Caller identification is a telephone service, available in analog and digital telephone systems, including voice over IP (VoIP), that transmits a caller's telephone number to the called party's telephone equipment when the call is being set up. The caller ID service may include the transmission of a name associated with the calling telephone number, in a service called Calling Name Presentation (CNAM). The service was first defined in 1993 in International Telecommunication Union—Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Recommendation Q.731.3.
Smartphones are a class of mobile phones and of multi-purpose mobile computing devices. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which facilitate wider software, internet, and multimedia functionality, alongside core phone functions such as voice calls and text messaging. Smartphones typically contain a number of metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chips, include various sensors that can be leveraged by their software, and support wireless communications protocols.
VoIP spam or SPIT is unsolicited, automatically dialed telephone calls, typically using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
A VoIP phone or IP phone uses voice over IP technologies for placing and transmitting telephone calls over an IP network, such as the Internet, instead of the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, E-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile applications. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services, appointment reminders and ideas. In a more theoretical manner, academic Andreas Kaplan defines mobile marketing as "any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device".
A reverse telephone directory is a collection of telephone numbers and associated customer details. However, unlike a standard telephone directory, where the user uses customer's details in order to retrieve the telephone number of that person or business, a reverse telephone directory allows users to search by a telephone service number in order to retrieve the customer details for that service.
Google Voice is a telephone service that provides call forwarding and voicemail services, voice and text messaging, as well as U.S. and international call termination for Google Account customers in the U.S., and for G Suite customers in Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. The service was launched by Google on March 11, 2009, after the company had acquired the service GrandCentral.
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance and commercially sponsored by Google. It was unveiled in 2007, with the first commercial Android device launched in September 2008.
YouMail is an Irvine, CA-based developer of visual voicemail and Robocall blocking software. Their voicemail software replaces the voicemail service offered by mobile phone manufacturers, and offers webmail-like voicemail access and voicemail-to-text transcriptions. The company also compiles the YouMail Robocall index by monitoring automated call patterns and behaviors, and verifying that activity against numbers that its customers manually block or report as spam.
Founded in 2008, Voxofon provides mobile apps and communication services utilizing over-the-top (OTT) voice and messaging technologies for smartphones, tablets, and web applications. Voxofon is used to make free app-to-app domestic and international calls and texts as well as make cheap international calls and texts to friends and family that use feature phones or landlines. The Voxofon app is a cross-platform application that is supported on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and through any web browser.
Whitepages is a provider of online directory services, fraud screening and identity verification for businesses, public record background checks, and other products, based on its database of contact information for people and businesses. It has the largest database available of contact information on US residents.
Firefox OS is a discontinued open-source operating system – made for smartphones, tablet computers and smart TVs – designed by Mozilla and external contributors. It is based on the rendering engine of the Firefox web browser, Gecko, and on the Linux kernel. It was first commercially released in 2013.
Truecaller is a smartphone application that has features of caller-identification, call-blocking, flash-messaging, call-recording, Chat & Voice by using the internet. It requires users to provide a standard cellular mobile number for registering with the service. The app is available for Android and iOS.
Baidu Yi, also known as "Baidu Yun", was an operating system for mobile devices until Baidu suspended it. It is based on Google's Android but is a fork by Baidu, the dominant search engine operator in China. It was announced on 2 September 2011 at the 2011 Baidu Technology Innovation Conference in Beijing.
PrivacyStar is a service that identifies who is calling and why, and provides for call complaint filing which reports to the Federal Trade Commission. The PrivacyStar service is available on the web and on mobile applications for Android and iOS. On several applications powered by PrivacyStar, call and text blocking is available. The applications, along with PrivacyStar’s iPhone Lookup+ application, enable users to file potential debt collector and telemarketer violations directly to the FTC. The application captures detailed information about possible Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations including date, time, number, and identity and allows users to easily provide this information to regulatory agencies so they may take action. PrivacyStar has over 1.2 million users who have blocked over 120 million calls and filed over 300,000 complaints directly with the Federal Trade Commission as of September 2012. In fact, PrivacyStar is the leading source of all call complaint data reported to the FTC. In 2015, its users filed 31% of all call complaints. On February 13, 2013, PrivacyStar launched a free SMS spam complaint filing feature for Android smartphones. The application allows users to file text message spam complaints in addition to the existing ability to file call complaints directly to the Federal Trade Commission from their Android phones.
BeenVerified is a background check company that provides consumer initiated criminal background and people search services through its website for profit as well as its mobile application "Background Check App." The company also launched additional mobile applications including a reverse number look up called NumberGuru and a registered sex offender tracking app that uses augmented reality to locate sex offenders.
Camp Mobile, founded in February 2013, is a mobile application development company based in Seoul, Korea. Ram Lee and Jongmahn Park are the co-CEOs. The company currently operates seven mobile services ranging from social network service to smartwatch application, including BAND, Moot, SNOW, Whoscall, WatchMaster, LINE Deco, and LINE Launcher.
NumBuster! is a phone community that users can access via a mobile phone client and a Web application. Developed by NumBuster Ltd, it allows users to find contact details of any phone number, exchange information about numbers with other users and block calls and messages. The client is available for Android and Apple iOs.
Whoscall is a caller ID and number management mobile application developed by Gogolook, a Taiwanese design team. The app identifies incoming call as the call comes in allowing users to identify important calls and filter out unwanted callers. It also includes number management features, number and keyword blocks and an offline database. Whoscall relies on its networks of local partners, internet searches and user community generated content to identify numbers. The platform is available across the Android, Windows Phone and iOS platforms.
Hiya is a Seattle-based company that provides caller profile information to help consumers identify incoming calls and block unwanted ones.
