Aircall’s manual recording activation feature lets agents start recording a call at any point during an active conversation. This gives teams greater control over what is recorded, which is especially useful when recording an entire call is unnecessary or not appropriate.

How manual recording works

When you start recording manually during an ongoing call, Aircall creates a recording file that reflects the full duration of the call. However, only the portion of the call where recording was active contains audio.

For example, if a call lasts 5 minutes and recording is started during the last minute, the recording file will show a 5‑minute duration. Only the final minute will contain audio, while the first 4 minutes will be silent.

This behavior ensures that recordings remain aligned with call logs while clearly showing when recording started and ended.

What you will see in call logs and recordings

  • The call appears in the call logs with its full duration.
  • A recording file is created for the entire call length.
  • Only the time period during which recording was enabled includes audible content.
  • Any time before recording was activated is present as silence in the recording.

Example scenario

A customer support call lasts 5 minutes. An agent starts recording 4 minutes into the conversation and records only the final minute. The resulting recording displays a 5‑minute timeline, but playback contains audio only during the last minute. The first 4 minutes are silent because recording was not active during that time.

Why Aircall uses this recording behavior

Aircall handles manual recording this way for the following reasons:

  • Consistency in call logs: Showing the full call duration helps maintain accurate and transparent records of customer interactions.
  • Clear call context: A recording that matches the full call length makes it easier to associate the recording with the correct call event, even when only part of the conversation was recorded.

When to use manual recording

Manual recording is particularly useful for calls that include sensitive information. Agents can choose exactly when to record, which helps support compliance with privacy regulations and internal company policies.

Enable and use manual recording

Manual recording is configured by administrators in the Aircall dashboard. Once enabled, agents can start and stop recording during an active call with a single click. Please see our article Configuring Numbers: Activating call recording for more information.

Note: Only the portion of the call recorded after manual activation contains audio. Any earlier part of the call remains silent in the recording, even though it appears in the full call timeline.