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.

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.

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.

Gaming & streaming

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

Hobbies & clubs

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

Short-term rentals

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

Digital privacy

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

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.

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.

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. Known contacts skip the intro entirely.

What your caller hears: a brief prompt, then a 10-second beep-and-record window, then 'thanks, connecting you now'.

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 TTS announcement to YOU: 'Call from [Name] at [number] for [your line label]. To accept, press 1.' 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 a TTS announcement first telling 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 recording (if any) is saved as voicemail, or the call is rejected per your fallback setting.

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 · Known contacts, callers flagged by the spam filter, and inbound when a daily cap has been hit.

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) TTS voice for the announcement we play to you.
  • 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 because the caller is a known contact, has a high spam score, or hit the cap, that doesn't consume a unit. Caps only count actual recorded intros.

No cap on pickup announcement

Pickup announcements are pure TTS, no recording, 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 a TTS 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, automaticallyNo, 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?

Both screening modes give YOU information on pickup; neither talks to the caller. Caller-intro plays you a 10-second recording the caller made saying who they are. Pickup announcement plays you a TTS line ('Call from [Name] at [number] for [your line label]') so you know which of your numbers was dialed. You can turn one on, both, or neither, per number.

What do callers actually hear?

Caller-intro: 'Please record a brief message after the tone. Your message will play to the recipient on pickup.' Then a beep, then 10 seconds of recording. Pickup announcement: nothing. The caller just hears standard ringing while your phone rings. The announcement is played to YOU on pickup, not to them.

Can known contacts skip screening?

Caller-intro: yes, automatically. If the inbound number matches a contact in your account, the intro is skipped and the call rings through normally. 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. The spam filter runs first: STIR/SHAKEN, neighbor-spoof detection, carrier reputation, your block list. Confirmed spam never reaches screening (no recording cost on robocalls). Anything that survives the filter passes through screening, then your routing rules.

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?

If you accept the call, the intro recording is purged when the call ends. If you decline (send to voicemail), the recording is kept as a voicemail-style entry in your dashboard. Recordings are zero-knowledge encrypted at rest with your RSA public key, just like voicemails.

Is the line label private?

Yes. The line label ('Work', 'Home', 'Selling') is encrypted at rest in our database. The TTS provider receives the rendered announcement text only at render time, plays it to YOU on pickup, and discards. The label never leaves our system in plaintext for anyone other than your TTS playback.

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.