A Whitelist for Phone Calls? 151
javacowboy asks: "I've been getting lots of strange phone calls lately. Most of the time, my phone would ring less than three times and then stop before I can answer. Then, a couple of nights ago, I got a call at 3am in the morning. It had stopped ringing by the time I woke up. *69 revealed a number with an area code of 632, which does not exist. I called the number, and the call would not complete past the area code. I want a product or service with which I can set up a -whitelist- of numbers that I allow to make my phone ring. Any number not on the list, or an unlisted phone number, tries to call me, and the phone doesn't ring at all. I would pay as much for this service as I would pay to have my number removed from the phone directory. Is something like this possible? If so, how would I do it?"
I'm getting fed up with: wrong numbers; callers hang up on me as soon as I speak into the phone; telemarketers; crank calls; late night calls; people I know that I no longer wish to speak to; etc. My telco charges $8 a month for call display, which is exorbitant. Still, a call display won't prevent my phone from ringing. A do not call list will not prevent my phone from ringing. Getting my phone number removed from the phone directory will not prevent wrong numbers. How can filter out the calls that I don't want to deal with?"
An end- user solution (Score:3, Insightful)
Missed calls (Score:5, Insightful)
1. your stranded grandma from calling you
2. friends calling from their friends house
3. that cute girl you just met
4. various official phone calls that you really needed to receive
Luckily, whitelists will still allow your mom to call from upstairs when dinner is ready.
The feature already exists.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Many modern phones already have this feature, in the form of custom ring. Just set the numbers in your contact list that you would like to whitelist to have a ring, and set the default ring to silent.
Non Tech solution (Score:2, Insightful)