9 ms·

I have had a Google Voice number since it was Grand Central. It has gone on all of my business cards. It's at the bottom of every email. I put it on my websi

I have had a Google Voice number since it was Grand Central. It has gone on all of my business cards. It's at the bottom of every email. I put it on my website. Google does an amazing, world class, mind blowing, job of filtering out robo calls. I get maybe one a week at most. I get more calls direct to my cell number from random call bots that hit every number with mobile carriers than I do through my Google Voice number. It's past time for Apple to integrate spam call filtering into iOS and Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice.

tomcam 8y ago
I would LOVE to use my Google Voice number for just this reason. I find the sound quality to be bad no matter what mic I use. If there's a higher tier with better voice quality I can pay for that's fine. My net connection is at least 25Mbps to 65Mbps and I'm in the Seattle area. Do you have any tips on what I can do to get better quality?
- gnicholas 8y ago
  This, plus annoying latency. Makes conversations awkward, especially with people I don’t know well.
MuffinFlavored 8y ago
> iOS What about downloading Hiya?
fphhotchips 8y ago
> Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice. Except that it's not available outside the US. The other 95% of us can pound sand, apparently.
- maguirre 8y ago
  Or if you are in the US and have a project Fi number
- eloisant 8y ago
  Luckily we don't suffer robocall like in US. I'm in France, and I only get very rare scam calls on my cell phone, and no marketing calls.
fossuser 8y ago
I used Google voice for years while Google let it languish in relative obscurity. Eventually after I realized it was silently dropping group messages because they were MMS and Google never worked on supporting MMS (images were dropped too back then) I left it for iOS and iMessage. Getting dropped from group chats meant people thought you were ignoring them and you'd miss invitations. Google had a huge lead with voice that they wasted instead on Buzz, Allo, Talk, Hangouts which all were killed or are being killed - I wouldn't go back.
- js2 8y ago
  GV supports group chats/MMS now, however, you can't mute or leave a group chat, at least not with the iOS client. (Given my family's penchant for starting a group MMS for the most minor of occurrences, I'm not sure the group chat support is a blessing or a curse.)
  - chipperyman573 8y ago
    I think that from a pure technical standpoint, you can't leave a MMS group any more than you can leave a reply-all email chain. "Leaving" a group usually just involves your phone dropping any texts it gets directed to that group. (Obviously iMessage is different because it's not actually MMS)
- Causality1 8y ago
  The only Google service I rely on is Gmail, because it's the only Google service I can have a reasonable expectation of still being around in five years.
  - joecool1029 8y ago
    With the way they keep adding proprietary extensions to it, I wouldn't be so sure if it'll actually support sending email to non-gmail clients in five years. Google Voice is actually a safer bet as there's no doubt all sorts of legal snares they'd hit if they shut it down. Bandwidth.com runs things behind the scenes and is a competent company to do business with. They'd likely have to spin it off if they wanted to discontinue it.
orblivion 8y ago
> amazing job ... one a week Wow, the state we're in.
breck 8y ago
> It's past time for Apple to integrate spam call filtering into iOS Yes! I have 2 dozen numbers "blocked" on my iPhone but the robocalls keep coming. I wish there was a "Report Spam" (Gmail) equivalent on iOS that employed smarter rules so I didn't have to manually blocking one number at a time (that's likely a throwaway account anyway).
- a_wild_dandan 8y ago
  Blocking numbers won't deter anything, FYI. Those spam calls spoof random numbers (often using your area code). I've received a spam call from myself.
  - snazz 8y ago
    You sure it wasn’t just a single digit off from your phone number? I’ve never gotten a call from myself. Is Caller ID that insecure?
    - ylere 8y ago
      Yes. The number is just a property and can be pretty much anything. Same goes for SMS, by the way.
    - jsjohnst 8y ago
      Yes, it’s that insecure. I used to freak out friends in the late 90s doing it, but sadly it’s not changed much and is just as easy as ever. Twilio will even let you spoof “your own number” on their network for outbound calls as mentioned in the article. Yes, they at least verify the number is “yours” before doing it, but it’s not hard to get around that limitation either assuming you have access to the other person’s phone. Networking of all times has been grossly permissive historically and a lot of it is still today. With a lax upstream bandwidth provider, I could even pretend to have your IP address quite effectively (well, I don’t know a way to get just yours, but I do know how to get yours and the adjoining few hundred next to you).
    - 6nf 8y ago
      Sign up for any random SMS API service. You'll note that you can send SMS using anything you like as the 'from' field. There's no checks or restrictions. Same goes for voice calls in most cases.
Diederich 8y ago
I've had the same Google voice number since 2009, in the south Bay Area, 408 area code. I get one or two bogus calls a day, down from two or three a day at peak, perhaps four or so months ago. To my knowledge, I've had no legit incoming calls incorrectly marked as SPAM.
- chipperyman573 8y ago
  Do you have the anti spam feature enabled? IIRC it's off by default.
  - Diederich 8y ago
    Yup, I have that enabled.
Shivetya 8y ago
too bad businesses that have google voice numbers come across Verzion without any id so I have let them go to voice mail.
hanniabu 8y ago
Ironically I didn't start getting spam calls until I signed up for a google voice number. I know others that have experienced the same.
eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y ago
