The end of the TPS Protect app
Do you know what the TPS Protect app is? Well if the answer to that is no, then you’re not alone.
The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) launched the app in August 2017 in conjunction with First Orion.
The app was designed to help consumers register their mobile number with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and quickly register complaints about nuisance or scam calls.
The app was powered by its users, with each nuisance and scam call blocked, reported or complained about in the app helping to determine a kind of unique Trust Score for that number.
The app was free, but the DMA wanted to charge a monthly fee for additional features and this is undoubtedly where the DMA misjudged its target audience.
For free, consumers were able to see the Trust Score for incoming calls, look-up, report and file complaints for nuisance or scam call numbers. For an additional 99p per month users could block any unwanted calls by diverting them direct to voicemail and create a custom Approved List and Blocked List.
Robert Baker, European MD at First Orion, said:
“Unlike other call blocking apps, TPS Protect does not access your phone contacts and never will. We respect and value customer privacy.
We’ve launched the app today with data we have collected over several months of testing and the protection will get better for every person that downloads and uses the app.
So we encourage people to join the movement and share the news with their family and friends, as more people use TPS Protect the more we all will benefit.”
TPS Services Vince Costa-Barnett said:
“The idea was sound, users report phone numbers which in turn creates a trust call rating and in return the TPS get live data on what calls consumers are complaining about.
Sadly though, there are many similar competing apps available for free and consumers are a fickle bunch.”