We’ve recently introduced three new features on our website. Well, we’ve introduced one new feature and brought back a couple of older features due to popular demand. The new features available now are…

Add Vyke numbers:

You can now easily add extra mobile numbers to your Vyke app directly from our website. Many users have been asking for this feature so we have added it here as well as in the app. Once you log in to your Vyke account, select Profiles from the drop down menu. If you already have Vyke Numbers in your app they will display here and you can very easily add them here if not.

Select ‘Add Profile’ and choose a country (UK, USA, Canada, Netherlands or Poland), giving it a name that will make it stand out – this name will pop up when people call you on this number. Choose your duration and click purchase and your new Vyke number will soon be added to your app.

You can also delete Vyke numbers from here. Be careful though, once you delete a number you can’t get it back.

Send texts from your browser:

You can now send texts straight from your Vyke account in your browser! Log in to your Vyke account and select Actions from the drop down in the top right and you have the option to quickly type texts at our low domestic and international rates.

Transfer credit to other Vyke users:

Share your Vyke credit with friends and family*. Log in to your Vyke account on our website and select Actions from the drop down in the top right. Click on ‘Transfer Credit’ (turns green when highlighted) enter the amount you would like to transfer and then the number of your contact in international format. Your contact must already have a Vyke account to receive your credit.

Your Vyke account on our website contains some other great features you won’t find in the app:

• Check your call history – your app contains your recent calls but your Vyke account contains detailed call history for the previous 12 months, including charges and call duration
• Check your SMS history – view times and costs of all of your sent and received texts
• Check your payment history – view your payments for credit, Vyke numbers or credit transfers. Separated by month, you can even see your payment method and download a receipt for direct payments

There are also features that are available in-app that you may prefer to manage on the site:

• Add credit– buy Vyke credit by debit/credit card or PayPal. It’s always cheaper to buy direct from us
• Add bundles – for our lowest rates to call and text a range of countries you can buy a 30 day bundle

Apple changed the phone landscape with the original iPhone, and they make great phones, but there are always lots of reports of crashes, glitches and bugs. Each OS update fixes a variety of issues while also introducing a few new ones. Below we explore some of the most common iOS 10 issues and how to resolve them.

Battery issues:

Since the release of 10.1.1 there have been widespread reports of battery drain, in addition to the general poor battery performance of Apple devices. The most common complaint is of newly updated iPhone’s switching off without warning at around 30% or quickly dropping to 1%. Apple admitted this was an issue and since claimed to have resolved it in iOS 10.2, but this is not the case for many users.

Try rebooting your phone before it hits 30% or charge it more often than you normally would. Ensure you have the latest version of iOS installed (currently 10.3.1), many users have reported this issue as resolved. You can check which apps are draining your battery in Settings > Battery > Battery usage or follow these tips to improve general battery performance.

Wi-Fi not connecting or dropping frequently:

Mainly affecting iPhone 6 users, another issue that surfaced in iOS 10.

Follow all the obvious steps in the Apple support page, and also:

• Toggle on/off airplane mode – this will reset your network connectivity. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to quickly display this option
• Reboot your phone
• Set up the connection again – Open Settings > Wi-Fi and click on the network you are hving issues with and select Forget This Network. Connect again by entering the password again when prompted
• Turn off Wi-Fi assist – designed to seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and data, this can cause issues when the signal of either is weak

Stuttering while switching between apps:

iOS 10 has brought a less than smooth experience for many users when switching between apps, with reports of apps faltering as they open from background.

If you have already upgraded to 10.3.1 (some users have reported the issue as resolved) the simplest fix is to close apps that are not being used regularly, this will reset them and ensure they open smoothly is this issue does not affect closed apps. It is likely related to the new way Apple handles apps in background mode, effectively killing their processes in an attempt to improve battery life.

SIRI opens when unlocking your phone:

Another slight annoyance as opposed to a bug, the new way you unlock your iPhone takes some getting used to. On top of that some users have reported accidentally opening SIRI instead of unlocking the device.

Go to Settings > SIRI and ensure that SIRI on lock screen setting is switched off. If you continue to have this issue when this is turned off, try lightly tapping the home button when unlocking your device instead of holding it down.

‘Raise to wake’ not working:

The ‘Raise to wake’ feature automatically wakes your phone you pick it up. It uses a motion chip to sense movement.

Check that the feature is switched on in Settings > Display and Brightness toggle on if not already checked.

Remote working is on the rise and most companies, including Vyke, are embracing it. We’re based in London and on average it takes staff an hour to get to the office, so an extra couple of hours in the day can offer a better work/life balance and more flexibility, especially for those of us with kids.

Along with the obvious benefits of remote working for workers, studies show that it often leads to increased productivity and efficiency, lower overheads and greater employee engagement. There are also environmental benefits, as fewer journeys leads to a reduced carbon footprint for a business.

In the digital age technology makes remote working possible, so remote workers must have a variety of communication tools at their disposal for every possible scenario. At Vyke we use email, Slack, Hangouts, Skype, and, of course, the Vyke app to keep in touch and collaborate with each other and our global client base throughout the day.

The Vyke app offers free calls to other app users, low cost domestic and international calls, and extra phone lines, all from your existing smartphone. If you’re in the UK your first Vyke number is free and you can add a dedicated work line to make and receive calls without the need for a landline or second device. Numbers can easily be switched off out of hours or at the weekend, and each has its own free, customisable voicemail. All calls are charged at a fraction of your current operator charges.

According to a 2014 survey there are around 4.2 million people in the UK who work exclusively from home, while nearly 50% of the UK workforce would like to work in a more flexible way. Many large companies have embraced remote working so much that they only offer hot-desking for all staff, as employees have chosen to visit the office less frequently. The law has even changed to reflect this shift as your employer must consider flexible working requests, although they are not bound to comply.

Work Wise UK promote smarter working and ‘work life balance’ through working practices such as “agile, flexible, remote and mobile working, as well as working from home”. You can get involved in both their Work Wise Week and National Work from Home Day which takes place on the 19^th May 2017.

The Vyke app is available to download from Google Play and the App Store.

We released an update to our Android app last week that contains a change to Android permissions. In a major update since Android 6.0 Marshmallow, users are now asked to allow apps access to individual permissions. Up until now each app listed all of the required permissions and you agreed to all or you just didn’t download the app.

Vyke is a simple to use app but in order to make and receive calls, and share with friends and family, the app needs access to various permissions. We take your privacy very seriously and we do not share or sell your private data, or use it for any other reason than giving you the best possible Vyke experience.

The most confusion has come from the permission Android refers to this as “Record audio”. We do not record audio without your permission, but we do allow you to send audio messages and set up a voicemail greeting. We also need access to your microphone so you can make and receive calls. It’s important to note that WhatsApp, Skype, Viber and even Facebook all ask for all of the same permissions and Vyke has always asked for these Android permissions, it’s just the layout which has changed.

To toggle your Vyke permissions select Settings > Apps > Vyke >Permissions or view the Google support page.

What permissions do we need and why?

1. Camera: To share photos and videos with friends and family from the app, Vyke needs access to your photos, media and files.
2. Contacts: If you want to call and text your existing phone book Vyke needs access to your Contacts.
3. Location: You only need to allow this if you want to send your location to a friend in a chat message.
4. Microphone: Without allowing Vyke access to record audio you will not be able to make calls, send audio messages or add voicemail greetings.
5. SMS: So you can send low cost texts from Vyke.
6. Storage: This allows us to display your Profile pictures.
7. Telephone: The app needs access to make and manage phone calls so you make and receive phone calls.

