This is the fifteenth part of the Chatterbox series. For your convenience you can find other parts in the table of contents in Part 1 – Origins
We know how to initiate audio conferences with other parties as we covered that in Chatterbox Part 9 — Calling Facebook using GSM. Now we want to do the opposite — we want Messenger (or any other IM) to call our phone on an incoming audio call.
It’s actually very simple, once we have the previous solution. This time we need to use the bridge mechanism to call us, for instance Zoom “invite by phone” or Chime “call me”. Other bridges should support it as well. You need to set up those bridges and pick up your phone. Some of them may want you to accept the call by pressing a key.
Another idea is to use Google Voice and do a conference call.
Setting up a bridge may take around a minute (to open browsers, route voice lines, dial you in etc). To make it faster, you can keep the bridge online 24/7, and only call your phone once you accept the incoming call.
Keep in mind voice calls are insecure! They can be captured and overheard, so don’t use them for a confidential communication.