Google has announced that they will introduce a new Play Store policy that will effectively block third-party call recording apps from the Play Store by May 11, according to a Reddit post seen by 9to5Google. Such apps currently use the Accessibility API (designed for people with disabilities) to access audio functions on Android devices.
“Applications with essential functions aimed at directly supporting people with disabilities are eligible to use IsAccessibilityTool,” the company said. “Apps that are not eligible for IsAccessibilityTool cannot use it and must meet specific disclosure and permission requirements. The Accessibility API cannot be used for other than these purposes,” he said.
Google is slowly trying to eliminate call recording on Android, mainly due to privacy concerns. It has been largely blocked in Android 6, and the use of microphones for call recording has been eliminated in Android 10. For call recording apps, the last resort was to use the Accessibility API.
Moun Choi, head of Google content global operations, said: It will apply to all applications from 11 May.” It’s unclear whether the new policy means existing call recorder apps will be pulled from the Play Store. said
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