If you require any further info please email us at support@vyke.com or message us on Facebook or Twitter.

Calling all Android users! We just released an update to our Android app which contains a number of improvements. If you’re using Vyke Android, download Vyke 1.2.1 now.

What’s new in Version 1.2.1?

We’ve added extensive stability improvements, performance enhancements and bug fixes including:

• Enhanced push notifications
• Improved incoming calls when app is in the background
• New Android permissions added – enable all to get the best from Vyke
• Fixed a crash when the app was in the background
• Minimum Android OS is now 4.0

We do extensive testing of our apps through our global network of testers, but we also rely heavily on our users to send feedback on issues they experience, especially on Android, where there are so many different manufacturers, devices and screen resolutions to support. Our users are also welcomed to request new features.

To send feedback on any issues or request new features email us at support@vyke.com or message us on Facebook or Twitter.

EU roaming has always been a contentious issue, an agreement on how to handle it has long been held up by the traditional mobile operators. Last September the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) announced that as of 15 June 2017 roaming charges would be abolished in the European Economic Area (EEA). This date looks a little closer now with the publication of guidelines on how the new rules should be applied once they come into effect.

The good news for consumers is that they will be able to access their existing monthly minutes, texts and data bundles when travelling within the EU, with no surcharge added for PAYG users. These new rules are great news for Vyke users, who will now be able to call & text from the Vyke app while over mobile data while roaming, and not just when connected to Wi-Fi or by paying over the odds for roaming data.

What’s more you can even add a Vyke number from the country you are in (UK, Poland or Holland) so contacts in that country can call you at domestic rates, normally covered in their plan.

There is no provision covering international calls and calls made to other EU countries while roaming in the guidelines, in these circumstances it’s always better to use a low cost provider like Vyke.

The guidelines do allow fair use caps in exceptional circumstances, where a consumer has been roaming for a period of longer than four months. This will prevent consumers from taking up plans from neighbouring countries which may be cheaper.

The EU has been trying to abolish roaming charges for over 10 years but traditional mobile operators, who feared a large drop in profits, made an agreement difficult. One Austrian MEP, Paul Rubig, expressed his frustration after failed talks several years ago:

“The telecoms ministers of some EU member states still seem to care more about their former state-owned telecom companies than about the benefits for citizens.”

Britain will be included under the new agreement, at least for the next two years, but after Theresa May’s Brexit letter yesterday mobile phone usage is just one of the many areas that will require a new deal between the UK and the EU/EEA.

You can download the full document here.

The Vyke app has long offered low cost domestic and international calls & texts, but since we launched our redesigned app last year you can now call and message other app users completely free of charge. Read on to find out how to make free calls with Vyke.

If you’re new to Vyke you’ll first need to download the app to your smartphone from the App Store or Google Play. Once you’ve registered open the dashboard of your SIM Profile and select Contacts. You will then be offered your full phone contacts and a separate tab called Vyke. Click on this tab to see who you know who’s already using Vyke. If none of your contacts are on Vyke click on ‘Invite to Vyke’ to send a free SMS to any of your contacts.

You’ll get pinged when any of your contacts joins Vyke, and the free call and message icons will display next to their name. Simply tap the free call icon to make free calls with Vyke.

1. Open Vyke
2. Select Contacts
3. Invite your friends & family
4. Click on the green free call icon as shown below

There are lots of apps that offer free calls so why use Vyke? It comes down to quality. The Vyke app was designed for mobile devices so it offers crystal clear free calls. Try it out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Last Thursday we went along to the #PizzaBeerMobile meetup at the Yahoo! offices in Shaftesbury Avenue in Central London. Hosted by Yahoo! product Flurry Analytics, we were happy to venture out to hear about and learn from the experience of other app developers in our quest to optimise the mobile experience for Vyke users.

At Vyke we use Flurry in both our iOS and Android apps, amongst other analytics tools, to provide critical data to help us better understand the issues that our users face after they download our apps. We use this data to improve our user experience and provide value for our users.

As the name suggests there was pizza and beer, while the mobile discussion centred on current trends in the global mobile community. It featured a Q&A hosted by Flurry Mobile Developer Evangelist Toby Vogels. On the panel were Oliver Wang Hansen of Nodes, a London based app dev agency, Romain Eude, Co-Founder of Utelly, Eric Burman, UX Manager at Ticketmaster and Hannah Klion Springwater, Product Manager at Yahoo Finance.

What followed was a very informative yet informal discussion around mobile growth and each of the panellists gave some really honest feedback on what has worked and, more importantly, what hasn’t worked, for their apps and users. Obviously there are no right answers, and what works for one app in one industry won’t work for everyone. Like everything in app development, testing what works for you is key.

Toby is clearly passionate about mobile and the focus wasn’t on Flurry but on the experience of his guests. We took loads of knowledge from the event, from how to deal with negative reviews (be nice!) to how to manage push notification permissions (with an explanation!). We now just need to integrate all of this knowledge into our apps!

At Vyke we put user experience at the centre of everything we do, and we make improvements based on the data we get from our analytics. But we also put a lot of emphasis on user feedback, so if you’re using Vyke (or if you used to use Vyke) tell us what you think by email to support@vyke.com, via the Android or iOS app or on Facebook or Twitter. We view, respond and act upon to all queries and feature requests.

Along with this London meetup, recent #PizzaBeerMobile events have been hosted in Berlin and Sao Paulo with events in San Francisco and Hong Kong scheduled for March. Check out the Flurry Analytics blog for more.

The Polish telecoms operator, the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE), imposed a deadline of 2 February 2017 for all SIMs to be registered. As a result up to 12 million unregistered prepaid SIMs may have been deactivated.

New legislation was introduced to counteract terrorism and prevent crime, as an estimated 2.5 million unregistered SIMs are thought to have been sold illegally over the past six months, the use of which is unknown. SIM registration was to be enforced by disabling SIMs that had not been registered by 2 February 2017.

According to Telecompaper 68.7% of prepaid SIMs had been registered by the deadline date, however, it may still possible register SIMs, most operators allow users to register SIM cards in store, on their websites or through online banking. Of the 55 million SIM cards in Poland, 27 million are prepaid and only 19 million of these prepaid SIMs are currently registered.

The last major cull of Polish SIMs happened back in 2015 when T-Mobile deactivated nearly 4 million of its inactive users.

Of course it is possible to get a Polish number without getting a SIM card using the Vyke app. Vyke is a provider of SIM-free Polish numbers to a global user base. If you’re in the UK you get a free Polish number when they sign up, you can then receive calls from Poland for free, and make low cost calls to Poland and the world through the Vyke app.

*  * Guest post from our Polish blog. Check out more here.

Along with extra mobile numbers, superb call quality on free calls and low cost calls to any international destination, messaging is a great reason to use Vyke. Here are 6 reasons to send messages with Vyke:

1. Vyke will never share your personal information

When you sign up for Vyke you share a really important piece of personal information with us – your mobile phone number. We value your trust in us and we’ll never share this or any other information with any third parties, for advertising or any other purpose. WhatsApp is a great app but sharing your personal information with parent company Facebook is not what any of us signed up for.

2. Simple to use instant messaging

Just like WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram you can share images, video, audio files, locations, contact cards and emojis with your friends and family using the Vyke Android, iPhone or iPad apps. The clean layout makes it simple to use, and you can easily send multiple images with just a click.

3. Send IM and SMS

We love instant messaging, we use Vyke, WhatsApp and Skype constantly. But there are times you just want to send an SMS. Perhaps the recipient doesn’t have a smartphone or is abroad with no data? Whatever the scenario, Vyke texts are charged at only 3.2p (5c) per message, no matter where in the world you are sending them. You do need internet access to send texts but the recipient doesn’t need to be online or to have a smartphone to receive them.

