Yandex (mobile application)

2025: The skill to compliment

Yandex's smart camera has learned to compliment. The company announced this on February 13, 2025.

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Фото: Yandex

Due to the fact that computer vision technologies can recognize even small details in images, the Smart Camera in the Yandex application will write pleasant words personally for each user. For example, about his eye color, smile, image or hairstyle. Compliments can be shared to cheer up loved ones, or used as text for a postcard, such as a valentine. To do this, you need to take a selfie, photo or upload a ready-made picture and write "compliment" to the request line.

In order to recognize details in pictures and see the relationship between them, a VLM neural network developed by Yandex (from the English Visual Language Model) is built into the Smart Camera and Search with Neuro. It opens up opportunities for users to work with images. This neural network has already improved the quality of visual search on pictures on the Internet, and now it is used to create compliments to users. In order for the Smart Camera to learn how to use non-binary and poetic epithets and comparisons, neural networks showed more than 14 thousand pairs of pictures and texts with pleasant words.

Since the VLM neural network recognizes details, for example: facial expression, jewelry, eye color and individual interior elements, the compliment is always personal. For example, the Smart Camera can say that a colleague's look directed at the laptop screen resembles that of a wise philosopher, and a friend's hair is smooth like silk.

Soon the opportunity to get a compliment from the Smart Camera will also appear in the Yandex Browser mobile application for iOS and Android.

2023

WhatsApp Call Locator Launch

Yandex has launched a number identifier for calls in WhatsApp messengers (owned by Meta, whose activities are recognized as extremist and banned in Russia) and Viber. The new functionality will help warn users about calls from scammers. This was reported in the Russian company on August 7, 2023.

The function clarifies who the subscriber with an unfamiliar number is: delivery service, bank, etc., or a fraudster or spammer. The determinant also informs about the possible purpose of the call. The data comes from open sources and Yandex partners, but taking into account user reviews. The service connects in the Yandex mobile application for iOS and Android.

When you enable the number identifier in iOS, messenger support is activated automatically. On Android, the function must be enabled in the settings of the Yandex with Alice application: select the "Define calls in instant messengers" item and allow access to notifications. The determinant refers only to notifications about calls in instant messengers - this is necessary in order to read incoming numbers and match them with the database, the company explained.

Yandex launched the call locator for cellular communications back in 2018. The service is available to iOS and Android users. According to Yandex, in the first half of 2023, users of the determinant received 683 million incoming from unfamiliar numbers, 147.5 million (21.5%) of which were marked as potentially negative.

Experts interviewed by RBC note that identifying calls in instant messengers is more difficult than cellular calls. At the same time, fraudsters began to use such services for calls more often: in particular, they do not have to be paid for, unlike SIP telephony (calls via the Internet). Incoming calls in instant messengers cannot be blocked or centrally tracked, experts say.^[1]

Increase database refresh rate

Yandex on March 27, 2023 announced that it had updated the number identifier in the application with Alice. The service database increased by one and a half times and reached 17 million numbers. At the same time, more than 5 million of them were used at least once for polls, advertising or fraud. If the user receives a call from scammers or with intrusive advertising, now AON in 95% of cases will determine its negative nature and show a notification.

Verdicts form an algorithm based on machine learning technology. He knows how to warn both about negative (for example, scammers, advertising, spam) and about useful (delivery, medical institution, bank) calls in dozens of different categories. The application only interacts with its own database of contacts and feedback that users have left.

In 2022, the identifier of the number in the Yandex application with Alice issued verdicts for 1.6 billion calls, 13% of which were marked as undesirable, and every hundredth as potentially fraudulent.

AON is turned on by the voice command "Alice, turn on the number identifier" or in the "Services" block on the main page of the application. With it, users can find out in advance who is calling them, or turn on automatic blocking of unwanted calls so as not to be distracted. The service is free and runs on iOS and Android.

2022

Alice Update

On September 8, 2022, Yandex announced that it had become even more convenient to communicate with Alice in the Yandex application - she was constantly learning new things. Now the assistant can put a reminder, read aloud the text on the site and give quick access to the popular functions of the application. Read more here.

Plan for changing the name to Yandex Start

On August 23, 2022, the company Yandex"" announced that after the closure of the transaction for the sale of media assets - Zen and - News the existing Yandex application Android will change its name to Yandex Start. It will function as, and browser users will be able to select the start page in the settings. Application Yandex for iOS will continue to work as before, but without Zen and News. More. here

Yandex launched a service for recording phone calls

In mid-March 2022, in the mobile application Yandex"" it became possible to record a telephone conversation if the user did not pick up the phone. You can configure this function by saying the command, "Alice" turn on the number identifier "or in the settings - in the" Services "section.

