Legal and compliance
Call recording and consent
What UAE and Saudi law expect before a call is recorded, and how the agent asks for consent, records the answer and records only when consent is given.
On this page
A call recording is often the best evidence of what was said to a customer, and in a dispute or a regulator's review it can settle the question. In the UAE, recording a call without the consent of the people on it can carry criminal penalties, and this applies to businesses as well as individuals. The agent asks for consent at the start of every call, records the caller's answer, and records the call only if consent is given. This page sets out what the law expects in plain terms and exactly how the product handles it, so your legal team can approve the flow before go-live.
This page is general information about the law, not legal advice. Your organisation is responsible for its own compliance and should take its own legal advice on recording, on the wording it uses and on how long recordings are kept. We will walk your legal team through exactly how the consent flow works.
What the law expects
In the UAE, the law protects the privacy of private conversations. Recording a telephone conversation without the consent of the people on it, except where the law permits, can carry criminal penalties, and this applies to businesses as well as individuals. The safe position is consent from every party, given clearly, before recording starts. A general notice that calls "may be recorded" is weaker than an answer the caller actually gives.
UAE telemarketing rules add a specific requirement for marketing calls: they must be recorded, and the person must be told at the start of the call. See Contact rules for outbound messages and calls.
In Saudi Arabia, the law also protects the privacy of communications, and a call recording is personal data under the Personal Data Protection Law, so the rules on lawful basis, purpose, retention and security apply to it. Your legal team should confirm the position for your sector and your customers.
In both countries, a recording is personal data. How long it is kept, who can hear it and where it is stored are governed by data protection law as well as by the rules on recording. See Data protection in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
How the agent handles consent
Consent is part of the call flow, not something added afterwards.
- The agent asks at the start of the call, using wording your legal team has approved, in the caller's language.
- The caller's answer is recorded against the conversation and the customer record, with the time it was given.
- Recording starts only if consent is given. Before consent, only the consent answer is recorded; nothing else from that part of the call is stored.
- If the caller declines, the call is not recorded. The agent continues the conversation without a recording. If a caller declines recording, no audio recording or transcript is kept. The call's summary and outcome are still recorded.
- The consent record stays with the conversation, so anyone reviewing it later can see that consent was asked for, what the answer was, and when.
Consent wording your legal team approves
The wording is yours. We draft it with your legal team during implementation, in Arabic and English and any other language you serve, and it goes live only once approved. Good consent wording is short, says why the call is recorded, and asks a question the caller can answer.
| Situation | Example wording |
|---|---|
| Inbound service call | "We'd like to record this call so we have an accurate record of what we discuss. Is that all right with you?" |
| Outbound service call | "I'm calling from Sahel Crest Properties about your handover appointment. We'd like to record this call for our records. Is that all right?" |
| Outbound marketing call | "I'm calling from Qamar Stays about a stay offer. Calls like this are recorded. Are you happy to continue?" |
Changes to consent wording follow the same approval and testing as any other change. See How changes go live.
Outbound calls
The same consent step opens every outbound call the agent places. For service calls, such as an appointment reminder or a claim update, the flow is the same as for an inbound call.
For marketing calls, UAE telemarketing rules require the call to be recorded and the person to be told at the start. Your legal team decides what the agent does if a person does not agree to recording on a marketing call, such as ending the call politely, and the call flow is configured to match. See Contact rules for outbound messages and calls.
Voice in a browser or app
Customers can also speak to the agent from your website or app. The same rule applies: the conversation is recorded only once the customer has consented, and the consent answer is kept with it. See Web and app: website widget, in-app and browser voice.
Where recordings are kept, and who can hear them
Recordings are stored in your deployment, in the region you chose, only if you have allowed recordings to be stored, and for the period you set. They are encrypted at rest with AES-256 (the Advanced Encryption Standard, using 256-bit keys). Card numbers spoken or typed in a conversation are redacted from the transcript. The agent never takes card details: it sends a payment link from your payment provider, so card data stays with that provider.
Access to recordings is limited by role, and every access is logged. See Storage, retention and deletion.
In practice
An insurer in the UAE prepares its claims line for go-live.
- Its legal team approves consent wording in Arabic and English, and asks for the reason for recording to name "an accurate record of your claim".
- The claims team sets retention for recordings to match its claims policy.
- At 10pm, Hassan calls to report a car accident. The agent asks for consent in Arabic. He agrees, the answer is recorded with the time, and recording starts.
- The next day, a second caller declines recording. The agent handles her claim status question without a recording, and her refusal is on record.
- A month later, Hassan disputes what he was told about his excess. The claims manager opens the conversation, sees the consent answer and its time, and plays the recording.
What your team controls
- The consent wording, in every language, signed off by your legal team.
- What the agent does when a caller declines, including on marketing calls.
- Whether recordings are stored, and for how long.
- Who in your organisation can listen to recordings.