> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lodgestory.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Masked Connect # Masked Connect (Number Masking) > **One business number that quietly connects each caller to the right person — without either side ever seeing the other's real phone number.** > **TL;DR** > > * **What it is —** a routing type that looks up the number a customer is calling from and connects them to a specific person's phone (their "follow-me" number), masking both numbers. If the caller isn't recognised, they can enter an order code or their registered number on the keypad to be matched. > * **Who it's for —** logistics and delivery operations (and any team that wants customer↔staff calls connected privately). Built so delivery agents never see customers' personal numbers, and customers never see agents'. > * **Top outcome —** the right two people talk, neither learns the other's number, and every call is recorded and reportable. ## At a glance | | | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Plan tier** | Included with every Lodgestory Voice plan. | | **Who can manage** | Account Owners and Admins set it up. Customers and agents just place and receive calls. | | **What it routes on** | The number the customer is calling from. If unknown, an order code or the customer's registered number entered on the keypad. | | **Privacy** | The agent's phone shows your business number, never the customer's. The customer only ever dialled your business number. | | **Media** | Greeting, ringback, hold music, and a rejection message — upload from your media library or use text-to-speech. | | **Recording** | Every connected call is recorded automatically (can be turned off per configuration). Transcribed too, if transcription is on for your account. | | **Regions** | Works on India and US numbers. | | **API** | Partner API available on request — push, update, and remove mappings automatically from your order system, or bulk-import by file. | ## How to find it **Sidebar:** Settings → Calling → \[your account] → **Masked Connect**. **Direct URLs:** * Masked Connect configurations: `/crm/settings/calling/{accountId}/masked-connect` * Phone number routing: `/crm/settings/calling/{accountId}/numbers` * Call flow view: `/crm/settings/calling/{accountId}/call-flow` — a read-only map showing which numbers route through Masked Connect. 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: maskedconnect-landing.png — Masked Connect list with fallback mode, mapping count, and status]` ## What is Masked Connect? ### The problem it solves A delivery business hands out one support number. When a customer calls about their order, the call has to reach **their** delivery agent — not a random one — and it has to do so **without** exposing anyone's personal mobile number. Sharing real numbers is a privacy and safety problem: agents get called back off-platform, customers get unsolicited contact, and there's no record of any of it. Masked Connect is the private switchboard in the middle. The customer calls your business number; Lodgestory recognises who's calling and patches them straight through to the exact agent handling their order. The agent's phone rings showing **your business number**, so they answer without ever seeing the customer's number — and the customer never sees the agent's. Either side can be reached only through your number, and every call is logged. ### What you get * **Recognise-and-connect** — match the caller's number to the right person's phone automatically, with both numbers hidden. * **A keypad fallback** for callers you can't recognise — they enter an **order code**, or the **registered number** they placed the order with (useful when they're calling from a different phone), and get matched anyway. * **A rejection message** for callers that still can't be matched — a polite recording or spoken message, then the call ends. * **Custom audio** — a greeting on answer, a ringback tone while the agent's phone rings, optional hold music, and the rejection message. * **A simple mapping list** — each row links a customer's number to the agent's follow-me number, with an optional order code and label. Edit it in the dashboard, import it from a file, or have your order system keep it up to date automatically. * **Automatic recording** of every connected call, and per-call reporting on *how* each call connected. ### How it's different * **Routing decided by who's calling.** Most routing sends every caller to the same place; Masked Connect sends each caller to a different person based on their number. * **Two-way number privacy by default.** The agent sees your business number, not the customer. The customer dialled your business number, so they never see the agent. No setup required to get this — it's how every connection works. * **Designed for "calling from a new phone."** Real customers don't always call from the number on file. The order-code and registered-number fallbacks handle that gracefully instead of dead-ending. * **Keeps up with your operations.** Map a customer to an agent the moment an order is dispatched, and clear it when it's delivered — by hand, by file import, or automatically from your order system. ### Customer scenarios * **Last-mile delivery.** A courier company gives customers one number. Asha calls about order #4821; she's connected straight to Ravi, the agent out with her parcel. Ravi's phone shows the company number, not Asha's. When the delivery is done, the mapping is cleared. * **Calling from a different phone.** Asha's phone is dead, so she calls from a friend's. Lodgestory doesn't recognise the number, so it asks her to key in her order code — she enters `4821#` and is connected to Ravi anyway. * **One customer, two live orders.** Asha has two parcels out with two different agents. Because her number alone is ambiguous, Lodgestory asks for the order code to send her to the right one. * **After-hours.** Outside delivery hours, the business number routes to a closed-hours message instead of Masked Connect, using a business-hours schedule. ### How it fits with Lodgestory Voice * **Phone numbers point here.