The idea that police could listen in on your conversations is unsettling for everyone, but especially activists and journalists, whose work often involves sensitive or classified information.
We’ve all seen phone tapping dramatized in movies and TV shows, but how much of it reflects reality? Can the police tap your phone without your knowledge? In this guide, we’ll explain what the law allows, how phone tapping works in practice, and what steps you can take to keep your conversations private.
Can the Police Tap Your Phone Without You Knowing?
Yes, the police, as well as federal and state government agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), can tap your phone and aren’t required to notify you about it. This doesn’t mean that law enforcement is free to tap everyone’s phones as they please as there are strict procedures and wiretapping laws in place to ensure phone tapping isn’t misused.
Additionally, phone wiretapping can be allowed only if there’s probable cause, such as the investigation of a crime.
Can the Police Tap Your Phone Without a Warrant?
No, the police typically can’t tap your phone without a warrant. First and foremost, it’s important to understand what “phone tapping” involves. While wiretapping is generally associated with intercepting phone calls and recording in-person conversations, it actually covers any and all wire, oral, and electronic communication intercepted by law enforcement.
In the United States, wiretapping is regulated by the Federal Wiretap Act, a part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). This law prohibits the interception and disclosure of wire, oral, and electronic communications, as well as the manufacturing of interception devices.
The key exception applies to federal and state government agencies. They can intercept, disclose, and use records of these communications if both of the following apply:
- Recordings are made to investigate criminal offenses listed under 18 U.S.C. § 2516, such as kidnapping, treason, espionage, terrorism, extortion, murder, and robbery.
- The federal or state government agency in question has obtained a warrant for wiretapping.
How Do the Police Get a Wiretap Warrant?
Obtaining a wiretap order requires law enforcement to prove to the court that wiretapping is necessary. The application for the warrant needs to include the following:
- Identity of the agency and the agency applying for the warrant
- Details of the case being investigated
- An overview of investigative techniques that were used but didn’t produce satisfactory results (physical surveillance or photographing suspects)
- Period of time during which wiretapping will occur
- Statement regarding previous authorized applications in the case (if any)
Certain limitations apply even after a wiretap warrant’s been approved. Under federal law, law enforcement must comply with minimization requirements, which means they must make reasonable efforts to avoid intercepting communications unrelated to the investigation.
For example, agents are generally required to minimize or stop listening when it becomes clear that the conversation is:
- Between spouses
- With a medical provider or insurer
- With a minister, priest, rabbi, or another religious official
- Clearly unrelated to the criminal investigation (unless there’s reason to believe it may lead to relevant information)
There are certain rules law enforcement has to follow when it comes to wiretapping, including:
- Progress reports (interim reporting): Law enforcement is typically required to send ongoing progress reports to the court. The judge decides their frequency.
- Duration: Interception can last up to 30 days, and it must cease the moment the investigating party has obtained the necessary information. If evidence points toward a need for additional investigation, it’s possible to obtain an extension of the warrant.
- Sealing: Once wiretapping has been terminated, the investigating party has 10 days to make the recordings available to the judge who issued the warrant, and they must be sealed.
Is a Warrant Necessary in All Circumstances?
If there’s a national security threat, wiretapping may be permitted without obtaining a warrant as these situations require an urgent reaction. Additionally, in special circumstances, law enforcement can work with a phone company to conduct an emergency wiretap. In such cases, the investigating party must obtain a warrant within 48 hours after the interception begins.
What Happens if the Police Don’t Have a Warrant?
The police aren’t allowed to tap your phone without a warrant unless one of the parties consents to the use of a wiretap. If the police proceed with wiretapping without a warrant or consent, the evidence they collect won’t hold up in court and can’t be used against you. Due to a lack of credible evidence, the case could be dismissed.
Does the Police Need a Warrant for Pen Registers or Trap and Trace Devices?
Pen registers and trap and trace devices are often mentioned in the context of wiretapping, and they share a similar investigative goal. Here’s what they do:
Device/Program | Purpose |
Pen registers | Capturing phone numbers that have been dialed from a particular phone line |
Trap and trace | Capturing incoming calls to a particular phone line |
Pen registers and trap and trace devices monitor communication, but, unlike wiretapping, they don’t record the content of the communication. That’s why obtaining a warrant isn’t a requirement; instead, the police need a court order, which is significantly easier to get than a standard warrant.
What Does the Law Say About Recording Conversations Without Your Knowledge?
As a journalist or activist, you likely participate in important conversations and may wonder whether the other side can legally record their content. The answer depends on the jurisdiction.
Federal law states that recording calls is legal if at least one party gives their consent. In practice, this means that the person participating in a phone call can legally record a conversation without informing the other party.
Certain state laws are much stricter when it comes to call recording. In some states, two-party (or all-party) consent is required, so everyone involved in a conversation must agree to the call recording. If the involved parties come from different states, a general rule of thumb is to obey the laws of the state that requires two-party consent. Below is a list of two-party consent states:
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
- Washington
- Illinois
The remaining states have a one-party consent rule.
How To Protect Your Phone & Secure Communications: 4 Valuable Tips
If the police have a warrant, they can tap your device without your knowledge. The problem is that law enforcement isn’t the only entity that can access your phone; malicious actors can exploit network vulnerabilities, intercept communications, and steal data from your device.
Since secure communication is essential, consider the following tips to protect your device and enhance privacy:
- Use strong screen locks
- Leverage airplane mode
- Check app permissions
- Switch to a reliable mobile carrier
1. Use Strong Screen Locks
A strong screen lock is the primary line of defense against physical threats, such as device loss or theft. This is especially important if you’re bringing your phone to a protest or another event with a large crowd. Without a screen lock, anyone who gets hold of your phone can access the data on it.
