⚠️ The recording law most folks don’t know

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🤯 WOW! iPhone, Pixel and Samsung Galaxy will record a phone call, transcribe it as you talk and hand you a summary with the next steps, right on the phone. Nothing to install, nothing to pay. The legal pad by the phone is officially retired. Steps below.

📖 Read time: 2.2 minutes

I record a lot of calls. Why? Because I can, and because people say things they’ll later swear they didn’t. Last one: the insurance adjuster after someone banged into my parked car. He tried to tell me it was my fault. Ahem ding dong, the car was parked in a spot, not moving and on the recording.

But your phone can remember for you.

On a call, tap the waveform icon in the top-left corner. A voice tells everyone, “This call is being recorded.” Hang up, and the audio and a full transcript are waiting in Notes. On an iPhone 15 Pro or newer with Apple Intelligence, tap the note for a summary.

In-person meeting? Open Notes, tap the paper clip, tap Record Audio. Same transcript, same summary.

Turn it on once. Phone app > three dots > Settings > Call Notes. On a call, tap Call Notes. The other side hears a notice. Afterward, you get the recording, a transcript and a summary with action items, and Google says all of it stays on your phone.

For meetings, the Recorder app transcribes live and summarizes on Pixel 8 and up.

On a call, three dots > Record call. Both sides get the announcement. When you hang up, open Phone > Recents, tap the call, then View recording and transcript. Samsung’s Voice Recorder app does the same for a meeting in the room.

Older Android? The free Google Recorder app transcribes meetings, but it won’t record calls. Put the call on speaker next to it, and you’re close enough.

Twelve states require everyone on the call to agree to the recording: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. The rest allow it if one person on the call (you) knows, like here in Arizona where I live.

Here’s why the built-in tools matter: They all play that announcement, and they won’t let you shut it off. If the other person stays on the line after hearing it, that’s consent. If they say no, stop. 

And if you’re calling into one of those 12 states, the strict rule applies no matter where you’re sitting. Don’t use a third-party app that skips the announcement. That’s how people end up on the wrong side of a wiretap law over a plumber’s quote.

My phone remembers every word of my calls. One more thing in this house with a better memory than me.

📩 Send this to someone who takes notes on the back of an envelope during every call.

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You know the dreaded “maybe it’s time to stop driving” talk? Jan’s family flipped it.

Her kids want her in a Tesla that drives itself, so she keeps her freedom as she gets older. Smart move or expensive mistake? I help Jan and her family decide.

▶️ Watch on YouTube now and learn my answer →

🏁 Btw, I would love to know if you agree with me. When you rate the newsletter at the end, let me know!

📍 Surveillance, surveilled: You can’t write irony this good. Someone published a treasure map of 335,701 Flock surveillance cameras, down to their exact locations. Researchers pulled the data off Flock’s own network. No login required. That can show a stalker, burglar or plain old creep which streets are watched and where coverage ends. Flock fixed the leak and wants the map gone. Check it out yourself here. Say cheese, Flock.

The airwaves get a physical: Your phone, router, smart meter, even the watch on your wrist. HHS opened a formal review of long-term exposure to all of it, from Wi-Fi and 5G to the 6G that doesn’t exist yet. The question: does decades of low-level exposure, below today’s legal limits, add up to anything? They're paying special attention to kids, pregnant women and folks with pacemakers. FYI, nothing’s been declared unsafe. Public comments are open until Oct. 21. 

🔑 One password, one break-in, every account: Reuse the same password? A hacker only needs it once. Then it’s your email, your bank, your Amazon, one login at a time. I use NordPass. It builds a strong, unique password for every account and remembers them all so you don’t have to. Lock it down for only $1.34/month.*

Fourteenth time’s the charm: Get this. The biggest rocket ever built finally reached orbit after 13 unsuccessful test flights. Starship launched from Texas yesterday at 8:49 a.m. ET, lost an engine but still delivered 26 satellites for more places you can get your internet from Starlink. NASA is counting on Starship to land astronauts on the moon. I made a group for rocket scientists once. It really took off.

🌀 Eye of the algorithm: Call me a weather nerd, but I love this. Google DeepMind’s AI outperformed forecasting tools in trials, predicting hurricane paths and intensity a full day earlier. An extra 24 hours before landfall can be the difference between a packed minivan and all your possessions ruined in a flooded living room. I’m happy to let AI handle this one. I don’t need an indoor pool or a six-month insurance pen pal.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Not sure what you’re looking at? In the ChatGPT mobile app, tap + in the message box > Camera, snap a photo and ask, “What kind of fruit is this?” Or try the camera icon beside Chrome’s search box on your phone. Hey, it might look tasty, but so does a bath bomb.

🏡 The nightmare you don’t see coming: Title theft sounds like one of those “it won’t happen to me” scams. Until it does. Criminals can use AI to create forged documents and transfer your house to their name. That’s why I use Home Title Lock. They monitor my title and alert me to any activity. Get 14 days free and a free Title History Report today.* 

Share the photo, not all the details: That address or account number doesn’t need to be in the picture. Google Photos on Android lets you cover it with pixels. Open the picture > Edit > Markup > Redact. Pick the size and style, then swipe over the private bits. Everyone can gasp at the bill without knowing exactly where you live.

📺 Before you buy that soundbar: An Echo Studio could double as a Fire TV speaker. Open the Alexa app > Devices > + > Combine speakers > Home Theater. Choose your streaming device, select up to two compatible speakers and follow the prompts. Other models work, too, so check what you’ve got. Nice when the upgrade is sitting in the kitchen. 

No “Add to Wallet” button? Make your own: iOS 27 lets you turn gym memberships and event tickets into digital passes. Open Wallet, tap + > Create a Pass, then enter the details manually or tap Continue to scan the card. Look for anything your iPhone missed and fix it. Finding the gym card no longer counts as part of the workout.

🖥️ “Not responding”? We’re done here: In Windows 11, go to Settings > System > Advanced and switch on End task. Next time an app freezes, right-click its taskbar icon and choose that option to shut it down. No Ctrl + Alt + Delete, no hunting through Task Manager. Another setting that should’ve been on already, Microsoft. 😒

Apparently, showing your actual face on a video call was asking too much.

Meta’s new Hologram feature builds an AI version of you from a quick face scan in the Meta AI app, then animates it live off your voice. This fall, that digital stunt double can take your calls through Ray-Ban Display glasses.

Meta’s upcoming VR glasses get the same trick: a photorealistic you, real-time expressions and all, taking video calls hands-free.

It’s surprisingly convincing, right up until it smiles. But that’s true for some humans, too.

Check it out here. What did Han Solo name his clone? Han Duo.

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🎓 What you learned today: Your phone can record, transcribe and summarize calls, a public map exposed 335,000+ Flock cameras, AI is giving hurricane forecasts a head start, Starship finally reached orbit and Meta wants holograms in your living room. Not bad for one email. A billion birds can fly overhead, and you might never notice, but radar can. Tomorrow, I’ll break down how nighttime migration works and why only a few nights carry huge traffic.

Answer: B) Inside an active volcano, right up to a lake of boiling lava. Yep, Frodo style. The volcano is Marum on the island of Ambrym in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Explorers Chris Horsley and Geoff Mackley went 1,312 feet down into the crater. 

At the bottom sits a lava lake about the size of two football fields. Google released the imagery in 2017. Want to see it without melting your sneakers? Search “Marum crater” in Google Maps, then drag the little yellow person onto the map. 

Or walk around it here. What did one volcano say to the other volcano? I lava you.

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Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily

🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, GE, Meta, Google Maps

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