Recording job interviews in Sweden: the Penal Code's participant rule, the GDPR and IMY's guidance

In Sweden, recording a job interview you take part in is not a crime: the offense of unlawful eavesdropping in chapter 4, section 9 a of the Penal Code covers recording conversations that the person does not take part in. The recording and transcript are personal data, so the GDPR and the Swedish Data Protection Act (2018:218) apply, and IMY, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, says recruitment data, including notes from interviews, may be kept only as long as the recruitment needs it and that consent is rarely the right legal basis. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds Sweden to our country series alongside Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK. Sweden follows a participant rule like the Netherlands, so the real limits come from data protection law and, where there is a collective agreement, labour law.

The Swedish rules at a glance

Can a participant record a conversation in Sweden?

Yes, as far as the Penal Code (brottsbalken) goes. Chapter 4, section 9 a punishes anyone who "unlawfully, with a technical device for reproducing sound, secretly listens to or records speech in private, a conversation between others or negotiations at a meeting or other gathering to which the public does not have access, and in which he himself does not take part or to which he has gained access without authorization," with fines or up to two years' imprisonment (Penal Code 4:9 a; our translation). Section 9 b separately punishes placing a technical device with intent to commit that offense.

The wording is aimed at outsiders and secret recording. A recruiter on a phone or video interview takes part in the conversation, so recording it is not unlawful eavesdropping. What it does not cover is a recorder left running in an interview you are not part of, such as a colleague's panel. The more important limits for a recruiter come from data protection law.

Which data protection rules apply to the recording?

The GDPR applies directly, and the Swedish Data Protection Act (lag 2018:218) "supplements" it, in the words of its first section (Data Protection Act 1:1). For an interview recording that means a legal basis under Article 6, the Article 13 information when you collect it, data minimization, a retention limit and the candidate's rights of access and erasure.

What does IMY say about recruitment data and consent?

IMY's guidance on recruitment systems and competence databases is direct on the points that matter for interviews (IMY, recruitment systems and competence databases; our translations):

• Legal basis. The legal bases for processing personal data in recruitment "are normally a balancing of interests or a public interest (if the employer is an authority)."
• Only what is needed. An employer may process only the data needed to assess whether someone is suitable for a specific job, and the processing may never be more detailed or extensive than filling that job requires.
• Interview notes have a shelf life. "Personal data in an application, notes from interviews and references may be processed as long as the data are necessary for the recruitment procedure. After that they should as a starting point be deleted or de-identified."
• Legal claims and talent pools. The employer may keep the data as long as the applicant can take legal action, and keeping it for future recruitment requires the applicant's consent.
• Consent is rarely suitable. Citing the European Data Protection Board, IMY says it can be inappropriate for an employer to use consent as the legal basis in recruitment, although the applicant's own attitude can be weighed and asking first can be appropriate, for example before a personality test.
• Automated decisions. Applicants have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing with legal or similarly significant effects.

An interview recording is a fuller version of interview notes, so the same rules apply to it, and a recording is harder to justify than notes under the "only what is needed" test. Our guide to legitimate interest in recruitment covers how to document the balancing test.

What does IMY say about monitoring your own interviewers?

A tool that records interviews also records the people asking the questions. IMY's guidance on control and monitoring of employees says an employer's right to monitor staff is governed first by labour law, such as legislation and collective agreements; that the need must be objectively justified and the employer must be able to show it cannot be met by less intrusive methods; that "IMY does not consider that an employer can use consent as the legal basis" for processing data to monitor employees; and that employees have the right to clear information in advance about what checks can be made (IMY, control and monitoring of employees; our translations). Tell interviewers in advance what is recorded and why, and say in writing that recordings are not used to evaluate them.

Does the union have to be involved?

Possibly, if you are bound by a collective agreement. Section 11 of the Co-determination Act (MBL) requires such an employer, on its own initiative, to negotiate with the union "before deciding on a more important change of its operations," and before a more important change of working or employment conditions for the union's members (MBL s.11; our translation). Whether a recording tool for interviews is "more important" depends on how it is used; bringing the union in early is the cautious course, and your collective agreement may have its own rules on monitoring.

Are public employers different?

Yes. IMY notes that employers that are public authorities must follow the requirements to preserve official documents (allmänna handlingar) unless there is support for disposal, for example in disposal regulations. A recording or transcript held by a Swedish authority can therefore be subject to archiving rules and public access requests that a private employer does not face. Check your authority's disposal rules before you record.

What if you interview a candidate in Sweden from the US?

The Penal Code is unlikely to be the issue for a participant, but the US side of the call has its own rules that depend on the state you are in; see is it legal to record a job interview. An employer or agency established in the EU is covered by the GDPR under Article 3(1); for a US company with no EU establishment, it depends on Article 3(2). The simplest course is to treat candidates in Sweden as a Swedish employer would: advance notice, a documented legal basis, a deletion date and prompt answers to access requests.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, under the same rules. Tell the candidate before the call which tool is used and whether audio is kept, check where the provider processes audio and whether it is transferred outside the EU or EEA, and keep hiring decisions with a person, as IMY's note on automated decisions requires. If the tool scores or ranks candidates, also check the EU AI Act's rules for recruitment systems (the EU AI Act for recruiting). Interview Signal (our product), for example, captures audio from the interviewer's computer with no bot in the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not keep audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews in Sweden

Innan vi börjar: Jag skulle vilja [spela in / transkribera med en
programvara] vårt samtal, så att jag kan fokusera på dig och återge
dina svar korrekt. [Inspelningen / Transkriberingen] används bara i
den här rekryteringen och raderas senast [tid] efter att den har
avslutats. Går det bra för dig? Du kan också säga nej eller be om
paus när som helst, och det påverkar inte din ansökan.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] our
conversation so I can focus on you and capture your answers correctly.
The [recording / transcript] is used only for this recruitment and
deleted no later than [period] after it ends. Is that all right with you?
You can say no or ask to pause at any time, and it won't affect your
application.)

Put the same information in the interview invitation and your privacy notice. More wording options are in our interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in Sweden

• Only interviews you take part in are recorded.
• Candidate told in advance, in the invitation and at the start of the call, and given a real choice to continue without recording.
• Legal basis documented as a balancing of interests (or public interest for authorities), with a note on why a recording rather than notes is needed.
• Interviewers informed in advance; recordings not used to evaluate them.
• Union negotiations checked under MBL and the collective agreement.
• Recordings and transcripts deleted when the recruitment and the period for legal claims end; talent-pool retention only with consent; see our retention policy template.

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