How to completely disable call recording on Xiaomi Redmi 8: all ways

Xiaomi Redmi 8 is one of the most popular budget smartphones, which is still actively used due to its reliability and functionality, among its features is a built-in feature of recording telephone conversations, which can be useful for business correspondence or saving important conversations. However, not all users know that this option is activated by default in some regional firmware, and recorded files take up space in the memory of the device and pose risks of leakage of confidential information.

If you find it in a gallery or folder MIUI/voice_recorder So, don't panic, and in this article, we'll look at all the ways you can turn off Redmi call recordings. 8, including hidden settings MIUI, App rights management and even radical methods for paranoid users, and you'll learn how to delete already saved records and prevent them from being automatically created in the future.

Important: The procedure may vary slightly depending on the version of MIUI (e.g. MIUI 10 vs MIUI 12.5).We will specify all possible options to make the instruction suitable for any firmware of your Redmi 8.

1.Apply check: Does your Redmi 8 really record calls?

Before you turn off the function, make sure it's even active. Here's how to check it:

• 🔍 Open the phone application (green handset) and dial ##4636##. In the menu that appears, select Usage statistics. → App ops. scroll through the list to com.android.server.telecom and check permission status RECORD_AUDIO. If there is Allowed, the record is included.
• 📁 Go to Files (or any file manager) and go along the way: Internal Memory → MIUI → voice_recorder. Files with the.amr extension or.mp3 confirms active recording.
• 📱 During the call, pay attention to the top notification panel: if there appears a microphone icon or the inscription “Record” – the function works in real time.

If none of these signs are present, your Redmi 8 is not recording calls, and no further action is required, and if the recording is confirmed, proceed to shutdown.

2. Method 1: Disconnect through the settings of the application "Phone"

The easiest and most obvious method is to use the built-in MIUI options. It works on most firmware versions, including MIUI 11 and MIUI 12:

1. Open the phone application (pipe icon).
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner (or swipe left to right to open the side menu).
3. Select Settings → Record conversations (in some versions may be called Auto Recording or Voice Recording).
4. Transfer the slider to the "Off" position or uncheck the box from the option Automatic Record.
5. Save the changes and restart the smartphone (optional, but recommended for settings).

If you don’t have a Record Conversations menu, it means that the function is managed via another application (see Method 2) or disabled at the firmware level.

3. Method 2: Control through the Dictator application

On some versions of Redmi 8 (especially those with firmware for India or China), call recording is managed via the standard Dictophone app (com.miui.voicerecord).

• 🎤 Find the Dictator icon on your desktop or app menu (microphone on an orange background). If it's not available, check the folder. MIUI Or use the search on the system.
• 🔧 Open the app, click on the three dots in the top right corner and select Settings.
• 📱 Scroll down to Call Recording (or Call Recording) and turn off all sliders:

If there is no call section in the Dictophone settings, then the recording is managed through another application (return to Method 1) or implemented at the Telecom module level (see Method 3).

⚠️ Note: Some of the Redmi 8 firmware (e.g, MIUI 10 Global) The recorder application may not be available, but it is still recorded through the system service.

Method 3: Disabling access rights for system applications (for advanced)

If the first two methods didn’t work, the recording is implemented at the level of the system service com.android.server.telecom. To disable it, you will need manual rights management through hidden Android settings, which is suitable for users with developer rights or root access.

Instructions:

1. Activate Developer Mode: Go to Settings → About Phone. Click 7 times in a row on MIUI Version until the notification “You’ve become a developer” appears.

"Settings"

Additional → For Developers

Rights of annexes

App ops

com.android.server.telecom

Telecom

System telephone service

Microphone

Microphone

Banned

Deny

Reboot your smartphone.

After this, the system service will lose access to the microphone, and recording calls will become impossible.

• 🚨 This method may disrupt some functions (e.g. voice dialing or tube noise detection).
• 🔄 After updating MIUI The settings can be reset - they will have to be reused.
• 🔒 Some firmware has hidden the App ops option. To unlock it, run the command to ADB: adb shell settings put global hidden_api_policy 1

5. Delete existing records and clean up memory

Disabling the record does not delete files already saved. To free up space and prevent data leakage, follow the following steps:

1. Open Files (or any file manager, such as MiXplorer).
2. Going the Way: Internal Memory → MIUI → voice_recorder Check the folders: Internal memory → Recorder Internal Memory → CallRec
3. Select all files (with a long-term press on one file → “Select All”) and click Delete.
4. Clean the cart (if used).
5. To clean the cache completely: Go to Settings → Applications → Application Management. Find Recorder and Phone, open them in turn. Click Storage → Clear cache and Clear data (Warning: this will reset the application settings!).

In a file. voice_recorder Not only can you store calls, but you can also store voice notes. Before you delete, check the contents so you don't lose important audio files.

⚠️ Note: If you use Mi Cloud for backup, call records may have been synced to the cloud. To delete them from there: Go to Settings → Xiaomi account → Mi Cloud. Select Data Management → Recorder, delete all files and turn off sync.

6.Additional measures: how to prevent recording forever

If you’re paranoid (or just really worried about privacy), here are some radical techniques that are guaranteed to turn off the record:

• 🔇 Turn off the microphone at the kernel level: Requires root rights. Install AppOps or XPrivacyLua and block microphone access for all system services related to the phone (Telecom, Phone, CallManager).
• 📱 Removal of System Applications: With the ADB or TWRP Remove the packets: adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.miui.voicerecord adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.server.telecom Warning: This could disrupt phone functions!
• 🔄 Flashing to custom firmware: Install LineageOS or Pixel Experience — they do not have built-in call recording. Firmware instructions for Redmi 8 (codenamed olive) are available on the forum XDA Developers.
• 🛡️ Use an alternative call: Install a third-party call app (like Google Phone or Truecaller) and make it the default call in Settings → Annexes → By default.

These are the methods that are suitable for advanced users, and if you're not sure what you're doing, you'd better limit yourself to the first two.

💡

Before removing system applications, back up via TWRP or Mi Flash Tool. This will help restore the smartphone in the event of a crash.

7 Legal and ethical aspects of call recording

Before you turn off a recording, you need to understand the legal consequences of using it, and in most countries, recording telephone conversations is regulated by law:

• 🇷🇺 Russia: According to Article 23 of the Constitution and Article 138 of the Criminal Code, recording conversations without the consent of the interlocutor is prohibited unless it is conducted for personal purposes (for example, to fix threats.
• 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine prohibits recording without consent, except when one of the interlocutors is notified.
• 🇪🇺 EU (GDPR): Recording conversations is considered to be the processing of personal data and requires the explicit consent of all participants.
• 🇺🇸 Laws vary by state, with one-party consent being sufficient in most cases, but some states (e.g. California) require all-party consent»).