Youmail

YouMail is an Irvine, CA-based developer of visual voicemail[1] and Robocall blocking software.[2] Their voicemail software replaces the voicemail service offered by mobile phone manufacturers, and offers webmail-like voicemail access and voicemail-to-text transcriptions.[3] 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.[4]

YouMail Inc
TypePrivate
IndustryWireless Services
Founded2007
HeadquartersIrvine, CA
Key people
Alex Quilici,
Chief Executive Officer
ProductsVisual Voicemail, Call Management, Robocall blocking software
WebsiteYouMail.com

History

The YouMail brand visual voicemail software was first developed, trademarked and brought to market in 2006, by Auckland, New Zealand-based communications software developer Zeacom. The service originally started out as a multi-platform visual voicemail solution, with the novel feature of personal greetings, where users could create different greetings for callers based on their incoming caller ID.[1] To help combat robocalls, their service replaces an ordinary voicemail, instead playing three notes that create the impression of a non-working number to stop further robocalls from coming in.[5]

YouMail was spun off as a standalone service in 2007.[6] In November 2007, YouMail announced a partnership with Salient Media,[7] to offer a combination of free and subscription-based comedic voicemail greetings.

In 2009, the company saw its first success, with visual voicemail for BlackBerry.[6] It also launched a free iPhone app, which was considered a loss leader for its voicemail transcription services.[3]

In 2010, the company announced that YouMail was the standard voicemail that comes with all mobile phones from IMMIX Wireless in Pennsylvania, Cellular One in East Central Illinois, Blue Wireless in New York, iSmart Mobile in Montana, VoicePulse in New Jersey, and Windy City Cellular in Adak, Alaska.[8]

In 2011, the company launched WhoAreYou, an app for Android that provides users with caller's names, and gives them the ability to add specific numbers to a block list, screening out robocalls and telemarketers in the process.[9]

By 2012, the company reported over 2.5 million registered users of its service.[10] The company also announced they stopped supporting new updates for BlackBerry devices.[11]

In November 2015, the company launched the YouMail Robocall Index, to track legal and illegal robocall traffic across the US. The YouMail Robocall Index is a unique online portal which provides a monthly estimate of the volumes and types of robocalls nationwide, and for each specific state, city and area code. The initial report indicated at that time that 1 out of every 6 calls received in the US was generated by a machine.[12]

The ongoing monthly estimate is created by extrapolating from the behavior of the billions of calls that YouMail has managed for its users. YouMail identifies problematic numbers through its audio fingerprinting technology and analysis of calling patterns, along with direct consumer feedback. In turn, the Index's statistics have been regularly cited[13] by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), consumer advocates and many other groups as the national source[14][15] for robocalling data trends.

YouMail won the American Business Awards' Gold Stevie Award for Technical Innovation of the Year,[16] and the YouMail app was named the nation's best robocall-blocking solution[17] in a competition organized by Geoffrey Fowler of The Washington Post.

Products

Voicemail apps

YouMail develops visual voicemail apps for Android phones[18] and iPhones.[3] The app features a voice-to-text feature which automatically transcribes voice messages and displays the text on-screen. This allows users to get their messages without having to listen to them.[19]

The company also produces WhoAreYou for Android, which enhances their visual voicemail app by adding call and text blocking and real-time reverse lookups on incoming calls and SMS messages.[9] The app can deter callers by picking up the call, playing a recorded "out of service" message to the caller, and hang back up, making the caller think the line has been disconnected.[20]

The company's visual voicemail app is preloaded or recommended by other carriers including Viaero Wireless[21] and RedPocketMobile.[22]

YouMail Robocall Index

The company also produces the YouMail Robocall Index, which announced in January 2016 that Americans received over one billion unsolicited or automated calls in December 2015. Atlanta, Georgia was identified as the area hardest hit by robocalls, with Houston, Texas in second.[23] US robocalls have reached new highs in the years since,[24] leading to President Trump signing legislation on December 31, 2019 to help reduce the volume of unwanted robocalls.[25] In March 2020, the index identified an expanding set of robocalls leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] Identifying these illegal calls, YouMail notified carriers, enterprises, and the authorities to locate, take down, and punish the callers, helping shut down the COVID-19 scams in just days.[27]

YouMail virtual numbers and receptionist

YouMail virtual numbers provide a second phone number to separate business calls from personal calls, while keeping cell phones private and protected from unwanted calls.[28]

YouMail's virtual receptionist is an auto-attendant that creates an impression of a big business that callers reach.[29]

Third party development

Third party developers use YouMail's API to create apps for other platforms, such as MagikMail for Windows Phone.[30]

References
  1. Adam Pash. "Create unique voicemail greetings for each caller". Lifehacker.com. Retrieved 2013-09-07.
  2. "3 musical notes that will stop 'robocalls'". fox32chicago.com. 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  3. "YouMail's free iPhone app adds to Apple's voicemail". venturebeat.com. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  4. "Robocalls proliferate in Las Vegas, nationwide but remain difficult to stop". reviewjournal.com. 2015-12-21. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  5. FOX. "3 musical notes that will stop 'robocalls'". KDFW. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  6. "After Three Years, Visual Voicemail Service YouMail Calls It Quits On BlackBerry". techcrunch.com. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  7. "Funny Voicemail Greetings for YouMail from Salient Media". techcrunch.com. 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  8. "YouMail: 500 Million Calls". socaltech.com. 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  9. "YouMail launches WhoAreYou: visual caller ID app for Android". intomobile.com. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  10. "Why a top app maker is ditching BlackBerry". CNN.com. 2012-04-17. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  11. Pepitone, Julianne (2012-04-17). "YouMail axes BlackBerry app support after 'steady exodus'". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  12. "5 Facts About Robocalls That'll Make You Hate Them Even More". Money.com. 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  13. "Robocall Strike Force Report" (PDF). FCC.gov. 2016-10-26. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  14. Siegel Bernard, Tara (2019-04-26). "Phone Companies Are Testing Tech to Catch Spam Calls. Let's Hope It Works". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  15. McCoy, Kevin (2018-11-20). "Enraged by endless robocalls? Help is on the way". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  16. "Company/Organization Awards". stevieawards.com. 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  17. "Die, robocalls, die: A how-to guide to stop spammers and exact revenge". washingtonpost.com. 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  18. "YouMail Pumps Up Call Blocking in Android Phones". pcworld.com. 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  19. "YouMail freshens up an old standby: Voicemail". cbsnews.com. 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  20. "WhoAreYou Offers Free Caller ID, SMS Blocking, and Reverse Phone Number Lookups for Android". lifehacker.com. 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  21. "Should mobile operators give up on voicemail?". gigaom.com. 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  22. "MVNO Red Pocket experiments with bring-your-own visual voicemail". gigaom.com. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  23. "Which cities receive the most robocalls". cnbc.com. 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  24. Hagerty, James (2018-12-20). "Everyone Loathes Robocalls. Some People Try to Get Even". wsj.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  25. "Committee on Energy and Commerce" (PDF). energycommerce.house.gov. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  26. Sullivan, Mark (2020-03-31). "Millions of coronavirus robocalls are spamming our phones every day". fastcompany.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  27. Drolet, Michelle (2019-08-09). "Smishing and vishing: How these cyber attacks work and how to prevent them". csoonline.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  28. Whitney, Lance (2019-11-02). "How to Block Robocalls and Spam Calls". pcmag.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  29. Curley, Christopher (2018-11-15). "That Robocall About Obamacare Health Insurance Is Probably a Scam... and Illegal". healthline.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  30. "YouMail Hits Windows Phone 7". socaltech.com. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
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