Weird, I have a number on Google Voice and it is also the number I give out to businesses and post publicly (any people I don't personally know). The robocalls on that number have become so bad in the past year that I gave up and just turned it off so it won't ever ring through to my phone anymore. Which actually is fine, for how I'm using it, as I just go in and check it every now and then (and have email notifications turned on). It seems like this is a problem that needs to be cut down at the source of the calls, not necessarily at the filtering stage on the receiving end. Aren't most of these robo-callers likely using the same providers/APIs? I know Twilio doesn't explicitly allow robocallers on their platform, but it's hard to believe that a lot of them are not using Twilio or companies like it to automate their spam anyway. It seems this problem arose when automated / APIs connected to the telephone system were made, like Twilio, not way back when Bell was split up.
- js2 8y ago
  Is it possible you don't have "Global Spam Filtering" enabled? (I can't find the setting in the new web UI, but it's available in the legacy web UI under Settings -> Calls.)
  - bonestamp2 8y ago
    Only option I see now is "Filter spam" under settings > security.
aboutruby 8y ago
Only available in the US though, I have one but it's not easy for anybody outside the US to get one. Just a few things: - It does filter out all the spam (I get maybe a random call once a year and a random text once every 6 months) - There is no SIM card, so it has to go through the internet, which is much less reliable - You can call anywhere in the world very cheaply (US is free) - The phone apps are barely usable (Hangouts on iOS for instance) (Google Voice one is blocking non-US users) - It's a life saver in emergency situations and just when being abroad in general, and for that only it's the best provider out there.
rb666 8y ago
It's funny how one a week is acceptable in the USA. If I got one a week here I would consider myself getting spammed into depression.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- swozey 8y ago
  I often get 5-6 a day. I can't even tell you the last time I had an actual phone call come to my phone.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  > It's funny how one a week is acceptable in the USA. It's not acceptable in the USA.
giancarlostoro 8y ago
If Google Voice was free for Android users sure. Its interesting I heard at a telecoms conference from Google Employees they may be focusing on making Google Voice have newer business features. I used to use Google Voice when Sprint had a deal with them so I didnt have to pay but now that I am on T-Mobile I cant use it... But I noticed the same as soon as I lost Google Voice I started seeing many more robocalls. They might even notice patterns in same call to 500 people with no human interaction when they respond lol
fro0116 8y ago
I use Google Voice extensively too. The problem I often run into is a bunch of services (like Uber, and one of my credit card companies Synchrony Bank) don't accept Google Voice numbers. What do folks usually do in those cases? Are there services like google voice but don't have the non-acceptance problem?
- joecool1029 8y ago
  > Are there services like google voice but don't have the non-acceptance problem? T-Mobile DIGITS. I got a free line like a year ago, I use it when companies want to be dickbags about not accepting voip number use (because it is still one but shows up as a mobile carrier)
  - mehrdadn 8y ago
    What does DIGITS buy you? You still have to hand out your actual number right?
    - joecool1029 8y ago
      It's a VOIP number that shows up as a mobile number. So no, you don't have to hand out your primary number. You can create a new one there and use that for junk companies.
      - mehrdadn 8y ago
        Oh, you mean the one that costs $10/month extra? :\ And doesn't solve the problem of already receiving spam calls...? It seems like basically just buying a new line?
        joecool1029 8y ago
        As I said, I got mine for free. I don't know what they currently charge. It is supported by their Scam block service (which is free and can be enabled by shortcode): https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4041#fourthheading https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4041#fourthheading
mehrdadn 8y ago
> Google does an amazing, world class, mind blowing, job of filtering out robo calls. I get maybe one a week at most. Wait, really? I tried forwarding calls to my Google Voice and it seemed like almost every (though not every) spam call went through without getting flagged as spam.
dbg31415 8y ago
Spot on, I have a cell phone that uses a different area code from the city I live in (it's actually Vegas, a city I've never lived in). Between Google Voice, and knowing that any local number is a wrong number, I don't ever have to deal with spam calls. * How To Duck Cell Phone Taxes || https://www.forbes.com/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html#217d84010ba5 https://www.forbes.com/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html#2... (Not sure if this is still relevant, haven't looked at my cell phone bill in years... but never switched to a local area code since I liked the filtration side effect.)
piva00 8y ago
No, it's past time for this kind of service to be regulated and taken control. It affects the whole US society, makes people less productive, less happy and less satisfied for the gain of a few. Why is this a mainly American phenomena? How do you fix this without depending on the old whack-a-mole game of product companies adding features to fight the spam war? I know that e-mail spam is difficult to regulate and control but other kinds of telecommunications are easier, phone calls being one just by being centralised in a few companies routing them.
JohnFen 8y ago
> Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice. You mean aside from not being OK with using Google services?

