Fortnite Can Now Record Voice Chats for Reports

Fortnite is following in the footsteps of Valorant and other games with voice recording now an option in-game in order to record problematic voice comms that can then be used in players' reports against others. For many players, the feature is one that can be toggled on and off, but for a significant amount of players (who've been truthful in setting up their accounts), it's going to be on by default and can't be turned off. Epic Games did provide some reassurances in its announcement regarding how this all works and how the voice recordings are saved.

Like others companies that have implemented similar measures, Epic Games says that having voice reporting options in-game will help moderating teams "take action against players using voice chat to bully, harass, discriminate, or engage in other inappropriate behavior."

How Voice Reporting Works in Fortnite

Epic Games says that this feature works by recording "the last five minutes of voice chat audio are captured on a rolling basis. This means that the game will capture the previous five minutes of whatever was said in your voice chats if you're in a game mode and party where that feature is enabled, and after five minutes are up, that audio "is automatically deleted." Because of this setup, you're only able to report problematic voice chats if the offense occurred within five minutes of when you actually file the report.

For those worried about privacy concerns, Epic Games said these audio recordings are stored on your own system and not on Epic's servers. Only when you actually report someone is that audio saved and then sent to Epic for review. Recordings are kept around by Epic for 14 days unless they're kept for a longer time due to a punishment against a player lasting for more than 14 days itself. Any actions taken against an offending player will be included in an email sent to that player's associated email address where they'll then have an option to review and appeal the incident.

Can You Turn Off Fortnite Voice Reporting?

First and foremost, if you're 18 and up and are worried about Epic Games listening in on your conversations, you have options. You can configure the voice recording feature to be "Off When Possible" in the game's settings which will make it so that recordings will be "off in parties formed among friends" so long as everyone in the party has that same option selected. If even one player has recordings on, however, they'll stay on for the party. Recordings for players 18 and up are always on whenever you're in a game channel that has you connecting with other players not in your parties. 

For those under 18, you have essentially no choice but to opt into the feature.

"Voice reporting is always on for voice chats that include players under 18. If you're under 18 and do not wish to have your voice chat audio captured, you can mute yourself or turn voice chat off entirely by selecting 'Off' in your voice chat settings."

Fortnite's new voice reporting feature is live in the game now.