** Set a number's routing to Masked Connect and pick a configuration. * **Business hours can switch it on and off.** A time condition can route to Masked Connect during delivery hours and somewhere else after. * **Audio lives in your media library.** Upload greetings, ringback, hold music, and rejection messages once and reuse them. * **Recordings and reports flow into the call log**, with a tag on each call showing how it connected. * **It shows up in the call flow view** so you can audit which numbers use it. ## Core concepts | Term | What it means | | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Masked Connect configuration** | A named set of behaviour — audio, fallback options, and the mapping list — that one or more phone numbers can use. | | **Mapping** | A single link between a customer's number and the agent's follow-me number, with an optional order code and label. | | **Follow-me number** | The agent's own phone (usually a mobile) that the call is connected to. The agent answers there but only ever sees your business number. | | **Order code** | A short numeric code (e.g. an order number) the customer can key in if their number isn't recognised, or to pick between several live orders. | | **Fallback** | What happens when the caller's number isn't found: ask for an order code, ask for their registered number, or try the code first and then the number. | | **Greeting** | Optional audio or spoken message played when the call is answered, before connecting. | | **Ringback** | What the customer hears while the agent's phone is ringing. | | **Rejection message** | The audio or spoken message played when no match can be made, just before the call ends. | ## Quick Start — set up private delivery calls in five steps ### Step 1 — Prepare your audio (optional) In your media library, add any greeting, hold music, and a rejection message you want callers to hear. You can also use text-to-speech and skip recording. 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: mc-qs-1-media.png — media library with greeting and rejection clips]` ### Step 2 — Create a Masked Connect configuration **Settings → Calling → \[your account] → Masked Connect → Create Config.** Name it (e.g. *"Mumbai Hub"*), pick your audio, and choose the fallback: *Order code, then registered number* is the most forgiving. 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: mc-qs-2-create.png — create dialog with audio pickers and fallback selector]` ### Step 3 — Add your mappings In the lookup list, add a row for each active order: the **customer's number**, the **agent's follow-me number**, and an **order code**. You can type rows in, or use **Import CSV** to paste many at once. 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: mc-qs-3-mappings.png — lookup list with customer number, follow-me number, and code columns]` ### Step 4 — Point a phone number at it Go to **Phone Numbers**, choose your delivery support number, set the routing type to **Masked Connect**, and select your configuration. 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: mc-qs-4-number.png — number routing set to Masked Connect]` ### Step 5 — Test Call the number from a mapped customer's phone — you should be connected to that agent, and the agent's phone should show your business number. Then call from an unmapped phone and confirm the order-code prompt connects you too. ### What's next * Have your order system add a mapping when an order is dispatched and remove it on delivery (see **API**), so the list stays current with no manual work. * Set an expiry on mappings so stale ones drop off automatically. * Review **Reports → Call Log** to see how often callers connect directly versus using the keypad. ## How it works ```mermaid flowchart TD A[Customer calls your business number] --> B{Is the caller's number in your list?} B -- "One match" --> C[Connect to that agent's phone] B -- "Several live orders" --> D[Ask for the order code] B -- "Not found" --> E[Fallback: ask for order code and/or registered number] D --> C E -- "Match" --> C E -- "No match" --> F[Play rejection message and end the call] C -- "Agent doesn't answer" --> G[Call ends] ``` * A customer calls your business number. * Lodgestory checks the number they're calling from against your mapping list. * **One match** → it connects them to that agent's phone. The agent sees your business number; the customer only ever dialled your business number. Neither sees the other. * **Several live orders for that number** → it asks the caller to key in their order code to pick the right one. * **Number not recognised** (including callers who withhold their number, or call from a new phone) → it runs your fallback: enter an order code, enter the registered number, or try the code first and then the number. * **Still no match** → it plays your rejection message and ends the call. * **The agent doesn't pick up** → the call ends (there's no voicemail step in this flow). Edits go live immediately — update a mapping or the audio, save, and the next call uses it. ## Features in depth ### The mapping list Each row links one customer number to one agent follow-me number, plus: * **Order code** — optional, used for keypad matching and to tell apart multiple live orders for the same customer. * **Label** — a free-text note like the order reference or customer name. * **Active toggle** — switch a mapping off without deleting it. * **Expiry** — an optional date after which the mapping stops matching automatically. You can manage rows by hand, paste many at once with **Import CSV**, or keep the list current automatically from your order system (see **API**). 