How it knows it's you
When you call your own Jesse number, you get a personal assistant instead of the receptionist: your day's jobs, your next stop, changes to your schedule. That's information a stranger shouldn't hear, so Jesse has to be sure the caller is you.
Why caller ID isn't enough
Caller ID is easy to fake. Anyone can make a call that shows your cell number. If that alone unlocked your schedule, someone could hear your customers' names and home addresses.
What the phone company tells us
Most US phone companies now sign the calls they carry and rate how sure they are about the number:
- A: the phone company knows the caller and knows they own this number. Jesse trusts this, and you get your assistant from the first word.
- B or C, or no rating: the phone company can't vouch for the number. Jesse greets you by name but treats the call like any other until you prove it's you.
A big carrier's cell phone usually gets an A. A call that crosses an older network on the way often loses it, and so does a call you forward from your business line. That's why calling your Jesse number directly works better than calling your shop line.
Where the PIN comes in
When the rating isn't an A, Jesse asks for your PIN. You type it on the keypad, so it never passes through speech recognition, the transcript, or the summary. Three wrong tries ends it for that call, and there's a limit across calls too, so hanging up and calling back doesn't help someone guess.
If you haven't set a PIN, calls that aren't rated A simply never get owner access. See Set an owner PIN.
The website never counts
A conversation on your website or the full-page link is never treated as you. A web page can't prove who's on the other end.
Didn't find it? See all the help pages, or email hey@leftjoinstudio.com.