Google's Pixel Call Notes Feature May Get Subtle Chime Option, Replacing Voice Disclaimer

Google could make it less obvious to the caller that you're using Call Notes (APK teardown)

Chimes would be far more subtle than a full-blown audio disclaimer to callers. Google's Phone app for Pixel phones gained a helpful Call Notes feature last year, which records, transcribes, and summarizes specific calls for your convenience. It now looks like the company could bring a subtle but welcome option to Call Notes as well. We conducted a teardown of the Phone by Google app (version 178.0.765584175-publicbeta-pixel2024) and found a Play audio tone instead of disclaimer toggle in the Call Notes menu. Check out the screenshot below. When you currently use the Call Notes feature in the Google Phone app, it plays an audio disclaimer warning both parties that the call is being recorded. So this toggle would change that disclaimer to a short beep. The updated app also contains two audio files, which might be the starting and ending beeps. You can listen to the respective beeps below. In any event, playing a tone for Call Notes would be a welcome time-saver over using the full disclaimer. This would be particularly useful if you frequently transcribe and summarize phone calls. However, the chime could also be less than ideal as it doesn't outright say that the call is being recorded. This news also follows our recent discovery that the Phone app could gain the ability to automatically delete call notes. Our own sleuthing suggests that these notes can be automatically deleted after a week, two weeks, or 30 days. Google isn't the only Android phone brand offering call summaries and transcriptions, though. Samsung also offers these capabilities as part of its Galaxy AI suite of features. Nevertheless, we're glad to see Pixels gaining more options in this regard.

Pixel Call Notes could make it easier for AI to transcribe calls without people noticing

Summary Pixel phones' exclusive features include Google Phone's Call Notes tool, which uses AI to transcribe calls in real time. It currently plays a voice warning to alert users to the live recording and transcription, but an APK teardown reveals it could let users switch the sound to a simple chime. Google Phone could eventually allow automatic Call Notes transcription, which might not fall under the strict two-party consent laws around recording coversations in many regions. Pixel users get all the good stuff. Google's OEM smartphones get all the latest, greatest features baked into the manufacturer's refined vision of Android. Constantly churning QPR beta programs lead to helpful Pixel Feature Drops, including the actively launching Material 3 Expressive redesign. The latest Google phone family, the Pixel 9 series, is currently the only set of devices able to use the handy Call Notes feature for AI transcription. Typically, the automated transcription feature plays a voice warning upon activation, to explicitly warn participants it's recording what they say -- even though it doesn't save the recording, only the words it picks up. According to an AssembleDebug APK teardown performed over at Android Authority, though, that voice could vanish, in favor of a pair of chimes uncovered within the software package. Related 10 Google Pixel-exclusive features worth switching for Once you try Pixel, you will wonder how you lived without it Posts 19 Who needs a call disclaimer, anyway? Apparently it's not legally required for transcription The Phone by Google app does have a built-in mechanism for recording the audio of voice calls. The Pixel 9 Call Notes feature is not that. On the app's help page, Google clearly notes recording is available only on certain devices and carriers, and those don't include Pixel phones. Many phones and carriers restrict call recording, in part due to various regions requiring every involved party to consent. Call Notes' voice warning currently serves as that measure of consent to transcribing conversations when talking on or with a Pixel 9 phone. AssembleDebug's code review revealed a new setting labeled "Play audio tone instead of disclaimer." The teardown also uncovered a pair of audio files containing chime sounds that, logically, could be beginning and ending notifications for the less invasive disclaimer method. Source: AssembleDebug / Android Authority There may not be a specific legal issue barring manufacturers and carriers from allowing call recording in the US, but many choose not to integrate it -- possibly to avoid any customers getting in trouble by unwittingly recording a conversation in violation of two-party consent laws. Either way, Call Notes doesn't record to an audio file for future access, only for a one-time transcription. That could contribute to Google's apparent willingness to eliminate the annoying voice alerting users. This isn't the only recent update to Google Phone's Call Notes feature, which recently added the ability to automatically delete transcriptions after one, two, or four weeks. It also aims to implement automatic call transcription for all calls or just specific contacts -- you currently need to activate it manually every time you use it. These refinements could go a long way toward making up for Pixels' inability to actually save call recordings in markets including the US. Related Google Pixel: 5 clever features you probably aren't using enough You need to try out these hidden smarts Posts 16