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Would I be breaching Google's TOS by using an Obihai device?

Started by highvoltage, July 18, 2021, 11:02:46 PM

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highvoltage

Let's say I get an Obi200 and use it with Google voice. Would I be in breach of Google's TOS? I stumbled across this thread recently: http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=15379.0. I'll admit I'm too new to Obihai devices to fully understand how certain uses might not be allowed, but here are the threads I was reading through:

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r32189252-
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/5prle9/google_voice_developer_alex_wiesen_answering/

Possibly related: https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/18/obihai-offers-new-low-cost-home-phone-options-as-technology-change-at-google-ends-free-service/

There's a lot of jargon being thrown around in the first thread, but in the second thread, there seems to be some indication that using an unmodified Obihai device might be fine.

Both threads are years old though. I'm a bit confused here. If connecting to Google Voice via an Obihai device is a violation of Google's TOS, why hasn't Obihai's manufacturer been shut down already? Is the only allowed way of using Google Voice to use a microphone on a PC web browser or their mobile app?

I did some more digging and a few people mentioned some kind of "deal" between Obihai's manufacturer and Google, but I couldn't find any official confirmation. I did find this old post, but the link was dead so I had to get it from Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20141105042232/http://blog.obihai.com/2014/09/google-voice-and-obihai-update.html

Still, I'm not sure what "officially supported" means. Also, the claim doesn't reference any kind of deal with Google, and that post is also years old. So what's the status of Obihai devices and Google Voice right now? Are Obihai users in the clear, or are they operating in a grey area? I looked at the Google Voice terms and couldn't find anything that suggests using Obihai to access their service isn't allowed, but then I'm neither a lawyer nor an engineer, so what do I know.

drgeoff

Using an OBi with GV does not of itself breach any of GV's TOS. Google has mafe information available to Obihai/Polycom that enables such use.

It is what you do with the GV service that might violate the TOS. That does not depend on using an OBi. The exact same considerations apply using GV on a computer or smartphone.