Babbelbox

Talk by name, not by number

Simulation: two test phones on this Mac (softphones) are connected through our own switch. Each sends a tone and the page checks that the other one heard it. Nothing rings.

Live: the switch rings the owner's two real phones through our number. Each live call is announced on his Telegram first and stops by itself after 2 minutes.

Start switch starts our own FreeSWITCH, which logs in to the phone line. Reset clears statuses and the timeline.

Two people, one number, no numbers exchanged Proven on 13 Oct 2026 with the owner's two real phones. Our own switch (open-source FreeSWITCH on a Mac) is logged in to our phone line 020 684 9141. It calls both people and joins the two calls. Each phone only receives a call from our number, so neither ever sees the other's number. The two phone numbers are kept in the Mac's Keychain and read only when a call is placed. They are not on this page, in files or in logs.

Karel and Henk only know each other's name. Say you are available, then ask for the other by name. Our number 020 684 9141 rings both of you and connects you. Each phone only ever shows our number.

Karel

iPhone 16 Pro Max
not available
Karelidle
Our number 020 684 9141 is our CallVoIP line, the only bought part. Our switch logs in to it like a desk phone (a SIP registration). It does this next to the AI voice agent that also uses this line, and the line keeps both. Every call the switch places goes out over this line, so this number is what both phones show.
020 684 9141
Idle
Waiting for a request
Directory: Karel → a number in the Keychain · Henk → a number in the Keychain The switch knows only names. Each name points to a Keychain entry: Karel to owner-mobile and Henk to owner-iphone12pm. The control script reads the number when it dials and keeps it in memory only. Afterwards it removes every form of both numbers from the switch's logs. The page and the server's status never contain a phone number.

Henk

iPhone 12 Pro Max
not available
Henkidle

What is happening Every step the switch reports, live, with the time it happened. The times come from the switch's own call events (ringing, answered, bridged, hung up).

  1. Nothing yet. Start with "I'm available" on both phones.

Last call Measured by the switch, per phone:
• answered: seconds from the start until that phone picked up.
• talk: seconds connected.
• sound in/out: voice packets (RTP) received from and sent to that phone. Many in both directions means sound went both ways.

In the simulation, each test phone also sends a tone (Karel 440 Hz, Henk 1000 Hz). heard other is how many seconds of the other phone's tone it received. shown as is the caller its screen showed.

No call yet.

How the switch connects two people

1 · AvailableEach person says "I'm available".The page turns plain language into one of four switch actions: available, not available, call <name>, hang up. Dutch works too ("ik ben beschikbaar", "bel Karel", "ophangen"). Under each phone, "understood as" shows what was understood.
2 · Ask by name"Call Karel." No number is needed.The switch looks the name up in its directory. It only connects when the other person said they are available. Otherwise you hear that the person is not available.
3 · The caller's phone ringsFrom our number.The switch dials the caller's phone over our line. The caller ID it sends is our number, and the line shows that number. On answer, the caller hears "you asked to talk with …, connecting you now". Technically: a SIP INVITE to the phone line, with the switch's caller ID set to 020 684 9141.
4 · The other phone ringsAlso from our number.The switch now dials the second person, again from our number. That phone shows 020 684 9141, not the caller's number. The caller hears a ringing tone meanwhile.
5 · ConnectedThe switch joins the two calls.When the second person answers, FreeSWITCH bridges the two calls: sound from each phone is passed to the other through the switch. Neither phone learns the other's number. When one hangs up, the switch ends the other call too.

What was proven (13 Oct 2026, the owner's two real phones)

2 / 2tests connected the two phonesTest A, 21:51: the switch called Karel, then Henk, and joined them. Henk's phone answered after 28.7 s.
Test B, 21:55: Karel called our number. The switch recognised him by caller ID, he keyed 4265 ("hank"), and the switch rang Henk and joined them. The owner confirmed both on Telegram.
020 684 9141the only number either phone showedThe owner checked both screens on every test. The phones showed our number, never each other's. In the simulation, each test phone's own log records the caller as sip:0206849141.
both wayssound in every testThe switch counted voice packets in both directions on both calls, e.g. 2727 in and 2312 out on Karel's side in test B. In the simulation, each test phone heard the other's tone for about 23 seconds.

Not built yet, on purpose (the owner: functionality first): access control, privacy and GDPR, consent before connecting, and speech-only use without a screen.