Start recording when a call starts

Call Detection records a call when an app starts using your microphone. It is off by default. Recordstead remembers whether you leave it on or off when you quit.

Notify participants

An automatic recording can start without another click. Recordstead does not tell the other participants. Tell them yourself and get any required consent.

Turn it on

1. Choose Recording ▸ Start Call Detection (⌘S) from the menu bar.
2. On the first use, read the acknowledgement, check I accept responsibility for notice and consent for every automatically started recording., then click Turn On.

Your result: eligible calls record automatically until you choose Stop Call Detection. If you quit while it is on, it resumes when you reopen Recordstead.

What counts as a call

Any app using the microphone can trigger detection, including a voice message in a chat app. There is no approved-app list. To exclude one app, ignore it. While Live Transcript Only runs, no call is recorded, and the app it follows stays unrecorded until its call ends.

When recording starts and stops

Recording begins shortly after the app takes the microphone and stops after it has been idle for a while. In Settings → Call Detection, Stop recording after controls that idle time; the default is 15 seconds.

Keep it off

Choose Recording ▸ Stop Call Detection. It stays off after you quit and reopen Recordstead.

When a recording starts by itself

A notification tells you which app began the automatic recording. A recording you started manually does not send that notification.

A connected Google Calendar does not trigger recording. It can choose the workspace for a detected call; see calendar workspaces.