Devices, Systems and Methods for Proactive Call Context, Call Screening and Prioritization

Devices, systems and methods are disclosed which enable a user of a communications device to receive a notification of a priority and a context of a call before answering the call. A caller records a short phrase to be played on the callee's device either in place of ringing or following a predetermined amount of rings controlled by the callee's preferences. Among the callee's preferences is a selection of priority, such as among low, high, and critical. When callee's communications device is in any of these modes, every incoming call is intercepted giving the caller the opportunity to provide a short phrase for the context of the call and choose a priority level. This short phrase is played on the callee's communications device if the specified priority of the call matches or exceeds the current mode set on the callee's communications device, and the callee may answer. If the specified priority of the call falls below the current mode set, then the short phrase and priority are saved, but the call is ignored. Optional device configuration allows a special tone, vibration pattern, or beep to occur on the callee's communications device indicating a call has been ignored. The recorded phrase can then be reviewed on demand. The above solution can also be extended to provide a quick glimpse into the voicemail, either in place of the current tone indicating a voicemail has arrived, or immediately following.