Answers to the most common questions about how VoxGuard works, your calls and voicemails, subscriptions, carriers, and privacy. Tap a question to see the answer.
When a number you don't know calls your phone, VoxGuard intercepts the call before it rings your handset. The caller hears a short prompt asking them to repeat a key phrase you've set, then to record their name and reason for calling. You get a push notification with the recording and a text transcript. You have two minutes to approve or decline; if you approve, the caller is connected to your phone as a normal call. Known contacts always ring through immediately — VoxGuard never screens them.
Yes. VoxGuard only screens numbers that aren't in your phone's contact list. If a caller is saved in your contacts, their call rings your phone immediately with no VoxGuard prompt, no delay, and no notification — exactly as if VoxGuard weren't installed.
A short announcement: "This call is protected and recorded by VoxGuard. To proceed, please say [your key phrase]." If they say the phrase, VoxGuard asks them to state their name and reason for calling, then plays a brief hold message while you decide. If they don't say the phrase, or the system can't understand them after a few attempts, the call ends without reaching you.
A key phrase is a word or short phrase that callers are asked to repeat out loud before their call reaches you. It is not a secret password — VoxGuard tells the caller exactly what to say. Its purpose is to filter out automated robocalls, which cannot respond to a spoken prompt in real time. Any human caller can get through; any bot cannot.
Choose a phrase that's easy to pronounce clearly in English — a common word like “pineapple,” “sunshine,” or “open sesame” works well. You can change it anytime in Settings.
When a caller finishes recording their reason, your phone shows a VoxGuard notification with a play button, the transcript, and Approve / Decline buttons. Tap to listen, then tap Approve to connect the call or Decline to end it. If you have a Wear OS smartwatch paired, the same controls appear there.
Two minutes. During that time the caller hears hold music. If you don't decide within two minutes, the call ends and the entry is logged in your call history with a “Timed Out” status.
Every screened call — whether you answered, declined, or timed out — is saved in your call history. Open the Calls tab, tap the caller's entry, and you'll see their recorded reason and transcript on the Call Details page. You can listen back, read what they said, and return the call whenever you're ready. Nothing is lost just because you didn't pick up in the moment.
Every voicemail captured by VoxGuard — whether from a screened caller or a known contact — is saved in your Voicemail tab inside the app. You can play back, read the transcript, delete, or add a note to any caller.
Yes. Every voicemail in the app has a delete option. Deleted voicemails are removed from VoxGuard's servers, not just hidden in the app.
Caller Notes let you jot down a reminder about a specific caller that stays with their number. For example, after screening a call from a number you didn't recognize, you might note “Insurance salesman — do not approve” or “Dentist office — accept next time.” The note is visible from both the Call Details page and the Voicemail Detail page, and stays attached to that caller's phone number across every future call they make to you. Notes are private to your account and never visible to the caller.
This switch changes how your phone alerts you to an incoming screened call.
When it's ON, your phone skips the usual ringtone and instead plays the caller's recorded reason out loud on repeat — so you immediately hear who's calling and why, in their own voice, without having to open the app. When it's OFF (the default), your phone rings normally and you can tap the play button on the notification to hear the reason. The toggle only affects how you're alerted; it doesn't change what gets recorded or where it's stored.
Yes. Every screening attempt — approved, declined, timed out, or screened out — is logged in your Calls tab, with the caller number, timestamp, and (where available) their recorded reason and transcript on the Call Details page.
Calls ring your phone as normal, exactly as they did before you installed VoxGuard. Screening is automatically suspended for the duration of the lapse. Once you restore your subscription, screening turns back on — no reconfiguration needed.
Yes. Subscriptions are managed through Google Play Billing — cancel anytime from the Play Store's subscriptions screen. Before you cancel, we recommend going into the VoxGuard app and disabling call forwarding to avoid any leftover forwarding on your line. You'll keep screening access until the end of your current billing period; after that, calls ring through natively as described above.
Your phone's call forwarding stays active until you cancel it — otherwise, callers will still be routed to our servers even though the app is gone. We recommend disabling call forwarding from inside the app before you uninstall — go to Settings and follow the prompts.
If you forget, VoxGuard detects the uninstall within about 24 hours and sends you an SMS with your carrier's cancellation code. Follow the instructions in the SMS to return your phone service fully to normal. If you didn't receive the SMS or need help, email support@vox-guard.com and we'll walk you through it.
Just reinstall VoxGuard on the new device and sign in with the same phone number. Your contacts list, voicemails, call history, key phrase, and preferences are all restored automatically — no support ticket needed.
If you changed carriers, you may need to re-set up call forwarding since forwarding codes and activation are carrier-specific. Open Settings in the app and follow the forwarding setup prompts — it only takes a minute.
English only for now. If you speak a non-English phrase, the system may not recognize it and the caller won't be able to pass the challenge. Support for additional languages is on the roadmap.
Not yet. VoxGuard is currently Android only. Follow us for updates on iOS availability.
Yes — VoxGuard uses standard conditional call forwarding that every major US carrier supports. During onboarding, the app walks you through activating the right forwarding codes for your specific carrier.
Yes, on Wear OS. Approve or decline calls, play the caller's reason, and see who's calling — all from your wrist. Incoming screening notifications mirror from your phone.
Yes — when a caller states their name and reason, that audio is saved so you can listen to it later. VoxGuard handles the disclosure for you automatically: the opening announcement says “This call is protected and recorded by VoxGuard” before any recording begins, which satisfies legal notice requirements in every US state, including two-party-consent states like California, Florida, and Washington. You don't need to say anything yourself.
Indefinitely. We keep your recordings, transcripts, voicemails, and call history for as long as your account exists, so that if you ever change phones or reinstall the app, your data is still there waiting for you.
You can delete individual voicemails from the app anytime — those are permanently removed from our servers when you tap delete. For a full wipe of your data (entire call history, all recordings, everything), email us at support@vox-guard.com and we'll handle it manually. Deleting your account also removes all associated data automatically.
VoxGuard doesn't block any calls outright — every unknown caller goes through the same screening process, by design. We avoid blanket blocking so we never create false positives that stop a legitimate caller (a doctor's office, a delivery, a school) from reaching you. Instead, robocalls and spam fail the key-phrase challenge on their own because automated systems can't repeat a spoken prompt in real time, so they hang up or get filtered without ever notifying you.
No. Outgoing calls, including 911, are never screened. VoxGuard only screens incoming calls from numbers not in your contacts.
Yes. The IVR announcement explicitly informs callers that the call is being recorded before any recording starts, which satisfies legal notice requirements in every US state including all-party-consent states (California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Connecticut). If you have specific compliance questions, consult a lawyer in your state.
On VoxGuard's servers, located in the United States. Call recordings, transcripts, and account information are encrypted in transit and protected at rest. See our Privacy Policy for full details on what we collect and how it's handled.
If you can't find what you're looking for, email us at support@vox-guard.com and we'll get back to you.
For data deletion requests and privacy questions, see our Privacy Policy.