📸 `[SCREENSHOT: mc-mapping-list.png — editable mapping rows with add, import, and per-row toggle]` ### Fallback options Choose what happens when a caller's number isn't recognised: | Fallback | What the caller does | | -------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Order code, then registered number** | Asked for the order code first; if that fails, asked for the number they ordered with. The most forgiving option. | | **Order code only** | Asked only for the order code. | | **Registered number only** | Asked only for the number they placed the order with. | You set how many digits an order code has, how many tries the caller gets, and how long the agent's phone rings before the call ends. ### Audio Four points in the call can have your own audio (uploaded, recorded, or text-to-speech): * **Greeting** — plays when the call is answered, before connecting. * **Ringback** — what the customer hears while the agent's phone rings. Defaults to a standard ringing tone. * **Hold music** — an optional short clip before a keypad prompt. * **Rejection message** — played when nothing matches, before the call ends. ### Recording & transcription Every connected call is recorded automatically; you can turn recording off for a configuration if you prefer. If transcription is enabled for your account, masked calls are transcribed too, with the customer and the agent shown separately. ### Per-call reporting Every call is tagged with how it connected — matched **by number**, **by order code**, **by registered number**, or **not matched** — so you can see how often customers reach their agent directly versus needing the keypad, and spot configurations that need attention. Calls appear in your call log like any other. ## Roles & permissions | Action | Account Owner | Admin | User | | ------------------------------------ | :-----------: | :---: | :-------: | | View Masked Connect configurations | Yes | Yes | Read-only | | Create, edit, delete a configuration | Yes | Yes | No | | Edit the mapping list / import | Yes | Yes | No | | Upload audio | Yes | Yes | No | | Receive masked calls (as an agent) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Connections * **Phone Numbers** — point any number at a Masked Connect configuration. * **Business hours (time conditions)** — route to Masked Connect during delivery hours and to a message or voicemail outside them. * **Media library** — greetings, ringback, hold music, and rejection messages live here. * **Call Recording & Reports** — masked calls are recorded and logged with their match type. * **Call flow view** — see at a glance which numbers use Masked Connect. ## Limits a user will run into | Limit | Value | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Order code length | Configurable, 1–20 digits (default 4–10) | | Keypad retries | 0–5 per prompt | | Agent ring time | 5–120 seconds, then the call ends | | Mappings per configuration | No hard cap — suitable for large, frequently-changing lists | | Order codes | Must be numeric (so they can be entered on a phone keypad) and unique among active mappings | | Audio file size | Set by your media library upload limits | ## Errors & FAQ **Does the delivery agent ever see the customer's real number?** No. The agent's phone shows your business number on every masked call. The customer never sees the agent's number either, because they only ever dialled your business number. **What if the customer calls from a different phone than they ordered with?** They won't be recognised by number, so Lodgestory asks them to key in their order code (or the number they ordered with, depending on your fallback) and connects them anyway. **What if one customer has two orders out at once?** Because their number alone can't tell the orders apart, Lodgestory asks for the order code. Give each active order a unique code so this always resolves cleanly. **What happens if the agent doesn't answer?** The call ends. There's no voicemail step in this flow — it's built for live, time-sensitive delivery calls. **Can my order system manage the list automatically?** Yes. Mappings can be added, updated, and removed automatically as orders move through your system, or bulk-loaded from a file. See **API**. **Can order codes contain letters?** No — callers type them on a phone keypad, so codes must be numeric. **Does it work for both India and US numbers?** Yes. **Can the same configuration be used on more than one number?** Yes. Build it once and point multiple numbers at it. ### Troubleshooting | Symptom | Likely cause | Fix | | ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | A known customer still gets asked for a code | Their number on file doesn't match the number they're calling from, or the mapping is inactive/expired | Check the mapping's number, active state, and expiry | | A code never matches | The code isn't numeric, or its length is outside the configured range | Use a numeric code within the configured length | | Caller hears a standard tone instead of your ringback | No ringback audio was selected | Pick a ringback clip in the configuration | | Caller is rejected unexpectedly | No mapping exists for them and the fallback couldn't match | Confirm the mapping exists and is active; widen the fallback to also accept the registered number | ## API A partner API is available on request for teams that want their order system to drive Masked Connect: * **Add or update a mapping** when an order is dispatched (customer number, agent follow-me number, order code, optional expiry). * **Remove or deactivate a mapping** when an order is delivered. * **Bulk-import** a whole list at once. This lets the list stay perfectly in sync with live orders without anyone touching the dashboard. Contact your account team to enable it. ## Changelog * **Jun 2026** — General availability: recognise-and-connect routing with two-way number masking, order-code and registered-number keypad fallbacks, custom audio, automatic recording, per-call match reporting, and file/API mapping management. Available on India and US numbers. ## Related modules * **Phone Numbers** — where you point a number at Masked Connect. * **Voice Menus (IVR)** — for menu-driven routing when you want callers to choose, rather than be matched. * **Business Hours** — gate Masked Connect by your delivery hours. * **Call Recording** — where masked call recordings land. * **Voice product hub** — the overall picture.