Free · on every number

Screen Strangers Before They Reach You

Decide who actually rings your phone. Caller-intro screening makes unknown callers record a 10-second 'who's calling and why', and the pickup announcement plays you a custom line label on answer so you always know which of your numbers was dialed.

Who Uses This

Built for Anyone Who Hands Out a Public Number

If your WIGGWIGG number lives on a dating profile, a Kijiji listing, a business card, or a forum signature, screening filters strangers without sending them to voicemail.

Dating

Strangers who matched a profile have to identify themselves before they ring you. Awkward callers self-filter; confident ones leave a real intro you can decide on.

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Online selling

Buyers on Kijiji, Marketplace, or Craigslist get a 10-second intro window. The 'is this still available?' callers hand you the answer up front.

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Small business

Set the line label to 'Studio' or 'Bookings' so when a client calls, you hear 'Call from X for Studio' on pickup and answer in the right tone.

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Gaming & streaming

Screening forces an intro before any random player from online games can reach you. Harassers don't make it through the door.

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Hobbies & clubs

Hand your number to a new group knowing strangers will identify themselves before they can interrupt you.

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Short-term rentals

Guests state their name and reason for the call before it rings. Real-estate cold-callers self-filter.

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Digital privacy

Every public number routes through screening. Eventual leaks don't translate into calls that ring at home.

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Multi-identity setups

Different line label per number tells you which identity rang, even before caller ID loads. Useful when several WIGGWIGG numbers forward to the same phone.

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Newcomers to Canada

If you're sharing your new Canadian number with employers and landlords, screening keeps cold-callers out without you having to guess.

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Two Modes

Caller-Intro vs Pickup Announcement

Both are free. Both run per number. Use one, both, or neither.

Caller-Intro Screening

Free

They tell you who they are.

When an unknown number calls, WIGGWIGG answers and asks the caller to record up to 10 seconds saying who they are and why they're calling. Your phone rings on pickup with the recording playing first. You hear it, then accept (DTMF key) or send to voicemail. Turn on 'skip known contacts' and callers already in that identity's contacts skip the intro (this uses contact recognition on calls, off by default).

What your caller hears: a short invitation, then we tell them their intro is being recorded and that they can press pound when they are done. A beep, then 10 seconds to talk, then ringing while we ring you.

What you experience: phone rings, you answer, you hear the intro before they're connected. One key press accepts, another sends to voicemail.

Pickup Announcement

Free

You hear who's calling and which line they reached.

When you pick up a forwarded call, WIGGWIGG plays a brief announcement to YOU in a synthetic voice: 'Call from [Name] at [number] for [your line label]. To accept, press 1.' You can record your own if you prefer your voice, but a recorded announcement is a fixed message: it names neither the caller nor the line. The line label is the word you customize per number ('Work', 'Home', 'Selling', etc.). Optional press-to-accept mode requires YOU to press a key (1-9) to bridge the call; otherwise it routes to your fallback (voicemail or hang up). Useful when multiple WIGGWIGG numbers forward to the same phone, you always know which one rang.

What your caller hears: nothing. Standard ringing, then either you answer or their call goes to voicemail. The announcement is played to YOU, not to them.

What you experience: phone rings, you pick up, you hear the announcement first; in the synthetic voice it tells you who's calling and which line they reached. Press your accept key to bridge the call, or let it time out for the fallback.

How It Works

One Inbound, One Gate, Your Decision

Both modes share the same incoming-call pipeline. Spam filter runs first, then screening, then your routing rules.

1. Caller dials your number

Inbound voice call hits your WIGGWIGG number. The spam filter runs first (STIR/SHAKEN, neighbor-spoof, carrier reputation, your block list).

2. Screening kicks in (mode-dependent)

Caller-intro: WIGGWIGG answers the caller, asks for a 10-second intro, records it. Pickup announcement: WIGGWIGG forwards the call to your real phone (the caller hears normal ringing).

3. You hear the screening info on pickup

Caller-intro: you pick up, the recorded intro plays, you accept or decline. Pickup announcement: you pick up, you hear 'Call from [Name] at [number] for [your line label]', then either bridge automatically or press your accept key.

4. Call connects, voicemails, or rejects

Accepted: legs bridge and you're talking. Declined or timed out: the intro is deleted and the caller is sent to your voicemail, where they can leave a real message, or the call is rejected per your fallback setting. Sending a caller to voicemail needs the Voicemail option on that number; without it, the call is rejected.

What You Configure

Per-Number Settings, in Plain Language

Every WIGGWIGG number has its own screening config. Change it without touching the other numbers.

Caller-Intro settings

  • On / off · One toggle. Off by default; turn it on per number.
  • Recording length · Fixed at 10 seconds. Long enough for a real intro, short enough that robocallers hang up.
  • Skipped automatically · Your block list, more than 5 intros an hour from one source, and the daily cap (plus known contacts, if you turn on 'skip known contacts').