tomcam 8y ago

I would LOVE to use my Google Voice number for just this reason. I find the sound quality to be bad no matter what mic I use. If there's a higher tier with better voice quality I can pay for that's fine. My net connection is at least 25Mbps to 65Mbps and I'm in the Seattle area. Do you have any tips on what I can do to get better quality?

gnicholas 8y ago
This, plus annoying latency. Makes conversations awkward, especially with people I don’t know well.

MuffinFlavored 8y ago

> iOS What about downloading Hiya?

fphhotchips 8y ago

> Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice. Except that it's not available outside the US. The other 95% of us can pound sand, apparently.

maguirre 8y ago
Or if you are in the US and have a project Fi number
eloisant 8y ago
Luckily we don't suffer robocall like in US. I'm in France, and I only get very rare scam calls on my cell phone, and no marketing calls.

fossuser 8y ago

I used Google voice for years while Google let it languish in relative obscurity. Eventually after I realized it was silently dropping group messages because they were MMS and Google never worked on supporting MMS (images were dropped too back then) I left it for iOS and iMessage. Getting dropped from group chats meant people thought you were ignoring them and you'd miss invitations. Google had a huge lead with voice that they wasted instead on Buzz, Allo, Talk, Hangouts which all were killed or are being killed - I wouldn't go back.