According to the description, the assistant works if the number identifier is enabled. The user also needs to bind a phone number, and if several of them are tied, select the one to which the assistant will send messages. When using the assistant in roaming, the user pays for the incoming call from the subscriber and the outgoing call to the assistant.

Yandex has launched a service to answer phone calls and their records through Alice

The service is free if you have an active Yandex.Plus subscription. Some cellular operators may charge for call forwarding. You can check this in the personal account of the mobile operator or by calling his support service.

To configure forwarding, you need to choose which calls the assistant will answer. "Alice" can answer the call in cases where the user:

• dropped the call or it is undesirable (advertising, fraudulent, etc.).
• not available (the phone is off or out of range).
• does not pick up the phone (more than 20 seconds).

The application allows you to record telephone conversations and provide records in the Yandex application, or send them through a bot in Telegram and Viber messengers (WhatsApp support will appear later).

In addition to Yandex, Tinkoff offers a telephone assistant for Tinkoff mobile subscribers. "Oleg" knows how to receive incoming calls, conduct a meaningful dialogue, record and decrypt it into text. In addition, Sber has a telephone assistant - he answers phone calls and performs other related functions.

2021

Alice Contact Set

Alice learned to call the list of contacts from mobile applications Yandex and. Yandex.Maps This was Yandex announced on December 16, 2021. More. here

Adding the voice function of e-books in the "Reader" service

On November 19, 2021, it became known that Yandex had updated the Reader e-book reading service by adding a text voicing function to it. The voice assistant "Alice" is responsible for reading aloud.

Photo: www.cnews.ru

Now anyone can turn a literary work from the Yandex library or presented as a file on a mobile device into an audiobook. To do this, in the Yandex application, you need to contact Alice with a request: "Open the Reader." Then you need to select the desired book and click on the headphone icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. After that, "Alice" will begin to read the text of the book aloud.

Voicing books can be useful in a variety of situations: behind the wheel, when doing physical work or exercises, the developers say. Finally, some people simply perceive it better information hearing than. visually Yandex notes that after launching this function, Alice is able to somewhat unload parents of small children - you can, for example, force it to read children at night. The opportunity is available mobile application to Yandex users for and. operating systems Android iOS

The user of "Reader," who decided to apply for the services of a reader to "Alice," has the choice of reading speed and voice acting option - in addition to the usual, there is a version with a male voice. "Alice" knows how to remember the place in each book where the owner left off, so next time she will continue to read from him.

Yandex's proprietary speech synthesis technology is responsible for voicing the text. The voice assistant was trained on the speech samples of the announcers. This made it possible to achieve a more natural sound - thanks to the analysis of the speech fragments of professionals, "Alice" learns to put the stress in words correctly, withstand pauses and choose intonations.

Yandex launched Chitalka at the end of July 2021. The service is system integrated into the Yandex application for smartphones and tablets. It can be found in the "Services" section^[2]

2019: The appearance of the number determiner

On May 14, 2019, Yandex announced the appearance of an automatic number identifier in its comprehensive mobile application for the iPhone. Thanks to the new feature, users will be able to find out from which company or for what purpose they are called, which will help people decide whether to answer the call or not.

When they call from an unfamiliar number, the determinant refers to the Yandex.Directory service database, which by mid-May 2019 collected information about 6 million organizations. If there is a company with this number in the "Reference Book," its name will appear on the screen. If there is no number in the database, Yandex will try to recognize the purpose of the call. For example, he will warn if the number is associated with advertising or scammers, and report useful calls - for example, from a delivery service or a dealership.

Yandex has released an automatic number identifier for iPhone

Yandex determines the purpose of the call, focusing on user feedback. To do this, an algorithm based on machine learning analyzes feedback, as well as the frequency and duration of calls from an unknown number and other factors. To leave a review, users need to open a call list in their smartphone and select the required number or enter it in the Yandex search, the company said in a statement.

The number identifier also works for missed calls: the name of the company and the purpose of the call will be saved in the call history. The user can view it and decide whether to call back at an unknown number.^[3]

You can turn on the number identifier in the main application menu ("three bars" in the upper left corner). Or immediately turn on Yandex in the "Phone "/" Call blocking and identification" section in the device settings.

The number identifier appeared in the Yandex application for Android appeared in 2018. In the Android version, this feature can be enabled in the application menu.

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