Google Voice is getting some long-overdue rules for routing incoming calls
Call forwarding, call screening, call ignoring
Google Voice is one of those services that seem to get almost no attention from the tech giant — at least compared to Gmail, Chrome, and all the other heavyweights. Last month, at least, it was lucky enough to pick up an update that introduced a few new shortcuts for starting new calls and text conversations right from your phone’s home screen. Google’s continuing to show Voice a little love, and now we’re already checking out a new update that delivers some much-appreciated new functionality for handling incoming calls.
This week’s update is all about setting up rules for what to do with calls when they arrive. Google Voice has long been able to forward calls, and you can now customize that behavior even further. If you don’t want to receive the call at all, you can make a rule that forwards calls from a contact or contact group to any of your linked numbers or directly to voicemail. And while you could always screen calls, you can now selectively screen certain contacts. The update is not all about preventing or redirecting calls, though, as there’s also a new feature that allows you to create custom voicemail greetings for specific contacts.
All these new options will be off by default, so you’ll need to visit Voice on the web to start setting them up — you can check out Google’s support pages for more details on how to configure each rule. Bear in mind that as of now you can only create or manage rules on the web, and the Voice mobile app only has the option to view them. The options should already be appearing for everyone, so go ahead and try them out for yourself.
Though we’re still waiting for a proper Material You refresh, these recent updates sure suggest that Google Voice has not been forgotten.
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