4. Send private texts

When you add a Vyke number you can send texts to any number without giving out your main number. This means you can share your Vyke number if you’re dating, buying or selling on Gumtree or signing up for stuff online. Vyke adds a privacy layer to your mobile phone, and still send and receive texts.

5. Text from international numbers

Vyke numbers are available globally and you can select from UK, USA, Canada, Holland and Poland, with more countries to follow. Once you add a number from your chosen country (up to 4 extra numbers) you can send and receive texts as if you’re in that country.

6. We were sending free messages before WhatsApp was born

Vyke first launched a free messaging service way back in July 2008, that’s a full six months before WhatsApp was founded and 18 months before they launched their first app. Originally designed for Nokia’s Symbian OS, the app was designed to send messages between Vyke users for free if users were online, or at low cost if users were offline. We’ve simplified how it works and you now decide whether you want to send an SMS or an IM, but the concept is the same – we’re still bridging a gap from traditional mobiles who are still massively overcharging for prepaid SMS and international texts.

The Vyke app is the future of communications. With a clean layout and simple to use functionality you can add up to 4 extra mobile numbers without the need for a second device. You can then call and text for free or at a fraction of the cost your current mobile operator. Download the app for iOS or Android today.

The latest Vyke iOS app update will be released on Monday (06/02/17) to the App Store. Along with  general bug fixes and improvements we have included Apple’s CallKit framework, which is an update that integrates VoIP applications like Vyke into the native iOS experience.

This integration allows you to answer incoming Vyke calls (free calls or calls to your Vyke numbers) without unlocking your iPhone, and you can also make calls from your native phone recents. Once you make or receive a call on Vyke it will display in your phone recents and you just tap to make a call. Using Vyke becomes the same as making calls from your regular phone.

Calls are clearly marked as ‘Vyke Audio’ with your profile name displayed after the contact name, or ‘Vyke Free’ if you’re making or receiving free calls. So just tap to call from any Vyke number without opening the Vyke app. A real time saver for your busy life J.

CallKit benefits for Vyke users:

• Answer incoming calls without unlocking your phone
• Make and receive calls from your native Recents
• Vyke calls marked as ‘Vyke Audio’
• Free Vyke calls clearly marked as ‘Vyke Free’
• Calls to and from your Vyke numbers displayed

Make sure you download the update (version 1.3) for iPhone or iPad on Monday from the App Store.

Sending texts with the Vyke app just got even cheaper. Vyke offer a standard SMS rate to any country, anywhere in the world of just 4.2p (5c) per message. With the introduction of SMS bundles you can save even further and send low cost texts to fifteen countries including the UK.

International texting is still an expensive business (I pay 25p per text), and sending domestic texts can be expensive too if they are not included in your contract or if you’re on PAYG. Our 30 day bundles will give you all the texts you need to your favourite destinations, available in-app or on our website. Your remaining texts are clearly displayed on your app home screen and you can send texts from your SIM number or from any of your Vyke numbers – UK, US, Canada, Poland or Holland.

Of course, just like WhatsApp, Viber and Skype, Vyke offers free calls and texts to other users but there are times when you want to send a simple text message, and Vyke offers some of the lowest rates to send low cost texts. You can also send texts from your Vyke numbers, allowing you to keep your main number private while buying or selling stuff online or in the early stage of dating.

We all know the best way to get rid of roaming fees when we travel abroad – turn off data roaming! This will reduce data charges but what about those expensive calls? We still need to make and receive calls both to our home country and to the country we’re visiting, whether we’re away on business or pleasure. You could wait around for the EU to get rid of roaming fees, but they have been talking about this since 2006, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.

If you’re like me you screen every call when you travel, deciding which is important enough to begin clocking up those roaming charges. And that’s just incoming calls. I also routinely neglect to make calls I probably should as unless I’m on away business it’s not worthwhile to pay £3-5 per day to access my plan.

In our quest to become the perfect travel companion we developed features in the Vyke app to allow you to make and receive calls (and send and receive texts) without incurring those expensive call roaming charges.

Firstly, we added free calls to other users. The cost benefits here are pretty simple, just like Skype and Viber you can call your contacts completely free of charge when connected to Wi-Fi. So why use Vyke for free calls? It comes down to call quality, and ours is crystal clear. Our apps are designed for mobile devices and our bespoke codecs give the best call quality available on the market.

You can also call over mobile data but we’re assuming you already switched off data roaming. If you have a great data roaming plan with your mobile operator, then Vyke calls are great over data too, and use less bandwidth than many of our competitors.

Vyke also offer virtual numbers available in the app. You can set up a specific travel Profile and you’ll get a number that can make and receive calls over the internet when you’re abroad. So again, connect to Wi-Fi and you’ll get rid of roaming fees for incoming and outgoing calls to any mobile or landline. This gives you the flexibility to call that restaurant, call back home or receive calls from anywhere in the world, without worrying about potential bill shock when you return.

The app is free to download, you get free calls to other app users and a free UK or Polish number if you’re in the UK (if you’re not then they’re just £6.99 for 12 months). So download the app and try it free today.

Virtual mobile operators (MVNOs) have grown to 34% of the Dutch mobile market according to a recent study by Telecompaper. This amounts to 6.8 million mobile users and is up almost 3% in the six months to the end of September 2016. The entire market is made up of just under 20 million SIMs and is worth around EUR 5 billion each year.

The remainder of the mobile market in the Netherlands is controlled by the four main MNOs: KPN, T-Mobile, Vodafone and, the most recent entrant in to the market, Tele2, although revenues and as a result market share continue to decrease for the traditional operators.

Growth in the virtual operator sector is being driven by low cost providers and the international SIM segment. KPN brand Telefort is the market leader within the sector since Tele2 became an MNO, followed by Lebara, Lycamobile, Hollandsnieuwe and Simyo.

Our interest in the Dutch telco market stems from our ability to offer Dutch mobile numbers to anyone, irrespective of which network you are attached to, MNO or MVNO. You can get a second number from Vyke you can use for work, dating, online sign ups or to add a privacy layer to your mobile phone.

Vyke numbers are also available to global users whether you are a Dutch ex-pat or just doing business in the lowlands, you can get a Dutch mobile number from Vyke and make and receive calls like a local. Calls are free to receive and your contacts only pay local rates to call you.

During the holidays international calls and roaming can drastically increase the cost of your monthly phone bill. Whether you’re relaxing at home or travelling abroad over the holiday period the potential for January bill shock is huge if you’re not careful. And who needs those extra costs in January or any other month.

The Vyke app can help ease the pressure by offering a variety of ways to reduce your international calling and roaming bills.

Low cost international calls & texts

Vyke has a long history in providing low cost international calls. Our rates are kept as low as possible but we never compromise on call quality. We offer low cost calls over Wi-Fi, mobile data and using local access numbers, meaning you’ll always get great quality calls no matter how good (or bad) your internet connection is.

SMS can be sent for a flat rate of 4.2 (5¢) per text, to any phone, anywhere in the world. Check out the full list of rates on our website or open up the app to view a list of 30 day bundles, they’ll keep you calling for even less over the holidays.

Free calls & messages

Vyke offers free calls and messages to other Vyke users, just like Whatsapp, Skype and Viber, so when you and your loved ones are connected to the internet you can stay in touch completely free of charge. We spend most of our lives connected so this is a great way to use Vyke, and our call quality is second to none.

