teen using vmail call back to work around to parental block !

[mhbvez]

My teen has figured out how to use vmail callback feature to skirt the time of day usage restrictions I set up on his phone.  He has someone leave a voicemail message.  He accesses vmail (which is exempt from the calling limit periods), retrieves the message and presses callback option.   Voila!  he's got a back door around the time of day restriction.

Anyone know how to turn off this 'feature' in a surgical manner?  I called Verizon and they simply reset the account which took off all the restrictions I had in place and credited me for a couple months worth of paying for Parental Controls that weren't working.  He's still using this workaround!   How clever kids are these days!

Thanks for any help the forum can provide.

[spottedcatfish]

I wonder if using another voicemail service might do the trick, something like YouMail or Ribbit.

Here's my line of reasoning:

- With Ribbit, you have to call an outside number to get your messages, which means he could not call during the restricted hours.  This does mean he can't access his voicemail during that time, but maybe you could get around that by sending him a text from the "allowed numbers" list when you need to leave him a message?

I don't know what number you have to call to get messages with YouMail, but it might work the same way.  To completely patch the hole, you'll need to edit the "Voicemail" contact entry in his phone, and then either have Verizon disable his Verizon voicemail, or (simpler fix) change the password to something he doesn't know.

I know that several members around here use YouMail and love it, so you could try a search to learn more, or hopefully they'll come by to offer some insight!

[mhbvez]

Dear spottedcatfish,

Thanks for your reply and suggestions.  I checked out Ribbit and YouMail. They seem like fine email solutions for older kids with Web access on their phones, esp smartphone users.   My son has a very basic phone and I've disabled internet access on it.   Locking him out of verizon vmail by changing the password is an option but not a great one long term.  What I really want is just the 'callback' functionality feature dropped/disabled from vmail.   I wonder if Verizon is capable of doing this?

Thanks again.

[spottedcatfish · Accepted solution]

You don't need a smartphone, or, past getting it set up, to access it online.  In fact, I get all of my messages via text from Ribbit and find that to be the best way to deal with them, I only call in if the transcription seems garbled.

That said, I think your only option if you want to continue using the Verizon voicemail system is to call into CS and see what modifications they can make on their end.

[mhbvez]

Cool... thanks!