The best you can do is set up a pattern or password. Whatever you choose, ensure the screen lock isn’t easy to crack. For instance, if you’re using a pattern, draw a complex, non-obvious design. If you prefer passwords, choose a longer one that doesn’t contain your personal information, such as your birthday.
Biometric authentication may seem like the best screen lock option because it uses your unique traits (such as facial features or fingerprints) to protect your device. The issue is that, as a journalist or activist, you may be detained by the police during protests or other events, and they could potentially get into your phone by leveraging biometric authentication.
The law is still unclear on this matter, but one thing is certain: you can’t be forced to unlock a phone that is protected by a password or pattern (unless there’s a warrant) as this is considered a form of testimony.
2. Leverage Airplane Mode
Malicious actors and, in some cases, authorities can exploit weak Bluetooth connections, public Wi-Fi networks, or cellular networks to access your device and intercept communications. An immediate defense against these threats is airplane mode. In a few clicks, you can sever all wireless communication features.
You can use this option when you’re attending protests or reporting from an event, ensuring nobody can access your phone through the network. While it’s convenient, airplane mode isn’t an almighty shield that offers consistent high-level device protection, and it’s important to understand its limitations:
- You can’t make or receive calls, send or receive messages, or use mobile data while airplane mode is enabled.
- Airplane mode can’t undo a network-level attack that has already occurred.
- Your device will become vulnerable as soon as you disable airplane mode.
3. Check App Permissions
Many apps require permissions to access your sensitive data, such as location, contacts, or emails, and some of them share this data with third parties, directly jeopardizing your digital privacy. Worse yet, malicious actors can exploit these permissions to install malware or spyware and monitor your activity.
To protect your privacy and enhance device security, regularly check app permissions and disable any unnecessary ones during new app installation or later in device settings. For example, the calculator app shouldn’t require access to your camera to properly function.
4. Switch to a Reliable Mobile Carrier
Network-level attacks often exploit vulnerabilities in a mobile carrier’s infrastructure to access your device, extract data from it, or intercept communication. Malicious actors often target the carrier itself to get access to vast amounts of personal information, which they can later use for future attacks. These risks largely exist because many carriers rely on outdated infrastructures and ineffective data collection, storage, and sharing policies.
For maximum mobile privacy and security, choose a privacy-first carrier like Cape. We leverage our own infrastructure and offer a range of options that efficiently defend you from SIM swapping, SS7 attacks, IMSI catchers, and other threats. We also take data protection seriously:
- Data collection and storage are minimal, so there’s very little to steal or expose.
- Data selling isn’t an option, ever.
How Cape Handles Government and Law Enforcement Requests
Cape has a robust privacy policy that helps us handle government and law enforcement requests with adequate data minimization safeguards. As a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Cape has to comply with lawful requests for subscriber information—such as requests made under the federal Stored Communications Act. However, because we retain only the minimum subscriber data necessary to provide a service, the information we can share with the law enforcement or government is inherently limited.
Whenever the law allows, we notify the subscriber whose information is being requested, which gives them the opportunity to challenge the request. If the law or court order prohibits us from notifying the subscriber, we review the request carefully and contest it in case it’s overly broad or overreaches lawful expectations.
So far, Cape has not received any government request that had a nondisclosure obligation.
To put it simply, we respect and comply with all legitimate requests under the law while taking every reasonable step to protect you from data misuse or overreach. You not only get peace of mind but also reliable coverage across the U.S.
Are you a journalist or an activist? Check out Cape’s free private and secure cellular service program and apply to see if you’re eligible.
Cape: Uncompromised Connectivity, Complete Privacy
Telecom networks sit at the heart of our digital lives, but they’ve long been attractive targets for attackers—and poorly defended by the industry. Cape is changing that by rethinking how a carrier should be built, using a software-based, cloud-native core designed for privacy and security.
As a privacy-first carrier, Cape gives you control over your communications without demanding your personal data. We follow minimal-trust principles: you can join Cape while leaving little to no identifying information behind, ensuring your network activity stays private.
Here are some of the most advanced security features Cape offers:
- SIM swap protection: Instead of passwords, your account is secured by a 24-word recovery phrase created at signup. Encrypted with a private key stored only on your device, it ensures only you can move your number to a new phone. This prevents the insider threats and social engineering attacks that fuel most SIM swaps as many SIM swaps are initiated by compromised carrier employees.
- Enhanced signaling protection: Cape’s proprietary signaling proxy eliminates network vulnerabilities and protects from location tracking, call/SMS interceptions, and extraction of unique identifiers.
- Private payment: We don’t require your name or billing address. Payments are processed by Stripe and tokenized, so your subscription can’t be tied back to your personal details.
- Encrypted voicemail: Voicemail content and metadata are encrypted and then re-encrypted with your private key, meaning only you can access them.
These protections are built directly into Cape’s network without compromising performance. You get unlimited calls, texts, and 4G/5G across the U.S., plus free international roaming (eligible devices and countries).
Ditch Legacy Carriers: Get Cape Today
Cape follows a simple philosophy: Don’t trust us. By not collecting it in the first place, we close off major vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Ready to switch? Visit cape.co/get-cape to sign up.
Cape is $99/per month, no additional fees, taxes, or hidden charges.
To extend your privacy beyond the network, Cape subscribers can get Proton Unlimited or Proton VPN Plus for only $1 for six months.