Pickup announcement settings

  • Line label · A short word per number ('Work', 'Home', 'Selling') that gets spoken back to you on pickup so you know which line was dialed. Encrypted at rest in our database.
  • Voice and language · English (en-US) or French Canadian (fr-CA) synthetic voice for the announcement we play to you, if you do not record your own announcement.
  • Press-to-accept · Optional. When on, after the announcement YOU must press a digit (1-9) to bridge the call. When off, the announcement plays and we auto-bridge.
  • Accept key · Pick the digit (1 through 9) you press to accept the call.
  • Timeout · Between 5 and 30 seconds. How long we wait for you to press the key after the announcement.
  • Timeout fallback action · If you don't press the key in time: send to voicemail or hang up.
Honest About Limits

Daily Caps (Caller-Intro Only)

Caller-intro recordings cost us a few cents each. To keep the feature free for you, we cap the daily volume.

50 intros per day per number

If a single number gets hammered (a popular Kijiji listing, say), the 51st caller skips the intro and lands wherever your routing rules send them.

200 intros per day per account

Account-wide ceiling across all your numbers, in case one account is unusually busy.

Skipped intros don't count

When the intro is skipped (your block list, more than 5 intros an hour from one source, the daily cap, or a known contact when you turn that on), that doesn't consume a unit. Caps only count actual recorded intros.

No cap on pickup announcement

The announcement is read by a synthetic voice, by an audio file you upload, or by a message you record yourself from your phone. No extra cost beyond the call itself. No daily limit.

Pick Your Mode

When to Use Caller-Intro vs Pickup Announcement

They solve different problems. You can use both at once if you want the caller to identify themselves AND hear which line was dialed when you pick up.

QuestionCaller-IntroPickup Announcement
Who hears something?You hear the caller's recorded introYou hear an announcement on pickup
Best for...Filtering strangers on public numbersKnowing which of your lines was dialed (multiple numbers, one phone)
Press-to-accept?Implicit (you decide after hearing the intro)Optional (you press a key to bridge after the announcement)
Daily cap?50 / number / day, 200 / account / dayNone
Skipped for known contacts?Yes, if you turn on 'skip known contacts' (uses contact recognition on calls, off by default)No, plays every time (until you turn it off)
Available on every plan?Yes, freeYes, free

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the two modes?
The pickup announcement never talks to the caller: it is read to YOU when you answer. Caller-intro screening does talk to the caller, just long enough to ask them to introduce themselves and tell them their intro is being recorded. Then you hear their 10-second intro on pickup.

What do callers actually hear?
Caller-intro screening: your invitation, then a few sentences we always add and you cannot remove. "Your intro is recorded for the person you are calling. The call itself is not. You have 10 seconds after the beep. Press pound when you are done, and we will call that person." The default invitation is "Say your name and why you are calling." You can replace it with your own, written or recorded. Pickup announcement: nothing. The caller just hears standard ringing while your phone rings. The announcement is read to YOU on pickup, not to them.

Can known contacts skip screening?
Caller-intro: yes, when you turn on 'skip known contacts'. Callers already in that identity's contacts then skip the intro and the call rings through normally (this uses contact recognition on calls, off by default). Pickup announcement: no, by design. The announcement is your way of knowing which line rang, so we play it for every forwarded call unless you disable the feature on that number.

What happens after the daily cap is hit?
Caller-intro only: incoming calls bypass the recording prompt and follow your other routing rules (forward, voicemail, etc.). The caps reset at midnight UTC. You see the daily count in your dashboard, so you can lower-volume routes ahead if a number is getting hammered.

Does this work with the spam filter?
Yes, they layer. Automated spam checks warn without rejecting. Your personal block list rejects when its block is the most specific applicable rule. Intro limits and any known contacts you choose to skip apply next, before your routing rules.
How the spam filter works

Why does press-to-accept add safety?
Even though only YOU hear the announcement, press-to-accept means voicemail-bots that dial through and 'accept' on auto-answer don't reach you. The call routes to your fallback (voicemail or hang up) unless you actively press the digit. Pair it with caller-intro screening for the strongest filter.

Where do recorded intros go after I decide?
The intro plays when you pick up, before the call is connected, and that is the only time you hear it. Whether you accept, decline or never answer, the intro is deleted as soon as your decision is made, and it never appears in your voicemail. A word on encryption, because this case differs from your voicemails: for as long as it exists, the intro is encrypted at rest under a server key, so our servers can read it. The phone network plays it to you during the call, which requires content we can recover, and the caller has no account or key with us. Under our current method, your voicemails are instead sealed to the account communication key, which a supported client opens after sign-in and unlock, when Listen-by-phone is off and a usable account key resolves. Voicemail remains server-readable while Listen-by-phone is on or when the account has no usable communication key. A small set retained from the private beta remains readable under our older server-side encryption until a separate re-sealing process.

Is the line label private?
Yes, though not in the same way as your messages. The line label ('Work', 'Home', 'Selling') is encrypted at rest in our database, under a server key, so our servers can read it: that is what lets us compose the announcement. The synthetic voice provider receives the announcement text only when it reads it, and plays it to you on pickup. If you record your own announcement or your own prompt, the audio is kept under a server key: our servers can read it, because the phone network is what has to play it during the call. The label never leaves our system in plaintext except for the playback meant for you.

How does this fit with identities?
Every WIGGWIGG number belongs to an identity: one bundle with its own number, its own vault (encrypted password manager), and its own contacts. This feature is part of that identity's phone side; the passwords and details that go with it live in the same identity's vault.

Stop Picking Up Calls You Didn't Want

Both screening modes are free with every WIGGWIGG number. Turn them on per number, change settings whenever.

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