Youmail

YouMail Inc
Private
Industry Wireless Services
Founded 2007
Headquarters Irvine, CA
Key people
 Alex Quilici,
Chief Executive Officer
Products Visual Voicemail, Call Management, Robocall blocking software
Website YouMail.com

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 a National 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]

History

YouMail brand visual voicemail software was 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 illusion 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 a National Robocall Index, to track legal and illegal robocall traffic across the US. The initial report indicated at that time that 1 out or every 6 calls received in the US was generated by a machine.[12]

Products

Voicemail apps

YouMail develops visual voicemail apps for Android phones[13] 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.[14]

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.[15]

The company's visual voicemail app is preloaded or recommended by other carriers including Viaero Wireless[16] and RedPocketMobile.[17]

National Robocall Index

The company also produces a National 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.[18]

Third party development

Third party developers use YouMail's API to create apps for other platforms, such as MagikMail for Windows Phone.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. ↑ "YouMail Pumps Up Call Blocking in Android Phones". pcworld.com. 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  14. ↑ "YouMail freshens up an old standby: Voicemail". cbsnews.com. 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  15. ↑ "WhoAreYou Offers Free Caller ID, SMS Blocking, and Reverse Phone Number Lookups for Android". lifehacker.com. 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  16. ↑ "Should mobile operators give up on voicemail?". gigaom.com. 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  17. ↑ "MVNO Red Pocket experiments with bring-your-own visual voicemail". gigaom.com. 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  18. ↑ "Which cities receive the most robocalls". gigaom.com. 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  19. ↑ "YouMail Hits Windows Phone 7". socaltech.com. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
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