What is Nomorobo exactly? Besides being a catchy phrase coined from ‘no more robots,’ how does one answer the question: what is Nomorobo? Imagine rushing to the phone before a call ends only to pick up and discover it is an automated robocall, all shades of regrettable right? That is where Nomorobo comes to play. It is a free third-party service that is available for both landline and smartphone users. In simple terms, what it does is recognize pre-recorded calls and calls from telemarketers and hangs up so you do not need to pick up the call. Robocalls can be best described as phone calls that are made automatically and convey a pre-recorded message. How the voice that delivers these calls is frequently stiff and artificial, is what makes them “robocalls.”
How does Nomorobo work?
After answering the question “what is Nomorobo?” it is important to answer the next question that comes to mind; how does Nomorobo work? For smartphone users, the app can be downloaded from the iOS app store for iPhones, or the Google play store for Android devices.
On iPhones;
i) Go to phone settings
ii) Permit Nomorobo in call blocking and identification.
For Androids;
i) Select a subscription in the app.
ii) Input your digits.
iii) Then select your best setting.
This would permit Nomorobo to work by screening incoming calls against a list of over 2 million “robocalls”, and either notify you by letting the call ring once for you to verify, or send the call directly to voicemail without it getting to ring. For smartphone users this answers the question “how does Nomorobo work?” But how does Nomorobo work for landline users?
For Landlines users, Nomorobo works by using a concurrent feature that allows an incoming call to ring on its service at the same time as when a subscriber’s phone rings. Once it detects that the call is a robocall it hangs up the call for you, otherwise, it allows it to ring more than once.
There is a remedy if a legitimate inbound caller is accidentally blocked as an undesirable call. You may add it to your list of “wanted calls.” This update makes it impossible for calls from that particular number to be stopped. In addition to phone spam, Nomorobo guards against SMS spam.
Is Nomorobo free?
Everyone wants a bite of what is free, so “is Nomorobo free?” Well there are two sides to this coin. The Landline service is completely free, and that is a yes to “is Nomorobo free?” One would then ask, so how does Nomorobo make money? Well it definitely makes no money from landline subscribers. It rather uses the free services to increase its pool of robocall black list. Flipping the coin, it’s a no to the query “is Nomorobo free?” So then let’s look at how Nomorobo makes money.
How does Nomorobo make money?
So how does Nomorobo make its money then? Nomorobo makes its money from business and mobile smartphone subscribers. The apps Nomorobo Basic and Nomorobo Max are dependent on a subscription model and both come with a 2-week free trial period.
How much does Nomorobo cost?
After answering the question “how does Nomorobo make money?”, we have to find out how much Nomorobo costs. Nomorobo costs USD 1.99 each month for the Nomorobo Basic and is payable annually at USD 19.99 for each device. Nomorobo costs USD 4.17 every month for the Nomorobo Max and USD 49.99 per year. The cost to cover up to four devices is USD 79.99 per year with the Friends & Family subscription plan.
Is Nomorobo legit?
Another important question to ask before buying a new product is: “Is Nomorobo legit?” The service has its headquarters in New York. It is enabled by Twilio, a legitimate software company that builds communications software. Well, is Nomorobo legit? It has banned over 83 million calls, a figure that is rising rapidly making it harder to document. The company grew from zero to 225,000 subscribers in its first 18 months and was able to reach 2 million users as of 2016. The stumper is: is Nomorobo legit?, and the answer is a resounding “yes!”.
Nomorobo Reviews on Reddit
The popular site whose name is coined from ‘I read it’ allows socially compiled subjects to be boosted through votes by members of the website. Nomorobo reviews on Reddit are on both sides of the coin. Nomorobo reviews on Reddit all point towards the same thing, that Nomorobo has worked for them. A summary of the Nomorobo reviews on Reddit implies that the service is not 100% efficient, and this is thanks to spammers being swift in spoofing the numbers which have been black listed. Well there is no spam sniffing app that has been able to do that as at the time of writing this article.
Nomorobo Reviews and complaints
Just as every system that was created to solve an issue may not be entirely accurate, so is Nomorobo. There are a good number of positive reviews as well as some thumb downs or complaints from users of the service. An iPhone user noted that upon downloading the mobile application, there is a one-month free trial. Another user said he set it up for his parents on their Comcast phone and ever since the phone just rings once and is sent to voicemail automatically.
A user also said “We love Nomorobo”, what spells out satisfaction more like that phrase! Another user wrote a review saying that Nomorobo has a recurring price and according to their privacy policies, it does not collect your information and trade to third- parties, unlike other call-blocking apps.
Complaints from users are as follows but may not be limited to;
- Nomorobo is available to the United States only.
- As a result of the telemarketers’ speed in rotating numbers after those numbers have been blacklisted, it is almost impossible to hold the spammers in check.
- Poor customer service
- They are not supported by all telephone carriers
- Not great for blocking spam emails.
Nomorobo Alternatives
Since the invention of Nomorobo in 2013 as a result of the Robocall challenge by the Federal Communications Commission, there has been a spring of Nomorobo alternatives to robocall blocking services. Let’s look at 5 among the Nomorobo alternative services in no particular order.
WIDEPROTECT
Pros: One time subscription, no in-app purchases, and supports blocking over 40,000,000 phones.
Cons: Built for only iOS devices, blocked calls are still forwarded to voicemail and some extensions enter a loop, meaning the app has to be reinstalled or phone restarted.
ROBOSHIELD
Pros- Easy to navigate, database of spammed numbers updated on the hour and permanently blocks numbers.
Cons- Not available for Android users, quite on the high side at USD 12.99 a month.
YouMail ROBOCALL BLOCKER
Pros- Great for Businesses, Interactive customer support, and easy to use after setup.
Cons- Installation is a bit complicated and messages are sent to mail.
ROBOKILLER
Pros- Sends spam calls to robot voice answering machines, it is amusing to use and application setup is easy.
Cons- No reliable customer care, almost impossible to cancel the subscription, and highly intrusive.
HIYA
Pros- Can detect neighbor spoofing, supplies caller ID, and is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
Cons- High data consumption and difficulty in canceling a subscription.
Robokiller vs Nomorobo vs Hiya
A quick similarity and contrast between two Nomorobo alternatives Robokiller vs Nomorobo/ Nomorobo vs Hiya.
ROBOKILLER | NOMOROBO | HIYA |
7-day free trial. | 2-week free trial. | Free version available. |
USD 19.99/ year | USD 19.99/ year or USD 1.99/ month | Premium version USD 25/ year |
Answers spammers automatically with robot voicemail. | Single ring before blocking spammers in order to notify users. | Uses branded call to display caller ID and reason for call. |
Can detect neighbor spoofing. | Can detect neighbor spoofing. | Can detect neighbor spoofing. |
Has access to your numbers and records calls. | Does not need to access your calls or record calls to block spams. | Asks for permission to access your contacts. |
Available for iOS and Android devices. | Available for iOS, Androids and landlines. | Available for iOS and Android devices. |
SMS protection available. | SMS protection available. | Does not protect SMS. |