Facebook’s Hello app is caller ID on steroids

Facebook has released a new app that shows users more information about the person calling them. The Hello app — built by the same team that built Messenger — connects with Facebook so you can see who is calling, block unwanted calls and search for people and places. The app rolls out today on Android and it is up for public testing in the US, Brazil, and Nigeria.

This type of app is nothing new. We’ve seen this technology from TrueCaller in the past, and Hello resembles TrueCaller in some aspects, but this is Facebook and it has the potential to build such an app, pack it with far more features than any competitor. These app inventions, however repetitive they get, give the consumer more options and therefore the consumer becomes the winner while the apps fight for traction.

Facebook says that the app will show users info about who is calling them, even if they do not have that number saved in their phone. Meaning, users can see whatever info they the caller has shared publicly on Facebook. Information like residence, employer, website, and more. Users will, however, only see info that people have already shared with them on Facebook. It will not infringe on people’s privacy settings and reveal information they have kept private.

It is not clear if this app integrates with business pages and groups on Facebook, so one can avoid the ever pleasant sales calls.

With people constantly keeping and updating their data on their profiles, one could know where the person calling is, who they are with, and where they work before answering the call. When a Hello user receives a call, Facebook references the phone number against the caller’s Facebook data.

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Users can block unwanted calls, block specific numbers and adjust whether they want to automatically block calls from commonly blocked numbers. All blocked calls go straight to voicemail and the user can then review them in the mobile phone’s recent calls.

Hello is much more than just a phonebook replacement, it embraces far more sophisticated features.

The ones that stand out is that it allows users to search and call people and businesses on Facebook with one click. Within the app, users can use Hello to make reservations and get directions to the place they are going to.

The second feature that is going to change the way we make calls is its free Voice Over IP (VoIP) calls. When a caller or you hang up on a call, info about whether that person has installed Messenger shows up. Users can return the call for free on Messenger by voice or text, provided the internet is working.

It’s teething days for the app and this, as Facebook said, a testing phase.

Looking at the features, Hello is quite impressive, both in functionality, convenience and offering, with its VOIP calls on Messenger, to those who cannot afford the expensive rates of calls another option to ease the burden and bring freedom to many.