ClearCall

Every call, crystal clear — and scam-free. ClearCall turns phone conversations into real-time captions while spotting suspicious language, making calls accessible and safe for everyone.

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Inspiration

During brainstorming, we thought about times when phone conversations can be frustrating, especially for people who are hard of hearing, elderly, or neurodivergent. We also heard stories of friends and family being targeted by phone scams. That stuck with us. We wanted to build something that does more than transcribe, something that makes every call safer and more accessible. ClearCall was born out of empathy, personal experience, and a desire to make communication truly inclusive.

What it does

ClearCall turns phone conversations into real-time captions and flags suspicious language to warn users of potential scams — all in a simple web app.

How we built it

We used React + TypeScript for the frontend and the Web Speech API for live captions. The backend runs on Node.js + Express, integrating Google Gemini API for scam detection. Communication is handled via HTTP REST API

Challenges we ran into

  • Figuring out how to get Gemini to connect smoothly for scam detection in real time.

  • Designing a convincing demo setup — we explored using the Twilio API so the “scammer” could actually join the call, or using ngrok to send a weblink for them to connect. This taught us how tricky real-time call integration can be under time constraints (we tried to figure this out for 12 hours). We ended up making a dual-screen interface where the scammer can call from.

  • Merging our respective changes on GitHub, as none of us have much experience with version control

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Built a working prototype with live captions
  • Integrated real-time scam detection with gemini api (none of us have done this before)
  • Created a clean, accessible UI
  • creating an application that has the potential to help millions of people

What we learned

  • Working with new people taught us the value of communication, patience, and teamwork — dividing tasks clearly was essential.
  • Two of our four members had never used React or Node.js, so we learned to adapt quickly and support each other while learning new technologies on the fly.
  • Version control became crucial — branching, merging, and resolving conflicts taught us how to collaborate efficiently. None of us were skilled at version control, so it was a skill we all had to learn and improve on during this hackathon.
  • We learned to balance ambition and reality, making tough decisions about which features to prioritize to deliver a working prototype within the hackathon timeframe.

What's next for ClearCall

  • Enable users to make and receive calls directly from the web app for a seamless experience.
  • Integrate ClearCall’s captions and scam detection into Apple and Android native call apps for true accessibility and safety on any call.
  • Enhance scam detection with machine learning refinements and NLP
  • Develop a freemium model to make ClearCall sustainable and scalable.

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