Replying to messages or phone calls when you’re driving is dangerous. Despite the many virtual assistant apps that are available, you should still avoid using your phone when you’re driving. The best practice is to switch it to do not disturb mode. If you have an iPhone that is running iOS 11, you can enable do not disturb while driving. If you have an Android phone, consider installing Can’t Talk. It’s a free Android app that can send an auto reply to messages and calls. If you’re ever busy, simply enable it and it will let people know you’re busy at the moment.
Can’t Talk is currently in beta so before you can download the app, you will need to join the beta program. During testing, the app worked without any problems but you should still remember that the app is in beta and manage your expectations.
Install Can’t Talk after you join the beta. The app can auto reply to messages and calls, and app notifications. You can enable an auto reply for them individually. For apps, you need to give Can’t Talk access to your notifications and then select which apps it should reply to. To edit the auto reply the app sends, tap the edit button under the ‘Auto reply message’.
The app will reply to a message or a text from the same person once every fifteen minutes. This means, if your mom is calling you over and over, she will get one reply after you miss her first call, and the next auto reply fifteen minutes late if she’s still calling. You can change this frequency by going to the app’s advanced settings. Here, you can decrease the frequency to 30mins, 1, 2, 4, and 8 hours, or you can have Can’t talk send an auto reply to every single text message or missed call.
Can’t talk has a free version, a subscription model, and a one-time purchase option that unlocks app replies and lets you set custom replies for specific contacts.
Can’t talk doesn’t block notifications. If you’re driving and you get a phone call, message, or app notification your screen will still light up and your phone will vibrate. You can choose to reject a phone call and Can’t Talk will send the auto reply, or you can let your phone ring until the call ends.
If a person calls you and doesn’t get through, they will receive the auto reply message. If they then send you a message right after, they will again get the auto reply message. For subsequent calls and messages, the reply frequency will come into play but the app keeps calls and message replies separate. Standard text message rates will apply for each message that is sent.