Vyke numbers

If you are travelling abroad or travelling home for the holidays then a Vyke number can help you eliminate roaming charges completely. Simply get a Vyke number and when you’re connected to the internet your friends and family can call you, calls are free to receive. If you’re not online when someone calls they can leave a free to receive voicemail you can pick it up when you’re back online.

There are many providers of low cost calls, but none which marry the convenience of the Vyke app, our crystal clear voice quality and our low rates.

The Nigerian telecoms market can be at best changeable and at worst volatile. International rates to call Nigeria tend to fluctuate due to government levies and any changes by the major telecoms providers or mobile operators. Recently the Nigerian government imposed a drastic increase in the rate to call Nigeria which has affected all providers of international calls to Nigeria, including Vyke’s lowest rates to call Nigeria.

We continue to try to keep our rates as low as possible, but we don’t ever compromise on our call quality. Unfortunately due to these issues beyond our control, our rates to both Nigeria landlines and mobiles have been increased to 7.5p per minute (from just 3p) but these remain some of the lowest rates in the market.

Along with our low per minute rates, we also offer two 30 day bundles which allow you to reduce the rate even further. You can get 100 minutes of calls to Nigeria for only £5.99 or 250 for just £14.59, which both work out at less than 6p per minute. Bundles are available from the Vyke app or on our website and.

There are many providers of low cost calls to Nigeria, so here’s a look at the competitive landscape. Vyke offer the lowest rates to call Nigeria mobiles, even before you factor in the reduced bundle rates. You may find cheaper rates, but no one combines the convenience of the Vyke app, our crystal clear voice quality and our low rates.

Get the Vyke app today for Android or iOS for the lowest rates to call Nigeria and the rest of the world, free calls to other users and SIM-free mobile numbers.

* All rates correct and best available without a monthly subscription on date of publication. Rates are subject to change.
** Skype rates do not include 5.6p connection fee per call.

Recently we discussed how Poland is the number one international destination for our UK based users to call, and what an important demographic it is for Vyke. Our latest app was translated into Polish several months ago, and we have managed a Polish Facebook page for several years, but now our Polish users get the full Vyke experience through Polish with the launch of our Polish website.

Along with our low rates to call Poland (landlines are 1p and mobiles are just 1.5p per minute) and our 30 day mobile & landline bundles (100 minutes for 99p, 200 minutes for £1.89 and 500 minutes for £4.49), we also offer Polish mobile numbers so you can make and receive calls from a Polish number no matter where you are, without carrying an extra SIM card or device. Great if you’re in Poland and you need a second number or if you’re abroad and you want a Polish number, without incurring high international call or roaming rates.

Incoming calls are routed over the internet and if you’re out of coverage of Wi-Fi or mobile data you can set up a free voicemail. We’ll send it to you once you’re back in range, so you’ll never miss a call.

Our UK based Poles can even get a free Polish number, meaning your Mum can call you at local Polish rates at absolutely no cost to you. Or get her to download the app too and keep in touch for free. Free Polish numbers are available when you sign up or by clicking ‘Add number’ on the app home screen.

The Vyke Polish site is available here or like us on Facebook.

The entire world has been glued to the US election over the past few days, weeks and months which culminated in a victory for the most unlikely of underdogs, one which the world just didn’t see coming. So just how did Hillary lose the election?

It was Hillary’s refusal to use more than one smartphone that cost her the election as trust became the key issue in the presidential race.

Trump has long accused Crooked Hillary of illegality in her use of a private email server, and subsequent deletion of thousands of emails on that server. Clinton never set up a government issued email address as she didn’t wants to carry two phones for convenience.

“I thought carrying one device would be simpler, and obviously, it hasn’t worked out that way,” she said.

At Vyke, we agree with Hillary’s thinking.

Carrying multiple handsets is an expensive inconvenience for anyone, not just aspiring Presidents. In the US alone, around 35m mobile people carry two mobiles, usually to separate personal and business phone calls. This is exactly the reason Vyke decided to solve this problem by creating a new way of allowing up to five separate mobile numbers on a single device, and the best part is you still continue to use your network operator SIM service.

Clinton became only the fifth person to win the popular vote and not become president as the Electoral College system came into play. Trump succeeded in energising older, male, mainly white voters who feel disillusioned with the entire political system and are worse off financially than they were 10 years ago – UK citizens will immediately feel the protest vote parallels with Brexit here.

A lot has been said about misogyny towards Clinton from Trump supporters, and there’s no doubt that she failed to galvanise minority and female voters in the key swing states of Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and you could always blame Gary Johnson, but the main reason Hillary lost the election came down her unwillingness to carry two phones.

WhatsApp Messenger is a great app. The best messaging app on the market as it’s billion plus users will testify. In fact, it has changed the entire messaging landscape and mobile operators have reported a large drop in the number of traditional SMS being sent. Its beauty is its simplicity, both in its minimalist design and ease of use. Oh, and it’s free.

There is one issue many users have with the app which has surfaced since it was : the sharing of personal information, especially your phone number, with its parent company Facebook.

After its $22 billion acquisition WhatsApp founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, pledged to “remain autonomous and operate independently”. At the time even the most casual viewer couldn’t see how WhatsApp could continue to remain totally independent while under the control of the financial behemoth that is Facebook. While from an app perspective they have largely done this, the app has remained ad-free, but the recent change in WhatsApp’s terms of service has caused concern for its users.

In this blog post WhatsApp detailed how it would share your personal information, including your phone number and your last login details, directly with Facebook so “Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them”. For users of both services this is a worry as Facebook already holds a lot of our personal and activity information, and it’s probably a lot more than you think.

For users who don’t want to share further information with Facebook there are alternatives to WhatsApp. Vyke’s brand new messaging service offers many of the same functions as WhatsApp, but with the added bonus of not sharing your personal information with Facebook or any other company or third party. In fact with Vyke you can even add extra mobile numbers through the app, giving you an extra layer of privacy for your main number.

With European data protection agencies currently investigating the new policy, along with the UK, Germany and Spain’s data protection agency, WhatsApp is coming under increasing pressure to share less information with its parent. Like everyone else we’ll be keeping an eye on it.

The Vyke app has a truly global user base, with customers in as far flung places as Martinique, New Caledonia and even Madagascar, but the largest percentage of our users in any one country are in the UK. This makes sense as we are based in London, so much of our focus centres on this market. We also offer a free UK mobile number to users who sign up in the UK. Below you’ll find a list of the top 10 most popular calling destinations from our UK app users.

The recent UK referendum to leave the EU has had an effect on Vyke, as many of our suppliers charge in USD, so we have had to tweak our rates. However, as well as our competitive domestic rates, Vyke continues to offer market leading rates on international calls (along with free calls to other app users) and texts to anywhere in the world for just 3.9p per message.

 Poland   1.0p   1.5p   3.9p

The Polish market is so important to Vyke that we manage our own Polish Facebook page, our apps are in Polish and our Polish website is coming very soon. Current estimates put the number of Poles in the UK at 790,000. Vyke offer low per minute rates but you can also buy 30 day bundles for even bigger savings  – 100 minutes to mobiles for 99p or 200 minutes for just £1.89**.

 India   0.8p   0.8p   3.9p

With over 700,000 people born in India resident in the UK*, India is the largest calling destination from the UK overall. It is the second most popular country on the Vyke list from the UK. On top of the low rates Vyke offer you can also buy bundles – 500 minutes for £4.29 or 1,000 minutes for £7.99.

 Nigeria   7.5p   7.5p   3.9p

Overwhelmingly based in South London the Nigerian community is the eighth largest immigrant community in the UK. Call rates to Nigeria have increased significantly over the past 2 months but Vyke rates remain low. Best value 30 day bundles – 100 minutes to mobiles for £5.99 or 250 for £14.59.

