YouMail Update Enables iPhone and Android Users to Finally Stop Robocalls

YouMail today announced an update to the completely free YouMail Intelligent Call Management application for Android and iPhone that automatically stops most annoying spam robocallers.

This Smart Blocking feature addresses a critical and growing consumer problem, as the YouMail Robocall Index revealed that U.S. phones were hit by a record 2.6 billion robocalls in both August and September.

This problem has become so pervasive that the Federal Communications Commission formed a Robocall Strike Force to fight robocalls, which met on Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.  At that meeting, the FCC commissioners stressed the importance of rolling out effective solutions to consumers as soon as possible.

However, users of iPhone and Android phones, which make up 99.3% of global smartphone sales based on market data by IDC,  don't have to wait for the carriers or FCC to make progress. YouMail's flagship mobile app stops robocalls through a two-part process when a problematic robocaller is identified:

1. Causes the user's phone to silently ignore the call.
2. Plays an "out of service" greeting to fool the robocallers into thinking the number they called is inactive, which painlessly causes the robocallers to stop calling again from any of their outbound calling numbers.

This is a one-of-a-kind, true call blocking solution that's a significant improvement over trying to block robocallers one number at time, which is generally ineffective. YouMail will also ensure that robocallers hear an out of service message even when the user's phone is turned off, when the user is on another call, and even when the phone is out of coverage.

This approach is different from most competing blocker apps that merely hang up on robocallers, which prevents the phone from ringing but does not stop them from calling from other numbers. Still other apps simply send robocallers to voicemail, where they can still leave annoying messages.

"Americans are fed up with being pestered by the continual onslaught of robocalls, and they want to take preventative actions," said YouMail CEO Alex Quilici.  "YouMail's solution leverages its patent pending Smart Blocking technology that combines call patterns, call histories, user data, and user feedback to create and maintain an ever-changing database of nearly 100,000 problematic phone numbers in the U.S. alone."

The YouMail service provides several other related features:

1. Users can block any individual number they might personally find problematic, such as an annoying telemarketer, and report it as spam and provide comments which strengthen YouMail's ability to quickly detect and confirm problematic numbers.
2. Users can access a new history tab to see which calls YouMail has silently and automatically blocked for them.

YouMail's flagship app works by providing an intelligent call manager that replaces the subscriber's voicemail. In addition to stopping robocalls, the service provides effortless free conference calling; includes an automated virtual assistant that provides a personalized calling experience to missed callers; includes high-quality voicemail transcription; and features a large, permanent inbox for storing voicemails, among other helpful features.

Source: YouMail release