Reclaiming the Phone

The Last Unfiltered Inbox

The phone rings. A glance at the screen. Unknown number, again. The same micro-stress response—should I answer? Is this the doctor's office calling back about test results, or the fourth warranty scam of the week? Hesitation. The moment passes. New voicemail. I'll deal with it later.

This is the state of phone calls in 2025.

At Righthand, we envision a world where computer intelligence handles the tasks that require your time but not your judgement. That's why Righthands scan your inbox for action items and draft responses. It's why they can call restaurants to make reservations. It's why they can coordinate with five people to find a meeting time.

Email got filters and priority inbox. Messaging got unknown sender folders. The phone call is the last communication channel without a spam folder. Phone calls still behave like every ring is a fire alarm—demanding immediate attention, offering no preview, and giving you nothing to work with except a number that may or may not be real. In the first eleven months of 2025, Americans received 48.4 billion robocalls.

The phone is a device designed for a different era. An era where every call was intentional, personal, and meaningful.

Even Apple recognizes the urgency to change something. With iOS 26’s "Ask Reason for Calling," callers from unknown numbers must now justify their interruptions before your phone rings. It's progress, certainly, but it's incremental, generic.

You need something—someone—on your side who knows your work, your calendar, your preferences. Someone who can express those preferences on your behalf.

Broker calling about that 2-bedroom condo on Laguna Street? Yes, of course she's interested.

Spam caller offering unsolicited financial advice? Nope. Unsubscribe. Do not call again.

That's what I wanted. So I built it.

Two Weeks In

I've had my Righthand acting as my receptionist for two weeks now. The difference has been remarkable.

Previously, the ringing phone meant interruptions—"Spam again?"—right in the middle of dinner or critical meetings. But there are simply too many important engagements that still happen over phone to deprecate it as a communication channel entirely.

Sure, voicemail exists, but it quickly turns into yet another chore, one more inbox waiting to be sifted through Monday morning. What happens to a cognitive load deferred?

Now, my Righthand screens every incoming call. I haven’t had a single spam caller interrupt me in two weeks. When my phone rings, it's genuinely exciting—I know it's someone important, someone whose call I value. It feels good.

What About Important Unknown Callers?

Initially, I worried: what about calls from numbers I haven’t saved yet? I believed in the concept, so I tested it on my own life.

Turns out, my Righthand navigates these seamlessly. I'm apartment hunting right now, which means brokers and realtors call me back constantly from numbers I've never seen before. My Righthand engages these callers, quickly sorting valuable information from routine rejections, and promptly provides concise text updates:

"Hey, 2700 Sacramento Street called—no units currently available."

Or even better:

"Hey, Pacific Avenue Apartments called—they have two 2-bedroom units you'll want to see. Contact Angela at this number to set up a showing: ..."

I don't have to pick up spam to catch the important stuff.

How Callers React IRL

In my experience, the large majority of legitimate callers enjoy talking to my Righthand. We don't play phone tag, and they can quickly get to what's important and trust that I'll get back to them. My Righthand has excellent phone manners and assures callers that we'll follow up.

In fairness, one caller—an apartment broker—had a negative review. "That AI is so annoying," she told me later. Curious, I checked the transcript. My Righthand had performed rather well: it took her info, let her know I'd be in touch, and asked if she had anything else to share before wrapping up.

Here's a truth we've learned: some people don't value your mental space as much as they value saying what they want to you, on demand. Our opinion: those are precisely the interactions you should delegate to your Righthand.

The Personal Touch

On occasion, I miss a call from someone I know and love—my wife, friends, or my parents. A touch I appreciate is that my Righthand understands my relationships with these contacts.

When Chloe, my wife, calls and I miss it, my Righthand recognizes the number, picks up with a friendly "Hello, Chloe!" and automatically prioritizes what's discussed—because it knows I care about what she has to say. I get a high priority text right away: "Chloe called, you need to pick up more strauss yogurt before you come home."

Welcome to the Future

The phone was built for intentional communication, but spam changed that equation. At Righthand, we’re reclaiming the phone’s original purpose.

With my Righthand acting as my receptionist, my phone rings less, but each ring signals something important. Spam is filtered, essential calls reach me directly, and the uncertain middle ground is handled gracefully and efficiently.

It's how phone communication was meant to work all along. In the past, personal receptionists and secretaries knew your life inside and out. Now, your Righthand does.

---

How to Set It Up

Ready to reclaim your phone? Here's how to set up your Righthand as your receptionist.

Step 1: Get a Righthand

Sign up and note your Righthand's phone number.

Step 2: Configure Your iPhone

Before setting up carrier forwarding, adjust these iPhone settings:

Go to Settings → Apps → Phone → Live Voicemail and turn it OFF. (Live Voicemail stops calls on your device before they can forward.)

1. Disable Live Voicemail:

Go to Settings → Phone → Call Forwarding and ensure it is OFF. (This would forward ALL calls immediately, skipping your phone entirely.)

1. Disable Immediate Forwarding:

Step 3: Enable Conditional Call Forwarding

Conditional call forwarding sends calls to your Righthand only when you don't answer, your line is busy, or you're unreachable.

AT&T: Dial 004[RightHand Number]11# and tap Call. Verizon: Dial 71[RightHand Number] and tap Call. T-Mobile: Dial *61[RightHand Number]# and tap Call.

Step 4: Set Up iPhone Focus (Optional but Recommended)

This is the magic step. Focus mode lets you decide who can ring your phone—everyone else gets silently forwarded to your Righthand.

1. Go to Settings → Focus → + → Custom.
2. Name it "Righthand Receptionist" and pick an icon.
3. Under Silence Notifications, tap People and choose Allow Notifications From.
4. Add the people you want on your whitelist (or select Contacts Only).
5. Under Calls to Allow, choose Contacts Only or Allowed People Only.
6. Tap Done.

Turn on this Focus from Control Center whenever you want peace. Here at RightHand, we leave it on basically all the time.

Step 5: Test It

1. Enable your "Righthand Receptionist" Focus.
2. Have someone on your whitelist call you → your phone should ring.
3. Have an unknown number call you → your phone stays silent, and after the timeout, your Righthand picks up.

That's it. Your phone is reclaimed.

---

Need to Turn It Off?

AT&T: Dial ##21# Verizon: Dial *73 T-Mobile: Dial ##21#

All calls will ring your phone normally again.