 Cote d’Ivoire   23.6p   23.6p   3.9p

Although the Ivorian community in the UK is very small at around 10,000, a former Vyke sales guy hit the right note within this community, making Vyke the number 1 way to call Cote d’Ivoire from the UK. An expensive country to call, Vyke’s rates remain competitive.

 France   1.5p   4.2p   3.9p

The UK’s nearest neighbours there are over 130,000 French officially in the UK*, although actual estimates vary. Boris Johnson once boasted of being the mayor of the sixth biggest French city.

 USA   1.5p   1.5p   3.9p

A mixture of Americans resident in the UK, Brits living in the US and trade between the two countries has created a large market for calls between these two nations. While only sixth on the Vyke list, the USA is the second most popular calling destination from the UK overall according to Telegeography.

 Ireland   1.2p   4.6p   3.9p

The Irish community are one of the most recognisable in the UK and number around 400,000*. Countless British claim Irish heritage (especially after Brexit) and nearly 300,000 British live in Ireland, it remains an important calling destination from the UK.

 Pakistan   3.0p   3.0p   3.9p

Along with our Finance Manager, Sohail, there are half a million Pakistanis in the UK and another 700,000 who claim Pakistani ethnicity – 2% of the entire UK population. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, is the most high profile British Pakistani, his parents emigrated to Britain via India shortly before Sadiq was born.

 Egypt   7.5p   9.0p   3.9p

Another small immigrant community where Vyke provides competitive rates, there are many more British who claim Egyptian heritage.

 Germany   1.5p   4.2p   3.9p

Germany has the fifth biggest immigrant community in the UK at 300,000 while another half a million Germans visit the UK every year. Vyke offers great low per minute rates and 30 day bundles.

*Statistics provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2011 census data for overseas population.
** All rates correct at time of publication.

Over the coming weeks Vyke will introduce Vyke Pro, our enterprise solution that offers a lower cost alternative for employees to have an additional work line using their own smartphone.

Vyke Pro is tailored towards business, allowing companies to offer a work mobile number to all employees, at a much lower cost than mobile operators currently charge, and without an additional SIM or device. Employees can use our over the top service on their existing smartphones, so businesses benefit by saving unnecessary overheads budget.

A typical UK business mobile contract is around £40, but with Vyke Pro, it’s just £5 and includes 200 mins and 200 global texts. Extra mobile numbers can be added for just 99p per month, allowing multiple international phone lines on  a single device (select from UK, US, Canada, Holland and Poland). So you keep your main number for personal calls and simply add a ‘work’ number for all calls and texts for work.

Switching to Vyke is simple, just sign up on our website. You can port your employees existing numbers across to Vyke so there’s no need to update your business cards. Add as many employees as you decide, plus all charges incurred are collected by Direct Debit. You only pay for the calls you make, a fraction of the charges mobile operators charge for both domestic and international calls. Monthly credit limits can be preset, adding further control over your budget.

Work calls can be separated from personal calls for both convenience and billing.  Each Vyke number comes with its own custom voicemail so you can set up a specific business voicemail on your business mobiles, so work colleagues won’t hear the same message as your personal contacts. Calls and texts to other users are free so you can set up groups to easily share information amongst your team, further reducing costs.

While Vyke has always been available on iPad from today you can download our new, optimised app directly from the iPad App Store and use your iPad as a phone. The new app makes full use of the increased screen space available on both the iPad 9.7 and 12.9 inch displays, and you can navigate through every screen in both portrait and landscape.

Over 60% of UK adults now have access to a tablet and Vyke allows you to turn yours into a fully functioning phone. What sets Vyke apart on iPad is the ability to assign a mobile number in the app and make and receive calls on this number. All calls and texts are over Wi-Fi or data ensuring you’ll only pay Vyke’s low rates on domestic and international calls to any phone, while you can also call other Vyke users free of charge.

For most views the ease of use between portrait and landscape is the main benefit, however, the new instant message view makes it simple to maintain multiple chats at once, with a simple toggle between individual or group chats. It also looks great!

We have always focused on mobile but since we launched our new app, which introduced free calls, instant messaging and extra mobile numbers, our focus has been solely on mobile devices, optimising our apps for both battery life and data usage. The introduction of the new iPad optimised app is an extension of our focus on mobile and mobile devices. The Android tablet app release will follow later this week.

Worldpay, one of the UK’s largest payment processing companies, has added Vyke to its exclusive member’s benefits club. Run in partnership with Perkbox the Worldpay Benefits Club offers business benefits, discounts on major brands, world class educational content and exclusive access to select business events.

Partnering with companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google, Worldpay business benefits include huge savings on technology, travel, business marketing and financial services, while individual staff members can avail of discounted tech, food & drink offers and savings on entertainment, clothing and fashion. Offering personal perks as well as perks for business puts the focus on staff happiness and “helping small business save, sell and succeed” and this combination helped Worldpay to the title of Best Benefits or Loyalty Programme of the Year at The Card and Payment Awards (TCPA) 2016, beating out competition from American Express, RBS and TSB.

Vyke is offering Worldpay members a free extra mobile number for 12 months (members can select from UK, US, Canada, Holland or Poland) and £5 free credit that can be used for low cost domestic or international calls & texts from the Vyke app.

Adding a Vyke number for business users allows easy separation of work and personal calls for both billing and work-life balance. Vyke numbers are real phone numbers but the app allows you to quickly turn them on or off if you are in a meeting or at the weekend. Each number has its own free voicemail so your clients and colleagues can hear a different greeting to your mates. The full Vyke feature set is available here.

This week saw the release of the sixth annual Deloitte global mobile consumer survey 2016: There’s no place like phone. Over 4,000 respondents highlighted that the era of the smartphone is truly upon us, with more than 80% of UK adults now owning a smartphone, a figure which jumps to 91% for 18-44 year olds. Smartphone penetration is almost its peak as growth is expected to slow and the market consolidates, but innovation in the industry will continue to excite.

Not surprisingly the report details how we’re addicted to our smartphones. So much so that 34% of us check our phones in the middle of the night! While two thirds of us are merely checking the time the rest are checking instant messages, texts, social notifications, email, playing games and even reading books. Checking IMs is actually the second most popular nocturnal smartphone activity, which displays the continued drop in usage of traditional SMS text messages in favour of cheaper data powered communications.

On top of this the traditional mobile voice call has seen another year on year drop with 31% admitting to not having made any voice calls in the previous week. That leaves just 69% who had made a GSM call that week, back in 2012 this figure was a whopping 96%. Free messaging services have obviously contributed to this drop but calls made over VoIP have seen an increase as users look for more cost effective, and often times more reliable, ways of keeping in contact.

The main increase in VoIP calls is due to an increase in video calling from adoption of FaceTime and Skype (video is on the Vyke roadmap!), but voice calls made over VoIP have bucked the downwards trend of traditional voice calls and remain static, with 14% having made a voice call over VoIP in the previous week. The bottom line is we are keeping in touch more than ever, increasingly through messaging, but voice calls continue to be important, however, cost and availability of faster data (4G usage has more than doubled since 2015) continues to drive our phone usage.

Luckily for the traditional mobile operators they can keep driving the price of data ever upwards to make up for the shortfall in SMS and call revenue. Although I’m not sure anyone with a mobile contract is paying any less now than they were a year ago but data SIMS, PAYG SIMs and OTT services combine to offer potentially massive savings to any mobile phone user, even high end Apple and Android smartphone users.

