Quick Ride Introduces Number Masking Safety Feature

People are increasingly becoming more and more concerned about their privacy and digital footprint, given the reality that we live in the age of social media. For all customer-facing businesses, a steady subject of discussion has always been the need for enhanced customer privacy. You need to offer a phone number for most online transactions. But how do you help foster your customer’s trust? How do you make your customers believe in you? 

Your customers should be aware that you respect their right to privacy both in terms of their personal information and the data shared with your business. In today’s’ caller ID world, nobody appreciates an unidentified caller. These spam calls sometimes result in fraudulent behavior. There is no denial that spam is annoying; however, lack of security sabotages customer’s trust. Using Number Masking gives customers the trust that you value the privacy of your customers.

What is Number Masking?

Masked calling or Number masking or Call masking is a method that is used (mostly by e-commerce) to safeguard private phone numbers of customers and vendors or service providers. For each party, number masking utilizes a short-lived phone number, enabling them to interact smoothly over a fixed time interval. The numbers are recycled and reassigned to other parties on the platform after the time period has expired.

Number masking solutions are usually provided by third-party cloud telephony platforms which help to keep transactions out of the platform. Number masking is an advancement of the techniques which have been made possible by Voice APIs. In simpler terms, under voice API’s one can set up proxies for telephone numbers to prevent participants from disclosing each other’s private phone numbers during a call.

How does Number Masking Work?

Proxy number or an intermediate number is allocated to deliver the call to the actual number of the user using the third party cloud telephony operator. So the customer may see XXX-XXX-XXXX number on his/her screen, however, what is happening behind is an interesting process.  Behind the scenes, XXX-XXX-XXXX is transmitted to the true number of the receiver party, which in this case is YYY-YYY-YYYY. So, while the caller ID reads the incoming number as XXX-XXX-XXXX when the real number of the calling party is ZZZ-ZZZ-ZZZZ.

Thus, in the above scenarios, XXX-XXX-XXXX is a proxy number that will return to the pool of numbers once the call is over. Applications using number masking solutions generally leave the allocated proxy numbers for the transactional period only. Say, food delivery or the duration of your travel in a cab. 

How Quick Ride uses Number Masking Solutions?

Let’s say Chaitra, decided to take a ride on the Quick Ride app and post her ride requirement, Prestige Tech Park – Malleshwaram.

• Ride Created on Quick Ride App

Chaitra comes across a bunch of best matches for her ride requirement. Let’s assume Chaitra chooses to communicate with the ride giver before joining the ride. 

• Selects the‘ Call’ from ‘Contact’ option on the profile

Clicking on the ‘call’ button in the app automatically makes a call to the proxy or the virtual number.

• The VOIP reaches Quick Ride server

VOIP (Cloud Telephony partner) pings the server with the caller’s details i.e., Chaitra’s phone number. The server returns the corresponding ride giver’s number.

• The VOIP dials customer number

Our cloud telephony partner then connects Chaitra with the selected ride giver.

• Conversation occurs with  both parties number masked

Chaitra’s phone number is masked from ride giver’s as virtual number or proxy number acts as a connection between the parties.

Why Quick Ride uses Number Masking?

• We respect our user’s right to privacy 

During the transaction, our customer’s phone number will never be disclosed. Quick Ride considers this as its own responsibility to defend the privacy of the customer.

• Better user experience

The fact that our users know that their number is safe on this platform helps make the end-users more comfortable. Both, ride givers and ride takers are more comfortable in communicating with each other without any suspicion of private data leakage. 

• Free flow of optimized communication

The calling and receiving parties can freely engage in the Quick Ride platform. This omits the need to communicate through other channels which are difficult to monitor. 

• No manual operator needed

By using number masking there is no need for an operator to manually connect parties which fastens the entire ride-booking to ride-sharing experience on the app.

• Avoid harassment

More than 50% of our customers are females. It is thus our duty to nurture the trust that they have shown in Quick Ride. Number masking helps us reduce the chances of harassment.

More such articles you may like to read :

Route Customization: Choose your own Route for Carpooling on Quick Ride

Quick Ride Safety Features for a Safe and Secure Ride Share

10 Ride Etiquette to avoid being “that guy” of the carpool