Recording calls in Brazil: what the law says

On recording calls, Brazilian law is clear on the central point: a recording made by one of the people in a conversation is not a crime. Lei 9.296/1996, the interception law, says so in terms, and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) has held that such a recording is lawful evidence even when the other person did not know. The exception, since 2024, is electoral proceedings.

Using a recording is a different matter. The Constitution protects intimacy and private life, and a recording made for work is personal data under the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD). This guide covers both layers and a routine for calls with people in Brazil. For the picture across countries, see is it legal to record a meeting?

Recording calls in Brazil: the law at a glance

Layer 1: the Constitution, the interception law and the STF

The Constitution

Article 5 of the Federal Constitution declares intimacy, private life, honour and image inviolable, with a right to compensation for harm (item X), and protects the secrecy of correspondence and of telephone communications, except by court order for criminal investigation (item XII). It also says evidence obtained by unlawful means is inadmissible (item LVI), and, since 2022, guarantees the protection of personal data (item LXXIX).

Lei 9.296/1996

The interception law makes it a crime to intercept telephone, computer or telematic communications, or to carry out environmental listening, without a court order or for purposes not authorised by law (article 10), with two to four years' imprisonment and a fine.

Article 10-A, added in 2019, deals with recording conversations in a place ("captação ambiental") for criminal investigation without the required court order. Its first paragraph is the key sentence for anyone recording their own meetings:

Article 8-A §4 adds that a recording made by a participant without the police's or prosecutors' prior knowledge may be used in defence, when its integrity is shown.

The STF on recordings as evidence

In Tema 237 (RE 583.937, decided in 2009 with general effect), the STF held: "É lícita a prova consistente em gravação ambiental realizada por um dos interlocutores sem conhecimento do outro" — evidence consisting of a recording made by one of the participants without the other's knowledge is lawful.

In Tema 979 (RE 1.040.515, decided in April 2024 by majority), the court carved out electoral proceedings: from the 2022 elections on, evidence from a secret recording made without a court order and in violation of the participants' privacy is unlawful, even when made by one of the participants, except for recordings in a public place without access control.

Both rulings are about evidence. Tema 237 does not say that everything done with a recording is lawful: disclosing it can still infringe intimacy or honour, which the Constitution protects.

Layer 2: the LGPD

The LGPD (Lei 13.709/2018) applies to processing of personal data by individuals and organisations when the processing takes place in Brazil or targets people there. A recording of a meeting, its transcript and notes are personal data about the people in it.

Points that shape a recording made for work:

• The private-use exemption. The LGPD does not apply to processing by an individual "para fins exclusivamente particulares e não econômicos" — for purely private, non-economic purposes (article 4, I). A work meeting is not that.
• A legal basis. Article 7 lists bases including consent, performance of a contract, the regular exercise of rights in proceedings, and legitimate interest, which is not available where the data subject's fundamental rights prevail. Legitimate interest allows only strictly necessary data and requires transparency (article 10).
• Sensitive data. Article 5, II lists health and biometric data linked to a person, among others, as sensitive; article 11 requires specific, highlighted consent or another listed ground for it. A meeting may contain health information, and a notetaker that identifies people by their voices is handling something closer to biometric data.
• Information. Data subjects must have clear information about the purpose, duration, controller and their rights (article 9).
• Rights. Article 18 gives access, correction, anonymisation, blocking or deletion of unnecessary data, deletion of consent-based data, and more.

The LGPD's structure — legal bases, sensitive data, data subjects' rights — has much in common with the EU's GDPR, and recording meetings under GDPR walks through the same kind of steps for a recorded meeting.

The regulator is the ANPD. A 2026 law converted it into the Agência Nacional de Proteção de Dados, an independent regulatory agency. We did not find ANPD guidance specifically on recording calls or meetings; its guides on legitimate interest and on small processing agents are the closest.

A routine for calls with people in Brazil

1. Check your employer's or client's policy on recording.
2. Say in the invitation that you would like to record, and why.
3. Start the recorder and ask at the start. In Portuguese, "Posso gravar a reunião para as minhas anotações?" is a plain way to ask. How to ask for consent to record has English wording.
4. Stop if anyone objects.
5. Use the recording for the purpose you gave, share checked notes rather than audio, and delete on schedule.

For calls with people in Mexico, see recording calls in Mexico.

How Notey fits into this

Notey records your microphone and the sound your Mac plays, on your own Mac. Nothing joins the call.

• Nothing is saved until you press Allow when Notey notices a call, unless you chose a rule in advance, such as arming the next call.
• Transcription happens on the Mac, in the Mac's language. Portuguese (Brazil) is among the languages Apple's on-device transcriber supports; the improved transcript after a meeting is English only.
• AI notes send transcript text only, when you ask or when write-ups are on, to Notey's service and on to OpenAI as a processor. See the privacy policy.
• Voice recognition is off by default.
• The red dot and elapsed timer are visible to you, not to the call.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to record a conversation you are in, in Brazil?

Article 10-A of Lei 9.296/1996 says there is no crime if the recording is made by one of the people in the conversation. The Supreme Federal Court has also held such a recording lawful as evidence, in Tema 237.

Can a secret recording be used as evidence in Brazil?

Generally yes: the STF's Tema 237 holds that a recording made by one participant without the other's knowledge is lawful evidence. In 2024, Tema 979 made an exception for electoral proceedings, where secret recordings made without a court order are unlawful evidence, with a carve-out for public places.

Does the LGPD apply to recording a work meeting?

Generally yes. The LGPD's exemption covers processing by an individual for purely private, non-economic purposes. A recording made for work is not that.

Is a voice recording sensitive data under the LGPD?

The LGPD lists biometric data linked to a person as sensitive. A recording used to identify someone by voice is closer to that than an ordinary recording, and a meeting's content can include other sensitive data, such as health.

Who enforces the LGPD?

The Agência Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD). A 2026 law turned it into an independent regulatory agency.