--- title: "Recording WhatsApp calls with suppliers and buyers abroad" description: "For import and export: record WhatsApp calls with suppliers and buyers, with consent, and keep a transcript by speaker of quantities, prices and dates." canonical: "https://kaptionai.com/blog/en/record-whatsapp-calls-with-suppliers-import-export/" lang: "en" --- # Recording WhatsApp calls with suppliers and buyers abroad > For import and export: record WhatsApp calls with suppliers and buyers, with consent, and keep a transcript by speaker of quantities, prices and dates. Canonical: https://kaptionai.com/blog/en/record-whatsapp-calls-with-suppliers-import-export/ In import and export, a lot of the real negotiation happens on WhatsApp calls. A supplier in another time zone rings to say the samples are ready, a buyer wants to move the delivery date, and somewhere in ten minutes of conversation you agree on a quantity, a price to check, and a date for the container. Then the call ends, and all that is left is what each side remembers. Messages are easy to scroll back through. Calls are not. This guide shows how to keep a recording and a transcript of your WhatsApp calls with suppliers and buyers on a Mac or PC, how to ask for consent across borders, and what Kaption does and does not do with the call. *Updated October 2026* ## Why calls are where trade details get lost Trade conversations are full of details that only matter later: carton sizes, minimum order quantities, unit prices "before freight", a shipping date that was "end of the month" in one call and "the 28th" in the next. When those details are typed in a chat, you can find them. When they are said on a call, they live in your notes, if you took any. Language adds another layer: calls in a second language, accents, numbers said quickly. Afterwards it is hard to tell whether the supplier said fifteen or fifty. A recording with a transcript does not replace a purchase order, but it gives you something to check before you write one. ## Ask first: consent across borders Recording laws differ by country, and in some countries by state or region. Some places allow a recording when one person on the call agrees; many require everyone to agree; some treat recording a private conversation without consent as a criminal offence. On an international call, the rules where you are and the rules where the supplier is may both apply. The simple habit that works everywhere: **say at the start of the call that you would like to record it, and stop if anyone says no.** "I'd like to record this so I have the quantities and dates right. Is that OK?" is a normal line in business. Kaption does not send the other person any notice that the call is being recorded, which is why it reminds you to tell them the first time you record. For anything with legal weight, check the rules in both countries. ## How recording works in Kaption Kaption records WhatsApp calls in two places: - **The [Kaption desktop app](/desktop/)** for Macs with Apple silicon and for Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, where it is an early beta. - **WhatsApp Web in Chrome or Edge** with the Kaption extension. Firefox is not supported. It records the audio of WhatsApp voice calls and video calls (not the picture). It does not record regular phone calls or other apps, so calls you take on another service are not covered. ### Choose which numbers record If you run more than one WhatsApp number, **Settings › Call recordings** lets each number choose: **Every call**, **Only when I press Record**, or **Off**. For supplier calls, "Only when I press Record" is a good fit: you ask first, then press Record. A number that has not chosen yet starts recording when a call begins, and the bar asks: **Always**, **Only this call**, or **Don't record**. "Don't record" throws that recording away. ### During the call A red bar shows the running time and a **Stop** button. Your side follows WhatsApp's mute. Kaption takes the other person's voice from WhatsApp's own call audio and yours from the microphone WhatsApp already uses; it does not need screen-recording permission and nothing else on your computer is captured. ### After the call - **Desktop app:** the recording is saved to **Downloads › Kaption Call Recordings** as a standard `.m4a` file named after the contact and the time. A new recording never overwrites an older one. - **Extension:** recordings are kept in your browser. You can download any of them, or choose a folder once and Kaption saves a copy of each new recording there. ## A transcript by speaker, not a summary Kaption transcribes each side of the call on its own, so every line shows who spoke: you or the supplier. That is what makes a call transcript useful in trade. "We can do 2,000 units by the 28th" means something very different depending on who said it. Where the transcription runs: - **On a Mac with macOS 26** in the desktop app, transcripts can run on the computer with Apple's speech recognition, so the audio stays on your Mac. Kaption Cloud is the other option. - **On Windows**, call transcripts run in Kaption Cloud. Automatic transcripts are off until you turn them on, and you can transcribe a single recording whenever you need it. Kaption gives you the transcript of what was said, line by line. It does not write a summary of the call for you. ### Search later When a shipment arrives and the carton count looks wrong, search your recordings by contact name or a word in the transcript, like "carton" or "deposit". The search runs on your computer. ## What about translation? Kaption's translation works on chat messages: you can read a supplier's messages in your language and reply in theirs. Voice notes are turned into text, so a two-minute voice note from a factory becomes something you can read and search. Calls are different. Kaption does not translate a call live, and the transcript follows the language that was actually spoken. If you and a supplier talk in English as a shared second language, the transcript is in English. ## A routine that works for trade calls 1. **Ask to record** at the start of the call, and stop if the other side says no. 2. **Repeat the key numbers out loud**: "So that's 2,000 units, 40 per carton, ready on the 28th." It helps the transcript and the other person. 3. **Read the transcript** after the call and check the quantities, prices and dates. 4. **Confirm in writing.** Send a short message in the same WhatsApp chat with what was agreed, in your own words. Now the call and the written confirmation sit side by side. 5. **Set a reminder** in the chat for the next step, like confirming the carton size before the supplier's day ends. For the general walkthrough of recording on a computer, see [how to record WhatsApp calls on Mac and Windows](/blog/en/how-to-record-whatsapp-calls-on-mac-and-windows/), and for the full feature, [call recording in Kaption](/call-recording/). ## FAQ ### Is it legal to record a WhatsApp call with a supplier in another country? It depends on the countries involved. Some only need one person's agreement, many need everyone's, and the rules where each side is may both apply. Tell everyone at the start of the call and record only if they agree. For anything with legal weight, check the rules in both places. ### Does Kaption translate my calls with foreign suppliers? No. Kaption translates chat messages and turns voice notes into text, but it does not translate calls live. The call transcript is in the language that was spoken. ### Does Kaption summarize the call for me? No. You get the recording and a transcript with each side labelled. Reading the lines about quantities, prices and dates is up to you. ### Can I record calls on only my business number? Yes. In Settings › Call recordings, each WhatsApp number has its own setting: Every call, Only when I press Record, or Off. ### Where are the recordings saved? In the desktop app, in Downloads › Kaption Call Recordings, as `.m4a` files named after the contact and the time. In the Chrome and Edge extension, they stay in your browser, and you can download them or have a copy saved to a folder you choose. ### Does it record phone calls or other apps? No. Kaption records WhatsApp calls in its desktop app and in WhatsApp Web with the extension in Chrome or Edge. Regular phone calls and other apps are not recorded.