Recording calls and meetings in Spain: the law explained

On recording calls, Spain's law starts from a 1984 judgment of the Constitutional Court: a person who records a conversation they take part in does not, by that act alone, breach the constitutional secrecy of communications. Recording other people's conversations does. That makes Spain more permissive than France or Germany on the recording itself — but disclosing what you recorded can still infringe privacy, and a recording made for work is personal data under the GDPR and Spain's own data-protection law.

This guide sets out both layers — the constitutional and criminal rules on recording, and data protection on what you do with it — and a routine for calls with people in Spain. For the picture across countries, see is it legal to record a meeting?

Recording calls in Spain: the law at a glance

Layer 1: the Constitution and the Código Penal

The secrecy of communications

Article 18.3 of the Spanish Constitution guarantees "el secreto de las comunicaciones y, en especial, de las postales, telegráficas y telefónicas, salvo resolución judicial" — the secrecy of communications, especially postal, telegraphic and telephone communications, except by judicial order.

In STC 114/1984 (29 November 1984), the Constitutional Court drew the line that still frames the question. In its words, whoever records "una conversación de otros" — a conversation between other people — infringes article 18.3; by contrast, whoever records "una conversación con otro" — a conversation with someone else — "no incurre, por este solo hecho, en conducta contraria al precepto constitucional citado": does not, by that fact alone, act against it.

The court added two qualifications that matter for anyone recording meetings:

• Disclosure is a different matter. Recording your own conversation could be seen as preparation for spreading it, and a constitutional infringement could arise from the disclosure itself, under the right to privacy in article 18.1.
• Some conversations carry a duty of secrecy where it is needed to protect privacy — the "dimensión material del secreto". A conversation about intimate matters is not the same as a sales call.

The Código Penal

Article 197 of the Código Penal punishes, with one to four years' imprisonment and a fine, anyone who, to discover another's secrets or violate their privacy, without their consent, intercepts their telecommunications or uses technical devices to listen to, transmit, record or reproduce sound. The penalty rises to two to five years if what was discovered is spread, revealed or passed to others.

The offence requires the aim of discovering secrets or violating privacy. A participant making notes of a business call is not what it describes, but the purpose is a question of fact, and a recording made to expose someone's private life would be treated differently. Article 197.7, amended in 2022, also punishes spreading recordings obtained with the person's consent in a private setting where that seriously harms their privacy.

Two related rules:

• Article 199.1 punishes revealing another's secrets learned through one's work or employment relationship.
• Article 201.1 makes prosecution of these offences depend, in general, on a complaint by the person harmed.

Recordings as evidence

Article 11.1 of the Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial says evidence obtained directly or indirectly by violating fundamental rights or freedoms has no effect. Whether a participant's recording is usable in a particular case is for the court; this guide did not verify the Supreme Court's case law on it.

Layer 2: the GDPR and the LOPDGDD

A recording of a work meeting, its transcript and any notes made from it are personal data about everyone who spoke. The GDPR applies in Spain, alongside Ley Orgánica 3/2018 (the LOPDGDD), and the regulator is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD). Recording meetings under GDPR sets out the steps: a lawful basis, a notice at the time, a retention period and a contract with each processor.

Digital rights at work

The LOPDGDD has a chapter on digital rights at work that shapes any recording of employees:

• Article 87 protects employees' privacy in the use of digital devices provided by the employer. The employer sets usage rules with the participation of workers' representatives, and employees must be told the criteria.
• Article 89.1 requires employers to inform employees and their representatives, beforehand and "de forma expresa, clara y concisa", about camera and sound recording used for monitoring.
• Article 89.3 allows sound recording at the workplace only "cuando resulten relevantes los riesgos para la seguridad de las instalaciones, bienes y personas" — when risks to the safety of premises, property and people are relevant — respecting proportionality and minimal intervention, with recordings deleted on the timetable the law sets.
• Article 91 lets collective agreements add further safeguards.

The AEPD's guide on data protection in employment relationships, updated in December 2025, repeats the article 89 test. We did not find AEPD guidance dealing specifically with recording calls or video meetings; the general principles above are what applies.

What this means for a notetaker is not settled by any single text. Recording a meeting to write accurate notes is different from an employer's monitoring system, but a company rolling out a notetaker to staff should expect to inform them and their representatives first and to justify the purpose. Can your employer record your meetings? looks at this from the employee's side.

When you are outside Spain and they are in it

If someone on your call is in Spain and you are elsewhere, your own country's rules apply to you, and Spanish law may be relevant to what you do with their words. A call with people in several countries is easiest to handle by following the strictest rule, which in Europe usually means asking. How to ask for consent to record has wording in English; in Spanish, "¿Te importa si grabo la llamada para mis notas?" is a plain way to ask.

A routine for calls with people in Spain

1. Say in the invitation that you would like to record, and why.
2. Start the recorder, then ask at the start of the call, so the answers are on the recording.
3. If anyone objects, stop.
4. Keep the recording to yourself. Share checked notes, not audio.
5. Decide how long you keep the audio and delete it then.

How Notey fits into this

Notey does not decide whether a recording is lawful. It keeps the recording in one place and makes the list of where data goes short.

• Nothing is saved until you press Allow when Notey notices a call, unless you set a rule in advance, such as arming the next call, which is shown on screen.
• The audio stays on your Mac. It is transcribed there with Apple's on-device speech recognition, in the Mac's language. Spanish is among the languages live transcription 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. The privacy policy has the detail.
• Deleting a meeting removes its recording, transcript and notes, from every Mac with sync on.
• The red dot and elapsed timer are visible to you, not to the call. Telling people is still your part.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to record a phone call in Spain if I am on the call?

The Constitutional Court held in STC 114/1984 that a person who records a conversation they take part in does not, by that act alone, breach the constitutional secrecy of communications. What you then do with the recording is a separate question.

Can I share a recording of a conversation I was in?

Be careful. The same 1984 judgment said disclosure could infringe the right to privacy, and the Código Penal punishes revealing secrets or intimate matters in several situations. Sharing notes rather than audio is usually the safer course.

Can my employer in Spain record sound at work?

Article 89.3 of the LOPDGDD allows sound recording at the workplace only where it is relevant to risks to the safety of premises, property and people, and subject to proportionality and minimal intervention. Employees and their representatives must be told beforehand.

Does the GDPR apply to recording a work meeting in Spain?

Generally, yes. The GDPR's exemption covers purely personal or household activity, and a recording made for work usually is not that.

Can a recording be used as evidence in Spain?

The Organic Law of the Judiciary excludes evidence obtained by violating fundamental rights. Whether a particular recording crosses that line is for the court, and this guide does not cover the case law in detail.