Slydial Exposed - What is Slydial and Why Would You Want to Use It?

I am always looking for ways to save time or maximize time, so when I first heard about Slydial I was very intrigued. Slydial is very similar to the Jott service I wrote a previous article on in that you can leave messages for others without having to actually talk to them. With Jott you can leave email or text messages using your phone. With Slydial, you can leave voicemail messages without having to talk to anyone.

The Slydial service is free but the minutes you use on the cell aren't so if minutes are a concern then be aware of this. Slydial also only works in the US. To use Slydial from a land line or a cell phone, dial 267-Sly-Dial (267-759-3425).

So just how would Slydial be useful? Their website lists several scenarios. Some of their ideas are cowardly and less than savory ... but some I can see myself using.

The less than savory uses that they list are leaving a voicemail for your girlfriend so you don't actually have to take up your valuable time talking to her when you could be watching the football game. Or leaving a voicemail for your parents telling them you have maxed out their credit cards while away at college. Or leaving a voicemail for your wife that you spent too much money gambling in Las Vegas and so you can put off the confrontation and maybe she'll cool off before you get home and have to face the music. Or using the service as a way to avoid talking to your boss about why you will be late.

Their suggested uses I can see myself taking advantage of are to call people as a reminder for a meeting or a party. Or leave a voicemail for clients to update them on the progress of a task you're working on for them. Or calling family members to wish them a happy birthday or just to say hello and let them know you're thinking about them but it's the middle of the night and you don't really want to call and disturb them. Or calling a long winded friend who always jabbers on for hours when you don't really have the time to spare - you can just leave them a voicemail and save yourself wasted hours talking on the phone.

The potential uses for the Syldial service have also gotten a lot of negative press. The New York Times wrote an article with the headline "Don't Want to Talk About It? Order a Missed Call". MSNBC wrote an article titled "Dump Your Lover Directly on Voice Mail". A blog on Information Week says "Slydial Lets You Be a Jerk To Your Coworkers, Friends, and Family". A blog on the LA Times website says "Passive-aggressive phone-tag from Slydial".

So yes, Slydial can be abused just like any other tool by sneaky underhanded people or cowards who don't want to act like grownups. But it can also be used a time saving technology tool. I was interested enough to put the service to the test and got varied results.

My first test: I used my husband's cell phone to call my cell phone. I dialed the Slydial number and was prompted to enter the number I wanted to call. After entering the number I had to listen to an advertisement for some random service and then was put directly into my voicemail system. I had my phone close by to see if it rang or if anything showed up on the display. I have my cell phone set up to vibrate when I get voicemail and the minute Slydial connected my phone started vibrating, but the caller ID was blank and stayed blank until my recording stopped, then as I left a message the display on my phone returned to normal. There wasn't even a "missed call" message displayed. So while the call itself was non-identifying, I can see where using Slydial might cause a problem if you call someone on their cell and they have it turned on and they have set an audible alert notifying them when they get a voicemail.

My next test: I called my sister on her cell and told her I was about to use Slydial and for her to be looking at her phone and listening for a ring or tone. I dialed the Slydial number and put in her cell phone number at the prompt. Just like in my first test, I had to listen to an advertisement and was then connected directly to her voicemail. I left a quick message and then called her back. She said on her end her phone rang once, like a quick half ring noise that she would not have noticed had she not been holding the phone and aware that something might happen. She did say that her display showed "1 missed call from Sis cell". She also got an alert about having a voicemail. So if someone is trying to be truly anonymous then maybe Slydial isn't going to do that. I didn't get a "missed call" message on my phone but she did. I'm not sure why because I have alerts set up to show missed calls.

So it seems that Slydial has a few bugs in it and works inconsistently as far as being "covert" or "nonintrusive", if that is your intent.

I was concerned about privacy issues such as how they use and track the phone numbers you call from or the number you place a call to. So I took a peek at their privacy policy and learned that "Slydial is a service of MobileSphere and they do not sell or otherwise market information about you". It goes on to say that "MobileSphere does leverage third party services in some areas as part of our service offering. We will not provide the names, email addresses, or phone numbers to any other third party except our service providers who need to use it in connection with providing the specific MobileSphere service". To read their entire terms of use and privacy policy, visit their website.

To learn more about Slydial and how to set up more personalized features, visit their website at www.slydial.com.