How to Record WhatsApp Calls on PC and Mac (2026)

Short answer: WhatsApp's calling pages describe no recording option, so on a PC or Mac you record the call with a desktop app that captures your computer's audio. Reline (reline.so) records the other person through system audio and you through your microphone, then gives you a transcript and a summary. It records audio and a transcript only, not video. WhatsApp can't detect a recording made on your computer, so the other person sees no notice and telling them is on you: ask for consent before you record.

WhatsApp added voice and video calls to its Windows and Mac desktop apps in March 2021, and calling from WhatsApp Web started rolling out on July 28, 2026. WhatsApp's own calling page lists the Mac, Windows and iPad apps plus the browser, group calls of up to 32 people and end-to-end encryption on every call. It describes no recording option. No notetaker bot can join a WhatsApp call either, so a recorder on your own computer is the only way to get a transcript of one.

Yes, with a recorder on the computer that takes the call. End-to-end encryption protects the call on its way between devices, but your computer still plays the other person's voice through its speakers or headset. A desktop recorder listens at that point: it reads the audio your computer plays (the other side) and your microphone (your side). WhatsApp is not involved, so it does not matter whether the call is a 1:1 voice call, a video call or a group call.

1. Install WhatsApp for Mac (its App Store listing requires macOS 12.1 or later) and link it to your phone.
2. Install the Reline desktop app for Mac and sign in. The Free plan is enough to start.
3. Allow microphone access when macOS asks. Reline reads system audio through a Core Audio tap, so there is no Screen Recording prompt.
4. Start recording in Reline, then place or answer the WhatsApp call. The transcript starts streaming as people talk.
5. Stop the recording when you hang up. You get the transcript, an AI summary next to it and the kept audio.

1. Install WhatsApp for Windows and link it to your phone.
2. Install the Reline desktop app for Windows, sign in and allow the microphone.
3. Make the headset or speakers you hear the call on your Windows default output device. Reline records the whole default output, so a call playing on another device is missed, and other sounds on that device (music, notifications) are recorded too.
4. Start recording in Reline, then place or answer the WhatsApp call.
5. Stop the recording when you hang up and open the note for the transcript, summary and audio.

Reline gives you the audio, a transcript and a summary, not the picture. If you need the video, your computer's built-in screen recorder can capture it, but check what it does with sound:

WhatsApp's calling page names apps for Mac, Windows and iPad, and no Linux app. Calling from WhatsApp Web started rolling out on July 28, 2026, so it may not have reached every account yet. When it has, the Reline Linux desktop app (beta) records a WhatsApp Web call like any other: your microphone plus system audio through PulseAudio or PipeWire. Reline also runs in the browser.

• A live transcript in 60+ languages with automatic language detection, so a call in Spanish, Arabic or German is transcribed in that language.
• Me vs Other speaker labels: your microphone is Me, everything your computer plays is Other. In a group call everyone else is Other; Reline does not name WhatsApp participants.
• An AI summary next to the transcript, plus the kept audio with a play button on every transcript line.
• No video, and no recording of a WhatsApp call you take on your phone: Reline has desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux (beta) and a web app, no mobile app.
• Capture is local and no bot joins, but transcription, AI and storage run in the cloud.

WhatsApp can't detect a recording made on your computer, so the other person sees no notice and telling them is on you. The simple rule: say at the start of the call that you are recording and why, and stop if someone objects.

• United States: federal law (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)) allows recording when one party consents, but several states, such as California (Penal Code 632), require every party to agree to record a confidential call. With a caller in another state, the stricter rule is the safe default.
• Germany: recording someone's non-public spoken words without permission can be a criminal offence (Section 201 of the Criminal Code), and data protection law (GDPR) can apply to recordings of identifiable people.
• Elsewhere: rules differ by country, and a WhatsApp call often crosses borders. When in doubt, ask everyone first. This is not legal advice.

Start on the Free plan to record your first calls. Professional is $15 per month ($140 per year) and Enterprise is $32 per month ($26 per month on annual).