Calls initiated from disconnected phone numbers and calls initiated from phone numbers that initiate calls to disconnected numbers can be indicative of robocalls. Disconnected numbers and phone numbers that have initiated calls to disconnected numbers are identified and assigned a robocall score that indicates a likelihood that a call initiated from that number is a robocall. A communication network that subscribes to a robocall detection service can request a robocall score associated with an originating number associated with a received call, and then handle the call according to the robocall score.

An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device includes one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs include instructions for receiving, from an external device associated with a contact, a request to establish a full-duplex live audio communication session between the electronic device and the external device; determining whether the contact is on a list; and in response to a determination that the contact is on the list, establishing the full-duplex live audio communication session between the electronic device and the external device, where the live audio communication session is established without receiving a user input that acknowledges the request.

An electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device includes one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors. The one or more programs include instructions for receiving, from an external device associated with a contact, a request to establish a full-duplex live audio communication session between the electronic device and the external device; determining whether the contact is on a list; and in response to a determination that the contact is on the list, establishing the full-duplex live audio communication session between the electronic device and the external device, where the live audio communication session is established without receiving a user input that acknowledges the request.

A semiconductor apparatus, a solid-state image sensing apparatus, and a camera system capable of reducing interference between signals transmitted through adjacent via holes, preventing an increase in the number of the via holes, reducing the area of a chip having sensors thereon and the number of mounting steps thereof. First and second chips are bonded together to form a laminated structure, a wiring between the first chip and the second chip being connected through via holes, the first chip transmitting signals obtained by time-discretizing analog signals generated by respective sensors to the second chip through the corresponding via holes, the second chip sampling the signals transmitted from the first chip through the via holes at a timing different from a timing at which the signals are sampled by the first chip and quantizing the sampled signals to obtain digital signals.

Methods and devices for protecting telephone privacy are provided. Privacy is provided by altering the pitch of a person's voice, recording the call, changing caller ID information, routing a call straight to voicemail, playing background sounds during the call, call forwarding, and messaging. The various privacy mechanisms can be performed alone, or in combination with certain triggers, such as receiving a call from a certain number, dialing a call to a certain number, transmitting caller ID information with a certain number, or contacting a certain dial-in number of a call handling system.

The present disclosure describes a system, method, and computer readable medium for providing information of a calling party to an alert party, wherein the calling party is in communication with the receiving party in a communications network. The method includes receiving a message from a calling party to a receiving party and performing a lookup of information relating to the calling party in a database, wherein the lookup is based on an identifier associated with the message, Thereafter, an alert is sent to the alert party if the calling party information is unavailable in a contact list of the receiving party.

Systems and methods for providing called devices with sets of context data associated with communication sessions are disclosed. In one implementation, a method for generating context data associated with a communications session may include receiving, from a calling device at a first subsystem, a request to establish a communications session. The request may include a first identifier associated with the calling device. The method may further include receiving, at a second subsystem, activities data associated with the calling device that transmitted the request to establish the communications session. The activities data may include a second identifier associated with the calling device and may be indicative of device activities of the calling device. In addition, the method includes determining, using the first identifier and the second identifier, that the received activities data is associated with the calling device that transmitted the request to establish the communications session, generating context data associated with the communications session based on the received activities data, generating visual content based on the generated context data, and establishing the communications session in response to receiving, from a user of the called device, an input command to accept the request.

A system and method for maintaining a grey list for controlling incoming calls from numbers on a telephone network. Information associated with previous calls received by the telephone is stored in the form of a grey list. The stored information includes an indication of whether each of the previously received calls passed a previous challenge. Based on the stored information, when an incoming call is received, a determination is made whether the incoming call corresponds to a call that passed a previous challenge. The incoming call connected to the telephone if the stored information indicates that the incoming call previously passed a challenge. An action is taken if the stored information does not indicate that the incoming call previously passed the challenge. The action may include blocking the call, allowing the call or providing a current challenge to the call.

Methods and systems described in this disclosure allow customers to quickly be authenticated. In some embodiments, a device and a user verifier are associated with a user profile. When a call is received from the device, the user may be requested to input the user verifier. After verifying that the device is unique to the user and that the user verifier matches the user verifier associated with the user profile, the user may be authenticated to the call or activity.

While in a full-duplex live audio communication session with an external device, an electronic device receives control signal data from the external device. In response, the electronic device issues a perceptual notification. After a first predetermined time period since receiving the control signal data, the electronic device receives audio data from the external device. After a second predetermined time period since issuing the perceptual notification, the electronic device outputs the audio data from the speaker.