Voice Recording Smartphone Apps

[TFred]

There's a three-year old sticky thread here that briefly covers voice recorders, but I'd like to branch that conversation a little bit.

There are dozens of smartphone apps for voice recording but I have barely begun research on which might be best for the kind of use we would typically want.

One area where a smartphone might provide an additional layer of protection should be its ability to automatically store the recording files to an off-device storage location. This protects against the scenario where someone realizes you are recording, physically takes the phone, and then destroys the recording.

With the right software and back-end services set up ahead of time, a smartphone should be able to store those recordings off-device, either in real-time or with very short and quick direction from the user, so if the device is taken, even destroyed, the recordings are still safely stored somewhere else, hopefully strongly protected by all the appropriate computer security measures to prevent even the possessor of the smartphone (remember it's just been taken) from deleting remotely without proper authorization.

One thing to remember, this might be accomplished by two separate apps, a voice recorder to capture the recording, and perhaps a file manager app, which might handle the transfer of the recorded files off-device.

Anybody have anything like this set up?

TFred

 

[color of law]

I believe there is an app for that and it auto saves to the cloud and not to your phone..

 

[solus]

Tfred, et al., a point to consider which is why I have not availed myself of my iPhone recording apps.

My Iphone locks down after 15 secs and from my research, Siri will not unlock the Iphone on my voice command, therefore I cannot ‘verbally activate’ the voice recorder surreptitiously.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t investigated if I unlock the Iphone when needed to record an interaction with whomever & activate the recording app, and then let the Iphone timeout and lock out, if the app continues to fucntion and record as advertised.

Therefore, the nice battery little recorder in my visor, turned on by a push of a button without drawing attention to the action, and life is good. The auto cam pointed to my driver’s window would capture any removal of the recorder by those who might have stopped me.

Personally I know my Iphone is uncrackable w/o authorities expending a gaggle of time and $$$$ and perfer that mentality.

 

[TFred]

Just to clarify, I'm thinking more of an app that would be running any time one were out in public, and not just while in a car.

TFred

 

[solus]

Just to clarify, I'm thinking more of an app that would be running any time one were out in public, and not just while in a car.

TFred

oh my...you are better then me to want every and all conversation(s) recorded to an unsecure cloud which could be judically ordered open, unbeknownst to you, by LE or government agents or by hackers!

Whew, Tfred, that’s quite a staggering concept to record all conversations to the cloud, really?

 

[TFred]

oh my...you are better then me to want every and all conversation(s) recorded to an unsecure cloud which could be judically ordered open, unbeknownst to you, by LE or government agents or by hackers!

Whew, Tfred, that’s quite a staggering concept to record all conversations to the cloud, really?

"Unsecure cloud?" Who said that? If you notice, I never used term "cloud," let alone "unsecure cloud!" I stated the requirement to be "off-device," to mitigate - well, lets be blunt here - the theft and destruction of any evidence that might implicate a LEO or some other figure of authority during an encounter that might have not stayed within the bounds of the law.

There are ways to encrypt data such that you are literally the only person who can decrypt it, and the keys for doing so can be secured separately from the data storage. Maybe you are not aware of it, but even the DoD is using services from folks like Amazon for data storage now. I can assure you, they are not storing classified information in the "unsecure cloud!"

Putting all these pieces together into a package that would be useful for those who choose to carry firearms is the reason I am asking these questions.

Finally, lets bring this back around to ground zero. Many of us already carry personal voice recorders every day, all day long. That data is virtually never encrypted, and far more vulnerable to theft and public dissemination than a properly encrypted file stored in "the cloud," as well as being vulnerable to the risks mentioned earlier regarding destruction by those involved. Do you suggest that nobody should carry voice recorders any longer?

TFred

 

[solus]

"Unsecure cloud?" Who said that? If you notice, I never used term "cloud," let alone "unsecure cloud!" I stated the requirement to be "off-device," to mitigate - well, lets be blunt here - the theft and destruction of any evidence that might implicate a LEO or some other figure of authority during an encounter that might have not stayed within the bounds of the law.

There are ways to encrypt data such that you are literally the only person who can decrypt it, and the keys for doing so can be secured separately from the data storage. Maybe you are not aware of it, but even the DoD is using services from folks like Amazon for data storage now. I can assure you, they are not storing classified information in the "unsecure cloud!"

Putting all these pieces together into a package that would be useful for those who choose to carry firearms is the reason I am asking these questions.

Finally, lets bring this back around to ground zero. Many of us already carry personal voice recorders every day, all day long. That data is virtually never encrypted, and far more vulnerable to theft and public dissemination than a properly encrypted file stored in "the cloud," as well as being vulnerable to the risks mentioned earlier regarding destruction by those involved. Do you suggest that nobody should carry voice recorders any longer?

TFred

Alas TFred, to correct one misperception, DoD’s classified stored knowledge maintained in contractual supplied equipment [built, configured and operated under DoD personal oversight] has been secured per 5200.1 and not “amazon” security policies.

Finally, I am sorry you misunderstood regarding the use of recorder...”IF’ after a day out & about without using my trusty recorded pocketed ready to use, ‘just in case’. I put it on my dresser.

