Messages: what your assistant and front desk collect
PhoneShield team
The people who build and run PhoneShield
Written and kept current by the team behind PhoneShield, a sister company of Byte Federal, whose staff spent years meeting scam victims at cryptocurrency ATMs with the scammer still on the line.
In this article
Introduction
PhoneShield does not have a voicemail box. When a call does not ring you, the caller talks to the front desk or to your assistant, and what they say becomes a message: a short summary, the number they called from, a callback number if they gave one, and the reason they called. You never listen through a recording to find out who it was.
One place to look
Every message lands in the Messages feed in your dashboard, and is also sent to the channels you connect: Telegram, email, Slack or a webhook.
Where messages come from
Depending on your screening mode and what the caller said, a call either rings you, goes to your assistant, becomes a transcribed message, or is politely declined. Two of those paths produce a message:
Message left at the front desk
A caller who is not one of your favorites meets the front desk, says who they are and why they are calling, and the call is sorted. When the answer is to take a message, the front desk records what the caller says and transcribes it.
- A short summary of what the caller needs
- The number they called from
- A callback number, if they gave one
- The reason they gave at the front desk
Message saved by your assistant
In Receptionist mode your named assistant (Nora by default) speaks with the caller. She already knows why they called, can offer to connect them to you, and can save a structured message when you are not the right next step.
- Caller name and callback number, as the caller gave them
- What they need, in one or two sentences
- The full conversation, kept with the note
Favorites never leave a message this way
Callers on your Favorites list ring you straight through with a whisper naming them. If you miss them, that is a missed call on your own phone, not a PhoneShield message.
The Messages feed
Open Messages in your dashboard. Each note shows the caller’s name, their number, when they called, the summary, a callback number when one was given, and whether the note is still waiting on you.
Filter
- Waiting on you: open notes that need a reply (the default view)
- Everything: all notes, open and done
- Done: notes you have closed
- Messages left: front desk messages only
- Assistant calls: calls your assistant handled
Search
Search by name, number, or what the call was about. The search covers the summary, the reason given and the callback number, so “invoice” or “dentist” finds the note even if you do not remember who called.
Callbacks and the done state
Open a note to see the detail: the reason the caller gave, the number to call back, and the note’s status.
- Call back
One tap dials the callback number the caller gave, or the number they called from if they did not give one.
- Mark done
When you have dealt with it, mark the note done. It leaves “Waiting on you” and shows the time you closed it. “Reopen” brings it back.
- No action needed
Some assistant calls end without anything for you to do, for example when the caller only wanted your opening hours. Those notes say so and stay out of your open list.
Treat the open list as your to-do list
If “Waiting on you” is empty, nobody is waiting for a call back. That is the whole idea.
Where messages are delivered
Connect one or more channels under Integrations and every message is sent there as soon as the call ends. Each delivery carries the same content: the summary, the caller’s number, the callback number and the reason given.
Messages in call history
Call history lists every call with its outcome: BLOCKED, SHIELDED, RANG YOU, MESSAGE or ASSISTANT, and the reason. Open a MESSAGE or ASSISTANT call to read the transcript or the conversation behind the note.
Feed versus history
The Messages feed is the working list, with callbacks and done states. Call history is the record of every call, including the ones that never became a message.
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