In April 2016, Whitepages spun-off its caller ID business into a separate company called Hiya with a staff of 40 in Seattle. In 2015, WhitePages acquired San Francisco-based NumberCorp to improve the database of phone numbers used for scams in the Caller ID app. In August 2013 Whitepages purchased all the interests in the company owned by investors for $80 million. Number, an Android app for blocking unwanted callers. It was updated in July 2013 with new features, such as the ability to customize the layout of caller information for each caller and the ability to "Like" Facebook posts from within the app. Within a year of its release, 5 billion calls and texts had been transmitted using the app. An updated Android app called Current Caller ID was released in August 2012. Whitepages PRO was also introduced that same year. The app was released on Android first, because Whitepages was frustrated with Apple's approval process for iPhone apps. Whitepages released the Localicious app in July 2011. Algard began shifting the company's business model to reduce its reliance on advertising and instead focus on business users and paid subscriptions. He also used his personal house, savings account and personal belongings as collateral for the loan. Algard spent $50 million in cash the company had on-hand and $30 million from a bank loan, to buyout the investors in 2013. In 2010, Superpages and Yellowpages cut back spending with Whitepages from $33 million to $7 million, causing a substantial decline in revenues and a tense relationship with investors. Dealpop was sold to Tippr the following year. The following month, launched a deal site,, which differed from Groupon by offering short-term deals on nationally available products. A local business lookup feature called " Store Finder" was added in June 2010. Marshall had previously criticized Whitepages, because website users that clicked on US Search ads and purchased data from US Search were sent through perpetual advertisements for other services that made it difficult to access the information they paid for. According to VentureBeat reporter Matt Marshall, the redesign made the advertising "cleaner" and made it more obvious when someone was going to a third-party website like US Search. The ability for consumers to add themselves to the directory was added in the summer of 2009 and being able to edit existing entries was added that October. The app displayed information on callers, such as their latest social media posts, local weather at the caller's location and the identity of the caller. Whitepages released an iOS app that August, followed by the Whitepages Caller ID app for Android devices in February 2009 and for Blackberry that May. It also introduced an api, which gave third-party developers access to Whitepages' data. That same year, it acquired VoIP developer Snapvine in order to add features where users could be called through the website without giving out their phone number. In 2008, Whitepages said it would start working on options for users to control their information on the site. By 2008 the company had $66 million in annual revenues. By the end of that year, the Whitepages database had grown to 180 million records and the company was listed as one of Deloitte's 500 fastest growing technology companies in North America three times. That same year, MSN adopted Whitepages' directory data for its "Look it up" feature. In 2005, Technology Crossover Ventures and Providence Equity Partners invested $45 million in the company. In 2003, Algard stepped down as CEO to focus on, which he had also founded and Max Bardon took his place as CEO temporarily. By 2005, $15 million in annual revenues was coming from these contracts. The company brokered deals with Yellowpages and Superpages, whereby Whitepages earned revenue for sending them referral traffic. The site grew and attracted more advertisers. In 1998, Algard left his job to focus on the website he incorporated Whitepages in 2000. Eventually WhitePages was producing more ad-revenue than Algard was earning at Goldman Sachs. He expanded the database of contact information using data licensed from American Business Information (now a part of Infogroup). He continued operating the website as a hobby while working as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs. Algard bought the domain for $900, which he says was all of his savings at the time. He thought of an online email directory as an easier way to find people. Algard was searching for a friend's contact information and the phone company gave him the wrong number. The idea for Whitepages was conceived by Alex Algard, while studying at Stanford in 1996.
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