js2 8y ago
GV supports group chats/MMS now, however, you can't mute or leave a group chat, at least not with the iOS client. (Given my family's penchant for starting a group MMS for the most minor of occurrences, I'm not sure the group chat support is a blessing or a curse.)
- chipperyman573 8y ago
  I think that from a pure technical standpoint, you can't leave a MMS group any more than you can leave a reply-all email chain. "Leaving" a group usually just involves your phone dropping any texts it gets directed to that group. (Obviously iMessage is different because it's not actually MMS)
Causality1 8y ago
The only Google service I rely on is Gmail, because it's the only Google service I can have a reasonable expectation of still being around in five years.
- joecool1029 8y ago
  With the way they keep adding proprietary extensions to it, I wouldn't be so sure if it'll actually support sending email to non-gmail clients in five years. Google Voice is actually a safer bet as there's no doubt all sorts of legal snares they'd hit if they shut it down. Bandwidth.com runs things behind the scenes and is a competent company to do business with. They'd likely have to spin it off if they wanted to discontinue it.

orblivion 8y ago

> amazing job ... one a week Wow, the state we're in.

breck 8y ago

> It's past time for Apple to integrate spam call filtering into iOS Yes! I have 2 dozen numbers "blocked" on my iPhone but the robocalls keep coming. I wish there was a "Report Spam" (Gmail) equivalent on iOS that employed smarter rules so I didn't have to manually blocking one number at a time (that's likely a throwaway account anyway).

a_wild_dandan 8y ago
Blocking numbers won't deter anything, FYI. Those spam calls spoof random numbers (often using your area code). I've received a spam call from myself.
- snazz 8y ago
  You sure it wasn’t just a single digit off from your phone number? I’ve never gotten a call from myself. Is Caller ID that insecure?
  - ylere 8y ago
    Yes. The number is just a property and can be pretty much anything. Same goes for SMS, by the way.
  - jsjohnst 8y ago
    Yes, it’s that insecure. I used to freak out friends in the late 90s doing it, but sadly it’s not changed much and is just as easy as ever. Twilio will even let you spoof “your own number” on their network for outbound calls as mentioned in the article. Yes, they at least verify the number is “yours” before doing it, but it’s not hard to get around that limitation either assuming you have access to the other person’s phone. Networking of all times has been grossly permissive historically and a lot of it is still today. With a lax upstream bandwidth provider, I could even pretend to have your IP address quite effectively (well, I don’t know a way to get just yours, but I do know how to get yours and the adjoining few hundred next to you).
  - 6nf 8y ago
    Sign up for any random SMS API service. You'll note that you can send SMS using anything you like as the 'from' field. There's no checks or restrictions. Same goes for voice calls in most cases.

Diederich 8y ago

I've had the same Google voice number since 2009, in the south Bay Area, 408 area code. I get one or two bogus calls a day, down from two or three a day at peak, perhaps four or so months ago. To my knowledge, I've had no legit incoming calls incorrectly marked as SPAM.

chipperyman573 8y ago
Do you have the anti spam feature enabled? IIRC it's off by default.
- Diederich 8y ago
  Yup, I have that enabled.

Shivetya 8y ago

too bad businesses that have google voice numbers come across Verzion without any id so I have let them go to voice mail.

hanniabu 8y ago

Ironically I didn't start getting spam calls until I signed up for a google voice number. I know others that have experienced the same.

eeeeeeeeeeeee 8y ago

Weird, I have a number on Google Voice and it is also the number I give out to businesses and post publicly (any people I don't personally know). The robocalls on that number have become so bad in the past year that I gave up and just turned it off so it won't ever ring through to my phone anymore. Which actually is fine, for how I'm using it, as I just go in and check it every now and then (and have email notifications turned on). It seems like this is a problem that needs to be cut down at the source of the calls, not necessarily at the filtering stage on the receiving end. Aren't most of these robo-callers likely using the same providers/APIs? I know Twilio doesn't explicitly allow robocallers on their platform, but it's hard to believe that a lot of them are not using Twilio or companies like it to automate their spam anyway. It seems this problem arose when automated / APIs connected to the telephone system were made, like Twilio, not way back when Bell was split up.

js2 8y ago
Is it possible you don't have "Global Spam Filtering" enabled? (I can't find the setting in the new web UI, but it's available in the legacy web UI under Settings -> Calls.)
- bonestamp2 8y ago
  Only option I see now is "Filter spam" under settings > security.

