Whoscall
{{Short description|Caller ID App}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Citations broken|date=June 2023}}
{{Notability|date=April 2025}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=April 2025}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Whoscall
| logo =
| developer = Gogolook Co., Ltd.
| released = August 2010
| operating system = Android, Windows Phone, iOS
| language = English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Hindi
| genre = Caller ID, Telephone Directory, Spam Filtering, Fraud Protection
| license = Proprietary
| alexa =
| website = {{URL|https://whoscall.com}}
| standard =
| AsOf =
}}
{{Short description|Search engine}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Gogolook Co., Ltd.
| url = https://gogolook.com/en
| type =
| headquarters = Taipei
| country = Taiwan
| country_of_origin = Taiwan
| founder = Jeff Kuo, Jackie Chang, Reiny Song
| CEO =
| products =
| launch_date = {{start date and age|24 July 2010}}
}}
Whoscall is a mobile application that offers caller identification services developed by Gogolook Co., Ltd., a listed company in Taiwan.
History
Originally a part-time project by Jeff Kuo, Jackie Chang, and Reiny Song, the trio co-founded Gogolook with the goal of developing a caller identification system to prevent fraud.{{cite web|last1=Chen|first1=Liz|title=不明來電走著瞧——WhosCall 幕後團隊專訪|url=http://www.inside.com.tw/2013/05/22/whoscall-gogolook-interview|website=www.inside.com.tw/|date=22 May 2013 |publisher=Inside|access-date=15 October 2014}} In August 2010, the first version of Whoscall was released on Google Play in several countries and attracted voluntary downloads.{{cite web|url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/promotion_3000540_bestapp_apac|title=The Best Apps of 2013|access-date=15 October 2014}}
In April 2014, concerns regarding Whoscall's privacy issues rose to the forefront of national attention as public figures took to the press and expressed their concerns with public records including home telephone numbers and addresses showing up on incoming calling screens. Gogolook released a statement declaring that they had never collected nor stored any personal information on their servers, let alone made them publicly available.{{cite news|last1=蔡智銘|last2=葉濬明|title=LINE whoscall {{!}} 很會找 名人個資全洩|url=http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20140218/346824/|access-date=15 October 2014|publisher=AppleDailydate=18 February 2014}} It was subsequently discovered that the personal information of the aforementioned public figures was leaked from government servers with poor security protocols that made the information available on search engines, from which Gogolook sources some of their information.{{cite news|last1=生活中心|title=輸入電話=肉搜？LINE whoscall {{!}} 太強大 個資全曝光 |url=http://www.ettoday.net/news/20140219/326565.htm#ixzz3GCsqT0M3|access-date=15 October 2014|publisher=ETToday|date=19 February 2014}}
In 2020, Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall, established its overseas office in Fukuoka, Japan.
In 2021, Whoscall launched "Smart SMS Assistant" feature.{{cite web |title=詐騙簡訊滿天飛 Whoscall推「智慧簡訊管家」辨識垃圾訊息 |url=https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20211109002644-260410?chdtv |access-date=9 November 2021 |website=chinatimes|date=9 November 2021 }} In 2022, Whoscall launched the "Whoscall Premium Group Sell" on momo shopping online.{{cite web |title=Whoscall進階版團購組合上momo銷售 拓展防詐商機 |url=https://udn.com/news/story/7239/6804871 |access-date=30 November 2022 |website=udn}}
In 2022, Whoscall collaborated with the Web3 community "Global Citizen Club" to create customized NFTs.{{cite web |date=23 September 2022 |title=Whoscall攜手Web3社群防詐 推333款限量「防詐NFT」 |url=https://tw.nextapple.com/finance/20220923/0183688646551D6028AC50EC55D06483 |access-date=23 September 2022 |website=nextapple}}
Business model
= Investors =
- In 2013, Gogolook received an investment of $11.7 million from Naver Corporation, LINE’s parent company.{{cite web |title=Korean web giant Naver acquires makers of Whoscall |url=https://www.techinasia.com/korean-web-giant-naver-acquires-taiwanese-startup-gogolook}}
- In 2020, Gogolook received investment from WIN Semiconductors Corp., the largest GaAs semiconductor foundry in the world.{{cite web |title=Gogolook gets funding for further expansion in Japan |url=https://meet-global.bnext.com.tw/articles/view/47045}}
- In 2022, Whoscall's parent company, Gogolook, applied for IPO listing on the Innovation Board.{{cite web |title=Whoscall公司Gogolook 申請創新板上市 |url=https://udn.com/news/story/7251/6873209https://udn.com/news/story/7251/6873209 |access-date=29 December 2022 |website=Udn}}
- In 2023, Gogolook went public on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) of the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).
