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I just tried it, it's pretty good.
I just tried it, it's pretty good.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-25405-100x100.png\")
Kinda nifty, doesn't really help us Canadians though.
A search for my town here in Ontario got me Ontario, California. Not exactly what i was looking for.
*snif* we always get left out.
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I tried it earlier this weekend for a search that 800-FREE411 completely failed for me last week (a search for \"golf courses\"). Free411 got confused and eventually just hung up on me (didn't even send me to an operator); Google worked perfectly and found the one I wanted right away.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6838-100x100.png\")
Except.... you can't block caller ID to 800 numbers. It's automatically sent whether you want it to be or not. That's because the called party is paying for the call. It's also because they aren't getting \"caller ID\" information technically, they're getting \"Automatic Number Identification\" info (ANI) instead:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caller_ID
I'm really surprised Google is saying you can use caller ID blocking in a way that you absolutely, without a doubt, simply cannot do (no calls to 800/888/877/866 numbers can have the \"caller ID\" (really, ANI) info blocked).
They don't have to use the ANI - toll-free providers would get both, and can choose to use one or the other. If they say that you can block CID, then they use CID as the identifier. Chances are, it's a bit more complex like that though (ie; if your CID and ANI are different, they may use ANI).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-66257-100x100.png\")
@Antediluvian: people and businesses with toll-free numbers can opt to receive caller ID (CPN), ANI (charge number), both, or neither on inbound calls -- it all depends on how the customer ordered the service and how it's delivered. (Phone bills that show call detail generally show ANI.)
Yes, I work for a phone company.
If you want to see just how ineffective *67 is in blocking your phone number from toll-free numbers, try calling *67-1-866-MY-ANI-IS or *67-1-800-444-4444.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-39117-100x100.png\")
We've got a standard PRI from Time Warner Telecom and get both CID and ANI information separately. Presuming Google's setup is similar, they should have the option to allow folks to opt out of this information collection by using only CID and not ANI.
This isn't just for our toll-free number, btw -- we get ANI on regular calls as well.
Is anyone still surprised that Google works with the government?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-81360-100x100.png\")
Well, I just tried it, it worked pretty well for me - I requested the number of my tax provider, and they sent the PH# and address to me in TXT format - sweet! (I tried the *69 option but it didn't work, I probably need to program in a pause or something). But even without the anonymizing, I figure if I'm not calling my drug dealer, wtf do I care?
Interesting service, hopefully more effective than 1800free411.
I've had good luck with their text message search before, so all this really does is save me the expense of a few text messages a month.
Not too concerned about the privacy policy, I believe Facebook has something similar saying they reserve the right to any content you upload.