Is it illegal for someone to record a conversation while on your property

[hollydolly7]

If someone came to your door to speak to you and was recording the conversation without your permission is this illegal? Can't seem to find a straight answer.

I think so. I want it to be. Hope someone else knows for certain

Are you talking about police bodycams?

it’s not illegal under criminal law, no.

it may be an offence under civil law, but that’s dependent on a myriad of of things. Covert recordings have been permitted as evidence in court cases before.

Not a police bodycam no. So neighbor went to knock to address a noise complaint with another neighbor and recorded the conversation as evidence. I have been told this is against the law but looking online some websites say it is some say it isn't.

All depends on who the someone is and why they were recording it, I suppose. Police officer wearing a bodycam would be fine as far as I can see, as they could be using it for safety reasons and/or to gather evidence.

Who was it and what did they want?

What is the face for?

No.
it may breach the data protection act but that won’t take you anywhere.
illegally obtained recordings are admissible in civil claims

Recording was not pointing at person, it was just the conversation purely as evidence but now the neighbour who recorded it is now being threatened with police action and harassment.

I used to think you could record but it may not be admissible in court but now I think with the laws around data protection etc that it may be more complicated.

My understanding is, if the person felt threatened or concerned for their safety then that would override other laws.

Many councils advise recordings of events generally to build a case

I could be mistaken but I think it is legal to record. But, it's whatever is done with the recording that determines if it's legal or not.

So if you were to record someone, keep it on your phone and not do anything with it, that's fine. But, if you were to then splash it all over social media that would have legal implications.

No it’s not illegal.

I have so many questions I could ask but anyway...

I would suggest that the person being threatened should go to the police first, and tell them what's been going on. Even an informal chat with a local PCSO.

The act of audio recording a conversation is not illegal. What you do with the recording and the information contained within it may or may not be depending on the exact circumstances you're using it in.

When we were being harassed by a neighbour police advice was to record any time we may come into contact with them such as when walking past their property to get to ours to try and get something they could act on.

Can't really see how that can be illegal

You can't record in a place where you would normally expect privacy, but at a front door where you could be overheard by passers-by, it shouldn't be an issue.
Keeping the recording is allowed for specific purposes like evidence of threat etc, but otherwise should be deleted once it has served its purpose.

You can record wherever you like, even where the person being recorded has some expectation of privacy (i.e. their own home) as long as it's for personal use.

As soon as you try to use that recording and show it to others, that's when you run into problems. If it's a civil case, it's unlikely to be admissible and may be used against you. If used as evidence for the council, it's up to them whether they allow it as they run into legal issues surrounding sharing of 'private' data.

But recording itself is not against the law.

A conversation does not sound like personal data. GDPR does not apply to a purely personal setting.

Also would imagine no harm in recording a conversation but may not be evidence for civil matters.

Hello my best friend neighbour told me the other day that he can here everything we have been talking about very personal issues and he is now telling other people and it's not right