: Apple plays an audio notice to both participants. With a screen recording or a system audio recorder, no notice plays, so you should tell them before you start.

Where is the call recording saved on a Mac?

Apple's Phone app saves call recordings and transcripts in the Notes app, in a folder named Call Recordings. AirCheck saves to ~/Music/AirCheck with the date and time in the file name. Screenshot toolbar recordings go to the folder chosen under Save to.

Sources

• Apple: While on a call in the Phone app on Mac
• Apple: How to record and transcribe a call on iPhone
• Apple: Make and receive phone calls on Mac, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro
• Apple: Use FaceTime audio call features on Mac

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• How to record a FaceTime call on a Mac
• How to record both sides of a call on a Mac
• Is it legal to record a call on a Mac?
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