If I had need of my trusty recorder, the data is removed and encrypted and put in a secure & obsecure location only known to me. If a person in authority wants to take my recorder or my legality carried firearm, it will be given without hesitation our fuss.

Finally, TFred I am sorry your got the impression from my posts I was in any way advocating discontinue use of voice records.

As for your perception the ‘clouds’ are secure from surveillance w/ or w/o judical oversight you might review the NSA’s debacle of wireless surveillance carried without judical oversight. Ya the cloud is safe, so thought the democratic party’s, the financial entity’s, etc., about their computers.

 

[TFred]

As for your perception the ‘clouds’ are secure from surveillance w/ or w/o judical oversight you might review the NSA’s debacle of wireless surveillance carried without judical oversight. Ya the cloud is safe, so thought the democratic party’s, the financial entity’s, etc., about their computers.

If I encrypt the data on my phone, with my sufficiently strong PKI public key, and then transfer that encrypted data to twitter or any other public forum, for any person on the face of the planet to download and pound to their heart's content, I am quite confident that my data is safe from unintended disclosure.

TFred

 

[user]

I don't think that horse is dead, yet, so I'm going to add a couple of observations. What got me thinking about this is that I normally rely on a little Olympus device whose sole purpose is to record ambient sounds. But I recently got dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21'st Century - bought myself a computerette ("smart phone"). It's an Android device, so I did research on what's available. I found a thing called "Easy Voice Recorder Pro" - four bucks I think - and it seems to work pretty well. It encrpyts the data automatically, and you have to "export" the files if you want to hear what's on 'em via some other method. I've got my machine to "sleep" after half an hour, and it requires a "pin" to turn it back on, so I'm going to have to think fast if there should come a time when I need the thing quickly. But once it is active, it's really easy to start recording without finding "icons" and setting things. There's a permanent "notification" you use, "swipe" upwards and touch the thing that says, "record", and it's going. So far, seems to be very reliable.

Easy Voice Recorder Pro - Apps on Google Play

Easy Voice Recorder Pro is your everyday companion to record important moments.

play.google.com

I don't worry about storing the data locally (I avoid "cloud" stuff like the plague for the reasons already discussed), because it is encrypted (or at least says it is) and hidden from casual exploration. I figure the NSA could get into it if they wanted, but the local sheriff won't. Which leads me to the second point - suppose the worthy constabulary takes the device and won't give it back, "loses" it, or some such? There's a rule about "spoliation of evidence" that says if the cops do something intentionally to make the evidence you need as a defendant unavailable, then you're entitled to a presumption that you can tell the jury about, that says that whatever that evidence would have said, it would have been in your favor and against the cops. This all depends on an intellectually honest judiciary, of course, which is sometimes the weakest link in the process.

 

[TFred]

... I've got my machine to "sleep" after half an hour, and it requires a "pin" to turn it back on, so I'm going to have to think fast if there should come a time when I need the thing quickly. But once it is active, it's really easy to start recording without finding "icons" and setting things.

As you get more comfortable with your new phone, you will discover that some Apps will keep running in the background, even when the phone goes to sleep. Sometimes this behavior is configurable in the App's settings. For this kind of App, I would suspect that is a valuable feature.

As with the old-fashioned recorders, you might consider starting it up when you leave the house, and then just let it run, deleting the recording at the end of your trip, if nothing noteworthy has happened.

You'll need to learn how much space a typical day's recording takes, and make sure you phone can store it, but most likely that's not going to be an issue.

TFred

 

[color of law]

...........Which leads me to the second point - suppose the worthy constabulary takes the device and won't give it back, "loses" it, or some such? There's a rule about "spoliation of evidence" that says if the cops do something intentionally to make the evidence you need as a defendant unavailable, then you're entitled to a presumption that you can tell the jury about, that says that whatever that evidence would have said, it would have been in your favor and against the cops. This all depends on an intellectually honest judiciary, of course, which is sometimes the weakest link in the process.

My bolding.
Adding to the list, "tampering with evidence" and "Brady" violations.

"intellectually honest judiciary" is the problem. They are few and far between. State court judges 99.44% come from the prosecutor offices; no defense experience what soever. For the most part, Federal judges are X-assistant attorney generals; usually dirty. The Supreme Court has virtually destroyed 42 USC 1983 suits.

The courts are designed to grind-up the citizen, period.

 

[user]

As you get more comfortable with your new phone, you will discover that some Apps will keep running in the background, even when the phone goes to sleep. Sometimes this behavior is configurable in the App's settings. For this kind of App, I would suspect that is a valuable feature.

As with the old-fashioned recorders, you might consider starting it up when you leave the house, and then just let it run, deleting the recording at the end of your trip, if nothing noteworthy has happened.

You'll need to learn how much space a typical day's recording takes, and make sure you phone can store it, but most likely that's not going to be an issue.

TFred

This one does keep recording while the phone is "sleeping". Tested it yesterday, works pretty well. I told the guy who developed it why I wanted the app for recording evidence needed for "inadvertent" detention situations etc., and he's in complete agreement.

I got a 128Gb sdxc card in the thing, configured as "internal memory" (Linux format), with almost nothing on it. No problem recording for hours and hours yesterday.

 

[DeborahCarrion]

Find Pretty Womans in your town for night

 

[color of law]

Reported