Ringless voicemail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ringless voicemail, also called direct-to-voicemail or a voicemail drop, is a method of delivering a prerecorded voice message to a recipient's voicemail inbox without the recipient's telephone ringing. Depending on the implementation, the recipient may still receive a voicemail notification or message-waiting indicator after the message is deposited.[1]
The practice has been described using several terms in regulatory and media sources. In Canadian records, it was discussed in connection with a service described as "voicecasting," while U.S. reporting has used terms such as "direct-to-voicemail" and "voicemail drop."[2][3]
Canada
A service described as depositing prerecorded messages directly into voicemail inboxes without ringing was discussed in Canadian proceedings under the term "voicecasting." Infolink Communications Ltd. reported providing such a service as early as 1997.[2]
United States
In the United States, direct-to-voicemail services were reported in the late 2000s, including consumer-facing services such as Slydial.[3]
In 2022, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a declaratory ruling that ringless voicemail messages to wireless phones require consumer consent because they constitute a “call” made using an artificial or prerecorded voice for purposes of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).[1]