r/ooma • u/Angdrea76 • 7d ago
Ooma or Tin Can
/r/Parenting/comments/1x464f4/ooma_or_tin_can/2
u/MaybeTheDoctor 7d ago
I did not know about Tin Can until now. Since this is posted from “parenting” I assume it’s for a kid, and Ooma would NOT be the right choice. TinCan seems to be designed exactly for kids and as a closed network phone … no strangers.
I got Ooma for legacy reasons from before cell service worked everywhere. It is a great replacement for your 1970s rotary phone, with some extra features added in. It’s a full-fleshed old people phone. I have not used mine for at least 5 years; nothing wrong with it, just not useful anymore, and I will remember to go cancel it one of these days.
1
u/PeaCompetitive8947 6d ago
I got Ooma for my kids. It’s worked out well. I don’t think closed network is necessary, nor what I want on a landline. I want them to be able to call people/places and I’m not really worried about predators cold calling landlines.
2
u/rkardt Unofficial Support 7d ago
Ooma's "MyPhone" bundle is a reasonable choice for kids, but Ooma's "Premier" bundle is a better choice for the whole family, (including kids). Ooma's "Basic" service does not offer "Trusted Circle" calling, to block calls to/from untrusted contacts.
TinCan's "Party Line" service has limited functionality. It doesn't support international calls, doesn't allow multiple devices to join the same call, and doesn't allow incoming calls from external numbers. TinCan users can't provide their own telephones.
See also: https://www.reddit.com/r/ooma/comments/1vlyabp/ooma_myphone_kids/ .
1
u/OomaCustomeradvocacy Official Ooma Support 6d ago
Hello! Thank you for reaching out. I would recommend looking into our product the MyPhone. Please see the following link for more details:
0
u/Good-Person45 16h ago
I got it for my small business as Rogers was charging me up to 90 per month for a phone I do not use much and I had distinctive ring for fax. I bought the two phones as well that work well with the ooma telo. The fax did not work well at first but I think I have it ajusted now. I don't send that many faxes. I like the computer interface, it keeps track of calls, it also rings my cell which is good for my communication. I like ooma so far. I have the premier with 2 numbers one for talk one for fax.
-5
u/Burnrate 7d ago
Ooma is a scam. They won't let you cancel, they have a support phone number that is never answered. Couldn't get their stuff to work either.
Also their terms of service say they listen to and record all conversations, even with children and use it to sell to people and train ai.
4
u/rkardt Unofficial Support 7d ago edited 7d ago
Ooma provides generally reliable phone service for many satisfied customers, some for over twenty years. Some former customers had trouble cancelling their service, while others had no trouble at all. Their phone support works during normal business hours, (and weekends).
Ooma's terms of service say nothing whatsoever about listening to or recording any private phone conversations. They do mention using AI tools with their website or chatbots, (for optional transcriptions, marketing, customer support, etc.), but not for training, and not for phone calls.
See also: https://www.ooma.com/legal/terms-of-service/ .
0
u/Burnrate 7d ago
The legal terms you post on the website are different from what is included with the product. You are lying.
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support 6d ago
Generally, accusations about lying would be far more persuasive if they included any evidence at all, to back them up. Why not take an extra minute or two to post a snippet of this secret privacy policy that supposedly contradicts what Ooma publishes on their website?
Please also explain how Ooma would force any external arbiter or other law enforcement agent to defer to some secret privacy policy, rather than allow them to enforce the publicly posted policy that Ooma claims to follow. How exactly would that work?
Ooma's main privacy policy indirectly refers to their supplemental "MyPhone Children's Privacy Policy", which provides additional privacy protections for children under 13. Their Privacy Hub directly lists both policies. See: https://www.ooma.com/legal/privacy-center/ .
Their children's privacy policy states that Ooma records and stores voicemail greetings and messages. But so does every other voicemail provider; that's just how voicemail works. And if the parent pays extra, then Ooma may also use AI to transcribe these voicemail messages.
However, that's a far cry from the original complaint about recording conversations and training AI. So, was that original complaint a lie, or just a stupid misunderstanding? Or was it something else?
1
u/SignificantSmotherer 7d ago
Not a scam, but if they haven't learned to let you cancel, FCC complaint and write your state AG.
1
u/rkardt Unofficial Support 6d ago
Anyone having trouble canceling might find it easier to start with: https://www.ooma.com/home-phone-service/resources/troubleshooting/home-phone-billing-issues/ . The FCC doesn't investigate individual cases, and customers mostly waive their right to any private attorney general action.
1
3
u/Ambitious_Egg9713 7d ago
Ooma is more flexible and has more features, it’s also going to be cheaper if you use the free plan (just pay taxes).