= Strategic partners =
Whoscall is also the strategic partner of several governmental agencies in their anti-fraud efforts.
= Other anti-fraud efforts =
In 2020, Whoscall released the world’s first COVID-19 Scam White Paper. The release was covered by several media outlets.{{cite web |title=Whoscall 發表全球第一份「疫情防詐白皮書」，揭手機「簡訊」成疫情詐騙破口 |url=https://technews.tw/2020/04/23/whoscall-covid19-scam-white-paper/}}
Since 2020, Whoscall have been releasing Annual Reports focusing on latest fraud trends, scenarios and industry insights.{{cite web |date=2 February 2021 |title=Scam calls, messages in Taiwan up 488% in 2020 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4117995}}{{cite web |date=19 May 2021 |title=Whoscall《2020 年度報告》：詐騙數量創新高，成長 190%！ |url=https://www.inside.com.tw/article/22457-Whoscall-2020-report}}{{cite web |title=《Whoscall 2021年度報告》解析詐騙動態 |url=https://money.udn.com/money/amp/story/10860/6045060 |access-date=19 January 2022 |website=經濟日報|date=19 January 2022 }}{{Cite web |title=Gogolook 2022 Annual Fraud Report : Calls and Messages |url=https://whoscall.com/en/blog/articles/714-Gogolook%202022%20Annual%20Fraud%20Report%20-%20Calls%20and%20Messages |access-date=21 January 2025 |website=Whoscall Column |language=en}}
In 2022, Gogolook released the “Business Impersonation Report” with the Criminal Investigation Bureau.{{cite web |title=Whoscall 母公司公布企業偽冒事件報告書，揭露詐騙風險、趨勢 |url=https://technews.tw/2022/09/28/gogolook-2/ |access-date=28 August 2022 |website=TechNews}}
Awards and recognition
In 2017, Whoscall was chosen by Google as a successful case study on the event Google I/O 2017.{{cite web |date=17 May 2017 |title=Google Analytics for Firebase: Overview and Updates (Google I/O '17) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ygl3UUDH3Q |website=YouTube}} In 2021, Whoscall was listed as one of the anti-fraud apps recommended by the Royal Thai Police.{{cite web |title=วิธีเช็คเบื้องต้นว่า เบอร์ใครโทรมาหาเรา |url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1468663806798839 |website=Facebook}}
| class="wikitable"
|+ !Year !Organisation !Award name !Reference |
| rowspan="2" |2013
|2013 Innovation Awards |
| Google Play
|Best Apps of the Year |
| 2015
|Best Apps of 2015 |
| 2016
|Most Popular App |
| 2020
|4th Presidential Innovation Award |{{cite web |date=September 2020 |title=Whoscall creator wins Taiwan Presidential Innovation Award |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3999370}}{{cite news |title=Reverse Phone Search |url=https://whocalled.co.uk |access-date=21 May 2023}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.whoiscaller.net/blog-detail/who-called-me For what reason is it imperative to discover who called]
- {{Cite news |date=5 December 2022 |title=Taiwan's front-line battle against mobile phone fraud |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63075729 |access-date=21 January 2025 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}
{{Z Holdings}}
{{Naver}}
Category:Windows Phone software