

New iOS App Lets You Record What You Heard Five Minutes Ago - ngoel36
http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/23/new-ios-app-lets-you-record-what-you-heard-five-minutes-ago/

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jspark
If the point of this is to keep running all the time, wouldn't it kill
battery?

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ihuman
If the application registers itself as a VOIP application, it can run
continuously in the background and have access to the microphone. It is likely
that this app is using that to get the audio, so it would kill the battery.

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LordHumungous
How good is the mic pickup when the phone is in your pocket?

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plusbryan
Wouldn't using this app be illegal, at least in California?

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chromejs10
Is this like some sort of PRISM joke app?

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bigiain
Nope - it's the audio equivalent of bicycle commuters wearing GoPros or the
Russian dashboard camera phenomenon. There are things that happen rarely, but
who's consequences are serious. At some stage it becomes worth recording
_everything_ to ensure that you've got a record of those rare-but-important
events.

Apart from the possible legal consequences of using something like this, I can
see it being a useful idea.

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chromejs10
It was more of an ironical statement, however the legality you brought up is
definitely interesting. At least in California it's not legal to record
conversations without the entire party's consent (except in rare
circumstances). A number of other states have the same laws but I'm not sure
if it's completely nation wide.

Then of course there is the massive battery drain

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bigiain
Where I am (NSW, Australia), the current "best legal advice" about recording
your interactions with police is that it's legal to record conversations (even
secretly), but it's not legal to play those recordings to anyone else. So you
can't bring up your recording of a conversation with a police officer as
evidence in court. What you _can_ do though, is if an officer lies about the
contents or existence of a conversation, you can tell the court you've got a
recording that proves a police officer has told the court something that's not
true - and the court can then (legally) ask to hear your recording.

(Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer - nor do I play one on youtube. If this matters
to you, seek competent legal advice before acting on this information…)

