Google’s Verified Calls will make it more obvious why businesses are calling you
There is a good chance that we don’t always save phone numbers of our banks and other companies on our phones. This means that sometimes when we receive a call, we’re not sure who it might be from, and whether or not it will be worth your time picking up that call, but Google thinks they can help.
The company has announced what they’re calling Verified Calls for the Phone app on Android. Basically what this feature does is that it will let users know who is calling and more importantly, why they are calling. This will give users more information on the call and will help them decide whether or not they want to take the call.
But wait, this feature sounds familiar!
To a certain extent, it isn’t exactly new. Google already has features like automatic call screening and spam detection on Android, but what makes Verified Calls different is that businesses need to submit their information to Google to be verified in order to make the cut. They will also require businesses to send call information to a secure Google server, containing information like the reason for the call.
Once this information is submitted, then only the call goes through, displaying all the relevant information in the process. Unfortunately, the strength of this system will require businesses to participate and sign themselves up with Google to be approved and verified, but if companies are hoping to have less of their calls ignored, then they’ll need to go through this process.
According to Google, Verified Calls will be defaulted to opt-in, meaning that it will be turned on by default. Users can always opt out if they’d prefer not to use the feature, although we can’t imagine why anyone would.
Source: Google