Did Free Calling App Kill Phone Calling Business?

Google Voice gives you a phone number for calling, text messaging, and voicemail. It works on smartphones and computers, and syncs across your devices so you can use the app in the office, at home, or on the go.

NOTE: Google Voice only works for personal Google Accounts in the US and Google Workspace accounts in select markets. Text messaging is not supported in all markets.

You're in control
Get spam filtered automatically and block numbers you don't want to hear from. Manage your time with personalized settings for forwarding calls, text messages, and voicemail.

Backed up and searchable
Calls, text messages, and voicemails are stored and backed up to make it easy for you to search your history.

Manage messages across devices
Send and receive individual and group SMS messages from all your devices

Your voicemail, transcribed
Google Voice provides advanced voicemail transcriptions that you can read in the app and/or have sent to your email.

Save on international calling
Make international calls at competitive rates without paying extra for international minutes with your mobile carrier

Keep in mind:
• Google Voice is currently only available in the US. Google Voice for Google Workspace users is available in select countries. Check with your administrator for access.
• Calls made using Google Voice for iPhone can be placed through a Google Voice access number. All access number based calls use the standard minutes from your cell phone plan and may incur costs (e.g. when traveling internationally).

What's New

Nov 29, 2021

Version 21.48

• Stability and performance improvements.

Ratings and Reviews

4.3 out of 5

36.7K Ratings

Google Ruined It !! Now It's Back !!

The latest version has some nice improvements but added some other issues. I like the ability to send photos and use emojis. I don't like that it no longer recalls and suggests the numbers that you have sent texts to. Because I don't link my iPhone contacts to it, If I delete a text string I now have to look up the number to start a new one. It should suggest numbers that have been used even if the archives are deleted and allow us to delete a suggestion we no longer need. The opposite is true for phone calls. It not only archives the phone numbers of calls you make but there is no way I have found to remove them from the archive. If these two issues were resolved I would rate it 5 stars.

I'm updating my previous negative review to a positive 5 stars. Defects have been corrected and it is easier and more reliable to use. I especially like the ability to easily and permanently delete conversation and call history. Thank you Google !!

Totally non functional for texts. Used the prior version all the time now there is no way to send a txt because the ">" that used to be there to send is missing. Also, after you enter the destination number you cannot get back to the message without starting over. This is a total train wreck. (Using iPhone 6s with latest iOS update).

Mobile data calling is broken

Google Voice claims you can make and receive VOIP calls using WIFI and mobile data, provided you configure that you prefer this option versus using your mobile phone number. However whenever you are off WIFI and on mobile data, the app says your "Internet Connection is unstable" so it's going to use your mobile phone number anyway as a fallback. I assure you my LTE service is excellent and I have no trouble with Zoom and Skype and WhatsApp video calls over LTE, so a voice only call on GV should be a piece of cake. By saying your "Internet Connection is unstable" Google is just making up an excuse for their app being broken. It's actually Google's app that is unstable. Too bad they killed making and receiving calls in Hangouts because that worked perfectly all the time.

UPDATE: Lowering rating to 1 star. Google contacted me to say I should test my Internet bandwidth while on LTE. Obviously the developers didn't read what I wrote above about other voice and videoconferencing applications working fine. They simply cannot believe they have a bug and they're going to blame it on something else. What hubris! And by the way I see similar replies to other poor reviews of this App. Google, Ookla Speedtest shows 11 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up under the worst of circumstances. If that isn't enough for a phone call, I don't know what is.

Hi there. Please check your internet connection by doing a Google search for 'internet speed test' as connection may be poor. You may also use a different network (mobile or WiFi). Could you try uninstalling and then reinstalling the app itself? Follow the steps here: https://goo.gle/2SoitJl. If this doesn't help, please visit our Community Forum for any additional assistance: https://goo.gle/34DGfqR.

Minor issue but over all pretty good

I use my GV as my business # that I give to my clients instead of my personal cell #. It works pretty well and for the most part I've been happy with the app. Recently I was having problems not being able to make calls when the wifi/mobile data was on. It kept saying my internet was unstable and I'd have to make the call using my carrier. I could do everything else (make/receive texts and receive calls), but just couldn't make calls without it using my carrier. It was frustrating and when it would use my carrier, my GV # that my clients are used to wouldn't be shown on caller ID, it would show some weird #. I tried shutting off and restarting my phone, turning off/on Wifi, checked to see if there was a new update, but none of that was working. I ended up having to delete/reinstall the app, and now it works as before. I like the fact that the new update now shows that the caller is coming through as GV, so I know that's it's a business call, it wouldn't do that before and I wouldn't know if it was a random caller or business. It would be nice if they added a feature where you can set a separate ring tone for the app.

Hi there. Thanks for the suggestion! You can report feedback in the Google Voice app > Menu > Help & Feedback. Appreciate it!

App Privacy

The developer, Google LLC, indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Search History
Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Seller

Google LLC

Size

137.9 MB

Category

Productivity

Compatibility

iPhone: Requires iOS 13.0 or later.

iPad: Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.

iPod touch: Requires iOS 13.0 or later.

Languages

English, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Age Rating

Copyright

Price

Free

Developer Website
App Support
Privacy Policy

Supports

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.
Siri

Get things done within this app using just your voice.

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