Texas Laws: Can You Record Someone Else’s Conversations?

Yes! Welllll, as long as you are a part of the conversation, that is. But, if you get their consent, then you're all good to go. Let me explain.

What is a One-Party Consent State?

Texas is considered a one-party consent state which means only one person in a conversation needs to consent to a recording of the entire exchange (by the way, the person choosing to record counts as an involved person giving consent!).This still applies even if the other members have no idea they are being recorded.

This especially applies to phone calls. In Texas, it is a crime to record phone calls that you are NOT a part of. This means that if you want to record a phone call between you and your neighbor, then you can pop on the recording for the entire conversation without ever telling your neighbor that they are being recorded. How neat!

On the flip side, you can't just start filming/recording a conversation between two strangers in a private setting... first of all, that's weird, but it's also illegal in Texas.

Be careful how you wield this power, though. According to versustexas.com, you may enter a phone call with someone from one of the 10 two-party consent states (CA, CT, FL, IL, MD, MA, MT, NH, PA, WA). In these states you most definitely need consent from BOTH parties if you want to record the phone call.

What about recording conversations at the park?

Here's the fun part: Generally, you can record a conversation that you are not a part of IF the parties are talking in a public setting that do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

So, if you are sitting on a park bench filming a video and happen to pick up the conversations of other park-goers on nearby public benches, have no fear.

You can always read more about recording laws in the Lone Star State from the Texas State Law Library website.