Some T-Mobile customers during the past week have been surprised to discover a new -- and enabled by default -- feature in the T-Life app called "Screen recording tool." In light of recent iffy recording tools such as Microsoft's Recall AI feature in Windows, seeing a feature that records the contents of your screen is bound to raise privacy concerns.

How to disable Screen recording tool if you see it

If you're a T-Mobile subscriber, you can check if this new option has been turned on by opening the T-Life app, tapping Manage and then tapping Settings (the gear icon). The Screen recording tool option shows up under the Preferences heading.

If the option is there, tap it to reveal a description and a toggle switch. The description reads: "We use a tool to record how customers use the app to analyze and improve your experience. Only T-Mobile will review and analyze your info. If you turn this toggle on or magenta, we will record your screen while you use the app. If you turn this toggle off or gray, we will not record your screen."

To disable the feature, tap the switch so it becomes gray. (The "magenta" and "gray" in the text refer to the color of the toggle switch to indicate whether it's active or not, respectively.)

Why T-Mobile stands behind the new feature

When I reached out to the company for more information, a T-Mobile spokesperson defended the feature, saying it was designed to improve the user experience.

"To help us give customers who use T-Life a smoother experience, we are rolling out a new tool in the app that will help us quickly troubleshoot reported or detected issues," the spokesperson said. "This tool records activities within the app only and does not see or access any personal information. If a customer's T-Life app currently supports the new functionality, it can be turned off in the settings under preferences."

According to a post on droidlife, which earlier referenced the issue, the new option shows up on both iPhone and Android phones.

Why opt-in is so important

On the face of it, the Screen recording tool appears to do what it says, and the fact that it's limited to just the T-Life app is a reasonable, and expected, limitation.

But as with all potential privacy issues, the fact that T-Mobile is enabling the feature by default has rightly made customers suspicious. It should be off initially, and if an issue arises that would require screen recording, then the company could get permission from the phone owner to turn it on.

T-Mobile in fact has a similar setup within the T-Life app. There's another screen recording feature that is completely separate from this new Screen recording tool. In the app's settings, under Help & support, is Screen Share, which can be used during a support call. It allows a T-Mobile expert to view your phone's screen while troubleshooting an issue. It requires several steps and requires you to consent to having your screen recorded before allowing a support expert to connect to the app.

If you've ever tried to help a friend or family member over the phone and asked them to describe what's on the screen, you'll appreciate how helpful it can be to view what they're seeing directly.

Motorola Razr Ultra Is a Retro Icon Reborn With a Design for the Future

Now that flip phones have been resurrected from the early 2000s, the novelty of a compact clamshell is facing the rigors and feature demands of today's competitive phone landscape. It's not enough to flick open your phone and look great taking a call -- although design and especially color and texture go a long way to standing out. A 2025 flip phone needs to make the most of its small components and prove that it's durable enough to endure.The 2025 Motorola Razr Ultra is stepping forward to take that spot. With reinforced construction and style to spare, it wants you to forget about the past and embrace an experience that isn't yet another rectangular wafer of glass and metal. Does it justify its $1,300 price tag? Read CNET Managing Editor Patrick Holland's full review to find out. In the meantime, take a closer look at the new Razr Ultra.

The Motorola Razr Ultra is definitely not trying to blend in. It's available in vibrant colors like Cabaret (pink) licensed from Pantone, and the back has a fabric surface that feels better than the vegan leather on last year's Razr Plus.

The Pantone color extends to the body edges and buttons. When folded up, the Razr Ultra is just 0.62 inch (15.69mm) thick.

Motorola says the titanium hinge on the Razr Ultra is four times stronger than earlier Razr models.

This might be one of the best built phones Motorola has released in years.

The titanium hinge (at right) is sturdy but not bulky.

When fully open, the Razr Ultra measures 6.75 inches (171.48mm) tall.

Something has to give when you fold a phone in half, and like all foldables there's a crease where the halves bend. That said, Patrick Holland reports that the crease is less noticeable and not intrusive at all when using the phone.

You can see where the Razr Ultra folds here in this still photo, but in everyday use, even playing games, it's not as apparent.

The 4-inch cover screen is the shining star of the Razr Ultra. It's a true interactive screen, not just a display: You can run most apps on it.

When you're not actively using the Razr Ultra, tenting it or resting it screen-up on a surface can still let you see the time, notifications and other info you choose.

Of course, the content on the screen flips to accommodate how you're holding the Razr Ultra. Compared to the previous image, here the phone is closed with the cameras on the bottom.

The cover screen is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic surface.

Motorola has made it easy to manage the panels and customize the cover screen with widgets.

The Razr Ultra includes two 50 megapixel cameras with standard wide and ultrawide fields of view. There's also a 50MP selfie camera at the top of the main display.

It may seem odd at first to have the cameras (plus LED lamp) disrupting the cover screen's display, but it doesn't take long to get used to it.

The left edge of the Razr Ultra features a dedicated AI button to trigger Moto AI, the company's amalgamation of Perplexity, Google's Gemini, Microsoft's Copilot and Meta's Llama AI.

When snapped shut, the Razr Ultra takes up much less space than many other phones.

First published on May 28, 2025 at 12:03 p.m. PT.