The report also details how fingerprint readers are seeing huge growth (27% of smartphones have one with 76% of these in use), and this relatively new technology will continue to grow as it replaces passwords on websites and apps enhancing authentication and security. Growth in the internet of things has yet to kick off in earnest (only 2% of us own a smart light or smart appliance), but our guess is that the likely growth in smart home appliances and IoT will be seen as the manufacturers build them in to all home appliances and they become ubiquitous, which is probably a couple of years away. You can download the full report on the Deloitte site here or view some of the key take aways here.

Photo courtesy: www.deloitte.co.uk

With the Vyke app it’s simple to make free calls to other Vyke users. Open the app and navigate to Contacts. Select the ‘Vyke’ tab to view a list of your contacts that you can call for free. If no Free contacts are visible you can just tap on ‘Invite contacts to Vyke for free’ to send a free message to anyone in your contacts to inform them about making free calls with Vyke.

Your chosen contact will receive an SMS with a link to download the app, once they get a Vyke account their number will display as free in your Vyke contacts. Click on the green free icon in the full contacts view or open an individual contact and tap the ‘Free call’ button and talk for as long as you like completely free of charge.

You must be connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data in order to make free calls with Vyke. As with any app used over mobile data, your mobile operator may charge you for data used outside of your plan. So check with your provider.

Along with free calls you can also send instant messages to other Vyke users free of charge, including text messages, picture messages, video messages, audio messages, location and contact cards.

There are lots of free calling and messaging apps out there, and at Vyke we even still use Skype for some video calls! However, as Vyke is designed for mobile devices, you can enjoy crystal clear free calls that use less bandwidth and are not such a drain on your battery. Of course, Vyke also offers low cost calls to any phone and extra mobile numbers, you can view more features here.

Next week we’re introducing a major improvement to our underlying push notification system on iOS as we move to Apple’s updated VoIP specific PushKit notification system. Push notifications are integral to how the Vyke app works, allowing calls and messages to be delivered at all times. The new system allows Vyke users to see who is calling or texting before opening the app and on which Vyke number, while also improving battery life, performance, stability and reliability.

The old standard push system requires a constant network connection to be maintained between the app and a server to receive incoming calls and other data. The Pushkit framework will allow the Vyke app to receive notifications when the app is closed or in the background without maintaining this persistent connection to the server. Not only does the new system save energy but VoIP pushes are given higher priority and are delivered without delay.

There are loads of advantages to using PushKit to deliver notifications:

• The device is woken up only when the VoIP pushes occur, conserving energy
• VoIP pushes can include more data so not only will the number or contact that is calling display on the push but also the name of your Profile
• Given a higher priority than regular push
• VoIP pushes go straight to the app for processing
• App is automatically relaunched if it’s not running when the push is received
• App given more time to process the push

PushKit will also pave the way for Vyke users to preview the text of a message, reply to a message directly and also answer a call immediately from the notification, kick starting the app processing required to do this immediately.

The only downside to this improvement is that all Vyke users must update their app, as the old system will not work once we introduce PushKit. We will contact everyone next week when we put the new system and updated app live, so keep an eye out for a messages from us and make sure you update the app as soon as you see it’s available!

Vyke is all about compartmentalising your life, creating separation between your work, personal, dating or online lives. The new push improvements will allow you to further separate your Profiles, only receiving notifications on each when you want to receive them – if it’s the weekend switch off your Work Profile and fire up your Social Profile!

Tinder has changed the face of online dating, making it fashionable to hook up online by swiping right. As with any online dating site or app, Tinder comes with a security warning. While user safety is a concern for Tinder, they don’t perform background checks or vet any of their users, so you need to be vigilant when using the app. While we can all do more to stay safe online here are some tips to stay safe on Tinder and other dating sites like Match, Plenty of Fish or OKCupid.

Check out your date on social media

One of the great things about Tinder is that it links with your Facebook account, so you can easily see if you and your swipe share any friends. There’s no shame in asking your friends before you meet up what they think. If you’re meeting someone on another dating app, search for them on Facebook, Linkedin and even Google. Steer clear of anyone with no bio info, linked accounts or users with only one picture.

Wait before you meet up

It’s always best to get the know someone before meeting up with them, no matter how casual the relationship will be. Exchange a few messages, find out what interests you share and generally get to know the person before you meet face to face.

Don’t share your number or other personal information

You should never share personal information with anyone on Tinder until you get to know them. There are tons of Tinder horror stories and scammers, so don’t give out your email address or mobile number until you feel comfortable that your date is genuine. It’s simple to set up an email for first contact or get an extra mobile number and keep your main number private. You may want to use your Vyke number until you start regularly seeing someone, I have one friend who gave still gets late night phone calls from a date she went on in 2008!

Always meet up in a public place

Your first meetings should happen in a public place, ideally during the daytime. And you should always arrange to meet at the location, so take control of your own transport even if that means taking a cab. You don’t want to let someone know where you live immediately, or be reliant on them to get home. Especially if the date doesn’t go well.

Tell a friend

Tinder strongly advises that you let a friend know where you plan to meet up and at what time. You should then contact them with updates so you can feel safe. If you’re unsure you can ask a friend to be in the general vicinity during the date, or ping them regular updates throughout your date.

In general you should be cautious when you meet anyone online, and if you are not sure about someone, then don’t meet up with them! You can never be sure what kind of person they are but following the tips above you can feel a bit safer.

Whether starting a new business, about to go out on your own or adding new employees, you have a need for business phone numbers. It has never been easier to get a second phone line for business. The days of booking an engineer to call out and install a new phone line are in the past, while technological advances within the telecoms market from disruptive companies have led to massive reductions in cost. VoIP apps have been leading the way for many years in reducing the cost of domestic and international calls (down to zero in many cases), innovations and major cost reductions are now available in relation to phone lines and phone numbers.

With smartphone apps like Skype, Burner and now Vyke you can simply add extra mobile numbers for your business on a single device, with no contract and without being tethered to a landline, as calls are made and received through the app on your smartphone or tablet. Used in conjunction with your current SIM card, OTT services eliminate the need for a second device just for work calls.

Burner and Hushed have traditionally offered disposable or temporary numbers, allowing increased privacy for your main number in the short term, while Vyke offers a second number you won’t want to throw away.

Your workforce can all get extra Vyke numbers (first UK or Polish number is free for each UK user) so they can make and receive calls from their work number, separating work from personal calls for both convenience and cost. Each number comes with its own free voicemail and a ‘do not disturb’ option, where calls are sent straight to voicemail, or you can switch the number off entirely. while you continue to receive calls on your main number, improving work life balance in the evenings, at weekends and especially while on vacation.

UK users get their first extra number free, otherwise extra numbers are only 99p per month or £6.99 for a year. They also offer US, Canadian, Dutch and Polish mobile numbers, should you like to call like a local in these countries too, no matter where you are. Pay as you go for your calls or buy a monthly bundle, both options offer some of the lowest rates on the market, while invoice billing is in the pipeline.

Once you have downloaded Vyke you are offered a number as part of the registration process, or click the ‘Add number’ button from the home screen to select an extra mobile number. Then simply add credit to make low cost calls from your main number or from your new Vyke number.

I often have storage issues due to the amount of apps, music, pictures and videos I keep on my iPhone. Lack of storage space can prevent me from taking photos or downloading apps, but it can also lead to apps not working as they should or messages not being received. WhatsApp needs 100MB of storage space to work properly, whereas you can continue to send and receive messages with Vyke with minimal storage space on your device. Here are a few tricks to help you free up space on your iPhone to optimise how your device and apps work, including Vyke.