aboutruby 8y ago

Only available in the US though, I have one but it's not easy for anybody outside the US to get one. Just a few things: - It does filter out all the spam (I get maybe a random call once a year and a random text once every 6 months) - There is no SIM card, so it has to go through the internet, which is much less reliable - You can call anywhere in the world very cheaply (US is free) - The phone apps are barely usable (Hangouts on iOS for instance) (Google Voice one is blocking non-US users) - It's a life saver in emergency situations and just when being abroad in general, and for that only it's the best provider out there.

rb666 8y ago

It's funny how one a week is acceptable in the USA. If I got one a week here I would consider myself getting spammed into depression.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
swozey 8y ago
I often get 5-6 a day. I can't even tell you the last time I had an actual phone call come to my phone.
JohnFen 8y ago
> It's funny how one a week is acceptable in the USA. It's not acceptable in the USA.

giancarlostoro 8y ago

If Google Voice was free for Android users sure. Its interesting I heard at a telecoms conference from Google Employees they may be focusing on making Google Voice have newer business features. I used to use Google Voice when Sprint had a deal with them so I didnt have to pay but now that I am on T-Mobile I cant use it... But I noticed the same as soon as I lost Google Voice I started seeing many more robocalls. They might even notice patterns in same call to 500 people with no human interaction when they respond lol

fro0116 8y ago

I use Google Voice extensively too. The problem I often run into is a bunch of services (like Uber, and one of my credit card companies Synchrony Bank) don't accept Google Voice numbers. What do folks usually do in those cases? Are there services like google voice but don't have the non-acceptance problem?

joecool1029 8y ago
> Are there services like google voice but don't have the non-acceptance problem? T-Mobile DIGITS. I got a free line like a year ago, I use it when companies want to be dickbags about not accepting voip number use (because it is still one but shows up as a mobile carrier)
- mehrdadn 8y ago
  What does DIGITS buy you? You still have to hand out your actual number right?
  - joecool1029 8y ago
    It's a VOIP number that shows up as a mobile number. So no, you don't have to hand out your primary number. You can create a new one there and use that for junk companies.
    - mehrdadn 8y ago
      Oh, you mean the one that costs $10/month extra? :\ And doesn't solve the problem of already receiving spam calls...? It seems like basically just buying a new line?
      - joecool1029 8y ago
        As I said, I got mine for free. I don't know what they currently charge. It is supported by their Scam block service (which is free and can be enabled by shortcode): https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4041#fourthheading https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4041#fourthheading

mehrdadn 8y ago

> Google does an amazing, world class, mind blowing, job of filtering out robo calls. I get maybe one a week at most. Wait, really? I tried forwarding calls to my Google Voice and it seemed like almost every (though not every) spam call went through without getting flagged as spam.

dbg31415 8y ago

Spot on, I have a cell phone that uses a different area code from the city I live in (it's actually Vegas, a city I've never lived in). Between Google Voice, and knowing that any local number is a wrong number, I don't ever have to deal with spam calls. * How To Duck Cell Phone Taxes || https://www.forbes.com/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html#217d84010ba5 https://www.forbes.com/2005/06/06/cz_sw_0606cellphone.html#2... (Not sure if this is still relevant, haven't looked at my cell phone bill in years... but never switched to a local area code since I liked the filtration side effect.)

piva00 8y ago

No, it's past time for this kind of service to be regulated and taken control. It affects the whole US society, makes people less productive, less happy and less satisfied for the gain of a few. Why is this a mainly American phenomena? How do you fix this without depending on the old whack-a-mole game of product companies adding features to fight the spam war? I know that e-mail spam is difficult to regulate and control but other kinds of telecommunications are easier, phone calls being one just by being centralised in a few companies routing them.

JohnFen 8y ago

> Android users have no excuse for not using Google Voice. You mean aside from not being OK with using Google services?