Is It Legal to Record Someone Without Consent in New York?
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed January 1, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
If someone records me using a speaker device without my knowledge and tries to use it against me, is that legal? Am I allowed to record someone else without their knowledge and consent?
Attorney Answer
In New York, it is generally legal to record a conversation as long as at least one person taking part in it consents, and you can be that person. It is a different story if neither you nor anyone in the conversation knew about or agreed to the recording.
New York follows what is called 'one-party consent.' Under New York Penal Law Article 250, secretly recording a conversation without the consent of at least one participant can be criminal eavesdropping. But if you are personally part of the conversation, you are allowed to record it yourself without telling the other person, and that recording is generally legal to make and can potentially be used later, including as evidence in some situations. The problem arises when someone who is not part of the conversation at all, such as someone secretly planting a recording device in a room to capture other people's private conversation, records it without any participant's knowledge. That kind of recording can violate Penal Law § 250.05, a class E felony, and can also be excluded from being used in court.
A few things to sort out based on your situation:
1. Figure out who was actually part of the conversation being recorded. If it is you and the other person, one-party consent likely covers it. If it is two other people and a third party recording without either of their knowledge, that is a very different legal situation. 2. Save the recording and any device information if you are the one who made it, including the date, time, and device used, in case you need to establish how it was obtained later. 3. Do not assume a recording is automatically usable in court. Even a legally made recording still has to meet other evidence rules to be admitted in a specific case. 4. If someone recorded you without any participant's consent, that could be both a crime and something you can raise in any related court proceeding to try to keep it out of evidence.
Because the answer really depends on exactly who recorded whom and in what setting, this is general legal information and not legal advice about your specific situation. A New York attorney can look at exactly how the recording was made and advise on whether it can be used, or challenged, in your case.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to tell someone I am recording our phone call or conversation in New York?
No. As long as you are a participant in the conversation, New York's one-party consent rule allows you to record it without telling the other person.
Is it legal for someone to record me if I do not know about it and I am not talking to them?
Generally no. If the person recording is not part of the conversation and no participant consented, that can be illegal eavesdropping under New York Penal Law § 250.05.
Can a recording made without my consent be used against me in court?
It depends on how it was obtained. A recording made illegally, without any participant's consent, can often be challenged and kept out of court, while a recording made by someone who was part of the conversation usually can be introduced, subject to normal evidence rules.