Check which apps are taking up most memory

Open Settings and click General > Storage & iCloud usage > Manage storage to check how much storage you have available, and also to see which apps are using the most storage. Or have a look at Apple support for other ways to check your device storage.

Move photos and videos from your device

Hopefully you already backup photos and videos to your computer or hard drive regularly. Consider deleting older or less frequently used photos or videos from your device, after ensuring they are backed up.

Delete, delete, delete

Sounds simple but we all have loads of apps, music and photos on our phones that we don’t use. You can view the amount of storage space being used on your device by following the steps above and delete apps directly from Settings, or hold down the app icon and click the delete button that appears. For photos and music open the relevant app and individually or bulk delete.

Delete ‘documents & data’

While I don’t spend too much time on Facebook I find that when I do the app expands rapidly when I look at a few photos or videos. It does clean itself from time to time (which removes unused data and documents stored locally) but not nearly often enough. Facebook is not the only culprit here – Mail, Twitter and Instagram all cache data locally (although Instagram does clean itself frequently). Again, you can manage your storage through your phone Settings, then click on an individual app to see how much documents & data storage is being used. I find that deleting Facebook can free up 300-400MB of storage space. Although, be careful what you delete as you can’t retrieve any media once you’ve deleted the app.

Manage WhatsApp better

If you don’t want to lose all your WhatsApp media by deleting the app, you can try individually deleting photos & videos, not automatically saving photos to your device and even deleting older or unused threads. A little more time managing apps can free up plenty of extra space.

Use iCloud

Apple’s iCloud comes with 5GB of free storage space but you can purchase more space depending on your requirements. Compared to other online storage options it’s quite cheap. You can then move less frequently used items, like older photos or videos, to iCloud but still access them when you need them over data/Wi-Fi.

Rent a movie

This is an excellent ‘trick’ to free up space on your iPhone. Open the iTunes app and search for a large file to download. You must make sure that the file you are downloading far exceeds the amount of available storage space (I normally use one of the Lord of the Rings movies as I know my phone will never have the space required to download it successfully). Click to ‘rent’ your chosen movie and your phone will clear as much space as it can in an unsuccessful attempt to download it. When the error message is returned click ‘Settings’. I do this regularly and can free up anywhere from 100 to 500MB on my device. This basically forces your device to clean unused data & documents but it’s a helpful tip. Apple should really introduce this as a feature not a workaround.

As part of our strategy to increase the number of users of our products we also enable third party brands through our Vyke white label service, in partnership with our MVNA X-Mobility.

Brands can enter the VoIP market using Vyke’s rich and unique feature set, at a fraction of the cost of developing their own applications from scratch. The Vyke offer includes applications for both iOS and Android, with customer support, billing, marketing support and even a custom website if required.

This week saw the launch of RWG Mobile by Red White & Green Communications, the brainchild of Andrew Davies, a chartered accountant from Rhondda in Wales. Andrew noticed a gap in the telecoms market in his native country, as there is no mobile network addressing the needs of the Welsh market. RWG plan to create a network “run by people in Wales, for people in Wales”, which begins with the Vyke OTT app, with a SIM based product to follow provided by  X-Mobility to go head-to-head with the large UK mobile networks. The combination of a mobile network offering OTT services and multiple numbers on a single device, with no extra SIM required, gives RWG Mobile a unique proposition over its competitors.

The Vyke powered apps offers real extra mobile numbers from the Three UK network, via their MVNA  X-Mobility. White label customers of Vyke can offer existing or new customers up to four extra mobile numbers from UK, USA, Canada, Netherlands and Poland, so they can make and receive calls through the app using numbers from those countries. Each mobile number comes with its own customisable voicemail, so users can create separation between different parts of their lives. The rich feature set is complemented by free calls and messages, while local and global calls and texts are charged at a fraction of traditional mobile network operator fees.

RWG Mobile’s project includes the Vyke apps for iOS and Android and also a full website, all of which are rebranded and modified to the specific needs of RWG Mobile’s target market. The website and iOS app are offered in Welsh language and customer support is provided in both English and Welsh by phone or email, and is based in Wales.

Vyke’s product, technical, development, marketing and management teams, together with x-Mobility’s  infrastructure all came together to ensure a smooth and timely turnaround, allowing Andrew and the RWG Mobile team to focus on getting the word out about their exciting new offer for the Welsh market.

The RWG Mobile homepage – www.rwgmobile.wales

Staying safe online should be a concern for all internet users. Here is a list of 10 simple ways you can improve your online security and stay safe online.

1. Never share your personal details online:
   I am always amazed that users of sites like Gumtree and Craigslist continue to share their personal mobile phone numbers openly when selling stuff online. These sites allow anonymous emailing so why not anonymous calling and texting? Scammers and nuisance callers can mine your details and quickly add you to lists and sell your data to other companies.
2. Don’t use lazy passwords:
   Even after the numerous, high profile attacks on some of the world’s most popular websites (Linkedin, Ashley Madison, Sony, etc) and general security issues like heartbleed, internet users continue to use lazy passwords. According to Splashdata, the top three most common passwords in 2014 were ‘123456’, ‘password’ and ‘12345’! We all have too many passwords to remember but surely we are better than this? As a general rule passwords should be unique combinations of words, numbers, symbols, and both upper and lower case letters. And don’t use the same password for everything.
3. Set up parental controls:
   Microsoft and other OS makers offer parents the opportunity to add control to how children use the internet. For example, you can set limits on the hours that children can use your computer, the games they play, the programs they can run and even the websites they visit. Parental controls are simple to set up, for Windows and Mac.
4. Report spam:
   Whether you use Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail or any other email client, some spam will inevitably creep into your inbox. When this happens you should report the spam to your provider as this will help them identify future spam emails and protect you and other email users from viruses and hacks.
5. Be careful what you sign up for:
   We all fill out online forms and sign up on various sites on a daily basis but how can you be sure you can trust a particular website? Websites do sell your personal information. A simple google search should uncover more information about a website and its trust level. You can also view which sites publish your data online and opt out using http://www.stopdatamining.me/.
6. Social privacy:
   We provide a lot of personal information to sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. All of these sites offer control around what information is publicly available and we should all take more notice of what information is visible. Prospective employers, dates and even identity thieves will look at your social media, so manage your privacy as best you can.
7. Be careful who you connect with:
   It seems obvious to only connect with people you know but there are still tons of stories about internet users being duped by connecting with the wrong people on Skype and Facebook or replying to the wrong email. Dating sites and Twitter encourage us to engage with strangers but we should always control what information we share. I have a friend who still gets late night phone calls from an online date she went on in 2008, while Tinder is rife with horror stories and scammers trying to get your personal details.
8. Use Paypal:
   Paypal is safer than sharing your credit card details. Owned by Ebay, Paypal uses encryption and the person you are buying from cannot access any of your personal information. Paypal also has a buyer protection feature, whereby you can claim for goods that don’t arrive or match the seller’s description. Other secure payment providers are available!
9. Get a Vyke number:
   Keep your main number private and get a Vyke number you can use online for dating, buying & selling, online sign ups or even a second business line.
10. Beware of the sites you visit:
    As with online sign ups you can control which sites you visit. Browsers do a pretty good job of identifying threats but never visit sites without security certificates or where your browser identifies a threat.

