How to Record a FaceTime call with Audio Hijack

Open Audio Hijack

Get the app from rogueamoeba.com – there’s a trial version – then open it. You are presented with its main window; click the New Session button to begin. Make sure you’re signed in to FaceTime (or Skype) already.

Start a session

The Template Chooser window makes it easy to get started by selecting the kind of source you want to record. In this case it’s FaceTime, so choose the Application Audio option. You can always change the source later.

Select FaceTime

When your session opens, it’ll probably default to using iTunes as the source. In it, click the iTunes icon to open a list of available apps, then choose Other Application to open the Applications folder, and select FaceTime.

Set record options

FaceTime should appear as the audio source. The central module is the recorder; click it to reveal the recording options. The default settings will give you a decentquality MP3 recording, which is fine for voices.

Make quality settings

Click the Quality menu and you’ll see a selection of quality options. You could choose AAC format if you prefer it to MP3, or higher quality Apple Lossless or AIFF if, for some reason, you need to record in very high quality.

Record FaceTime

You can wait to be called, or you can open FaceTime first to make your own call. At whatever point you want to start capturing audio, press the app’s Record button. It will wait for a signal before it starts recording.

End recording

When you want to stop recording, just press the Record button again. This does not terminate your call, it just stops capturing it. When you’re done, press the Recordings button to see a collection of all your captured audio.

Add metadata

Select your recording and its metadata summary will appear. Here you can add a title and some notes, plus other info to help you keep track of recordings. The playback bar at the top lets you move through the audio.

Export your recording

If you click on the Actions button, you can opt to show the file in Finder, open it in an audio editor, add it to your iTunes library, or share it using macOS’s sharing sheet – useful if you need to send a recording via email.

Try it with Skype

Some of your contacts may be using Skype rather than FaceTime, but the process for recording is very similar. When choosing a source app for your session, simply choose Skype instead of FaceTime.