There are a few reasons you may like to get a Polish number:

1. Receive calls from your friends and family ‘like a local’
2. Your contacts only pay local rates to call you
3. Display a Polish number when you call
4. Better than local rates
5. Doing business in Poland

And there are a number of ways to get a Polish number in the UK:

1. Get a Polish SIM card
2. Call forward to your UK phone
3. Use an app to make and receive calls

Call forwarding from a Polish number to your UK phone can be quite expensive and you generally get a landline number, and who needs a landline number? Or another SIM card! Most services will make you sign a contract which is not ideal. Probably being a bit cliched but ‘there’s an app for that’. The Vyke app.

To get a Polish mobile number on your UK phone just download the Vyke app, and you can very easily add a Polish mobile number for free. Your friends and family can then call and text you on your +48 number at local rates, usually covered in their plan. Because not everyone uses WhatsApp and there are still times you take calls from landlines and mobiles.

Vyke also offers free calls and messages to other Vyke users and low cost calls to the UK, Poland and the world. Call rates are PAYG (1.5p to Polish mobile) or you can get a monthly bundle of 500 minutes for only £4.99, which covers mobiles and landlines.

You also get a free UK mobile number when you sign up, which you can use for work, Gumtree, Tinder or anywhere you would like to keep your main number private. Select either a Polish or UK number, as long as you use it, your free number remains free.

Aerial view of the Royal Castle and Sigismund Column at Castle Square in Warsaw Old town, Poland.

I use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn regularly. Each serves a particular purpose and rarely do my contacts from one overlap into another. On each platform I view and post different content, appealing to different areas of my life. I also have separate email addresses for business and personal use, multiple credit cards and multiple online dating profiles.

But I still only get one mobile phone number.

Up until now you had to get an extra SIM or phone to get a second number, not convenient or cheap. Vyke are trying to change the way we communicate with extra numbers available in the app, allowing you to set up Profiles for different areas of your life, so you can keep your main number private and decide when you are available to your contacts.

We don’t give our multiple social profiles or email addresses a second thought, why do we give out our mobile number so easily?

Unless your name is Paris Hilton, who has been known to carry up to 4 mobile phones, you probably have either one or two mobile phones on your person right now. The inconvenience of carrying a second phone will be all too familiar to business users, ex-pats and regular international travellers, all of whom require a second phone for a variety of scenarios. Are you still using 2 mobile phones?

For business users there are loads of reasons you might still carry a second phone – your company may prefer to separate your personal life from your work life, added security, you still love that old Blackberry and its great email functionality, or you can switch your workphone off at 5pm on a Friday to enjoy the weekend in full.

In the UK today there are some 14 million people who carry a second phone to separate business and personal use. This has been slightly reduced by Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) or even Corporate Owned Personally Enabled (COPE) initiatives within companies, each of which allows you to use your preferred device for both business and personal use. So basically you can either use your own iPhone 6 or S7 for both business and personal, or your company will supply the device. The problem with this is you must use the same number for both, so problem only partially solved.

According to Ofcom there are almost 90 million mobile subscriptions in the UK, which means there are currently upwards of 30 million people with a second device in their pocket right now.

For ex-pats it is simply much cheaper to carry a second device. You either have a device with a SIM from your home country so friends and family can call you (and for those trips home), or one with a SIM that provides low cost international calls back to your home country (your mobile operator rarely supplies this). Regular roamers have a similar quandary, normally fumbling around with a SIM card from the country you are headed to, simultaneously not answering incoming calls on your main number to avoid a needless extra expense.

The main issue with carrying a second device comes down to convenience. Or a lack of it! It is not very convenient to carry a second device around, and, unless your second phone is a Nokia 3310, it’s enough trouble keeping one phone charged, let alone two. And you may even need to carry a second charger….. You then have to switch between your two devices, and it’s a lot easier to open two email profiles to check business and personal emails than picking up two devices.

The mobile phone itself has evolved dramatically since Gordon Gekko and the Wallstreet crew first introduced us in the 1980s. Since then there have been many device and manufacturer innovations, initially they got smaller and smaller until they were too small to hold, then with their infusion with computers and the introduction of the iPhone, they began to grow again into the computer/tv/internet devices we now all carry in our pockets.

Evolution of mobile devices

At the same time mobile carriers have been somewhat less innovative. Sure, we are now internet connected almost anywhere we are, more widespread availability of Wi-Fi has meant mobile carriers have had to innovate on mobile data and 4G coverage in order to retain revenues, but as standard we still only get one mobile number and to get another number this usually means a second device or at least a second SIM card. Dual SIMs have not quite taken off due to lack of quality compatible devices.

Vyke is attempting to provide the innovation mobile carriers do not. Our brand new app gives you up four extra mobile numbers on your primary device, allowing you to ditch that second phone, and make and receive calls through the app, without the need for a second SIM, device or contract.

You can get mobile numbers in the US, UK, Canada, Netherlands and Poland, with more to follow shortly, and you decide when each number is on, off or sent to individual custom voicemail, so your boss doesn’t hear the same message as your friends. Everyone could use a second number to add a level of security to your main number while you can set up a Vyke Profile for work, international presence, shopping online, dating or just to keep your main number private. On top of this you get free calls and messages to other Vyke users, and all other calls & texts are a fraction of your current costs. Download the free app today or watch the introductory video.

How to stop nuisance calls (and texts)

We receive a lot of unwanted calls and texts for a variety of reasons. Sometimes we forget to tick the opt-in/out box when we sign up for something online. Sometimes we have to opt in in order to use the service. Sometimes companies sell our details anyway. Here’s a handy guide to help stop nuisance calls and unwanted SMS:

1. Sign up with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS):
   The TPS offer a free service that allows you to record your preference not to receive unsolicited sales or marketing calls. Once you register all organisations cannot legally call you about anything you have not explicitly signed up to receive information about. Unfortunately the TPS does not prevent unwanted SMS. You can sign up for the TPS on their website.
2. Don’t give out your main number:
   Keep you main number private when you sign up on a website or app. Vyke offer up to four extra mobile numbers you can use to help stop nuisance calls and texts. Set up a Vyke Profile, let’s call it ‘Sign Ups’. You’ll know where any calls to this number are coming from before answering and you can even turn the number off and not be disturbed by these calls. Your first Vyke number is free (as long as you use it).
3. Tick/untick the correct box:
   There are no strict guidelines on how you opt in or opt out of receiving marketing or sales communications. On some sites you must opt in, others you opt out. Sometimes you must tick a box, sometimes you must untick the box. Read the information provided carefully and be careful what you sign up for.
4. Use call blocking technology:
   Most smartphones have an option to block specific numbers so you will not receive calls from them again. Beware that sometimes this will mean that calls are bounced straight to voicemail, giving you unwanted voicemails and some providers do still charge for access to your voicemail. Here’s how to block calls on the most popular devices:
   a. iPhone
   b. Android
   c. Windows phone
   d. Blackberry
5. Join the Which? campaign (UK consumers only):
   Which? is a consumer rights campaigner that “work to make lives fairer, simpler and safer”. They champion a variety of causes that help to make our everyday lives better. From the misleading supermarket prices to advertised broadband speeds, Which? have campaigns that affect all consumers. You can view a full list of Which? campaigns here or go straight to the Nuisance calls and texts campaign here.

Why you need extra mobile numbers

Your mobile phone number is one of the few unique things we have, along with email addresses, bank accounts and your national insurance number.

At Vyke we believe we give out our numbers too easily. Whether we are filling out forms, selling online or dating, your number can easily end up in the wrong hands. In most cases the worst that this leads to is nuisance calls and texts but it could also lead to identity theft or your number being used in any number of scams or fraud.

Everyone has a need for at least one extra mobile number. Your second number can be used for work, dating, online selling, classifieds, international presence or when travelling abroad. Call and SMS rates are then a lot cheaper than your mobile operator, both for international and local calls.