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Call & Text By Proxy (Masked Numbers) - Python

Overview​

This guide will show you how to create a bi-directional mask of participants' phone numbers for voice and text messages using SignalWire and Python.

What do you need to run this code?​

View the full code on our Github here!

You will need the Python SignalWire SDK.

How to Run Application​

Build and Run on Docker​

  1. Use our pre-built image from Docker Hub
docker pull signalwire/snippets-call-text-proxy:python

(or build your own image)

  1. Build your image
docker build -t snippets-call-text-proxy .
  1. Run your image
docker run --publish 5000:5000 --env-file .env snippets-call-text-proxy
  1. The application will run on port 5000

Build and Run Natively​

To run the application, execute export FLASK_APP=app.py then run flask run.

You may need to use an SSH tunnel for testing this code if running on your local machine. – we recommend ngrok. You can learn more about how to use ngrok here.

Step by Step Code Walkthrough​

Setup Your Environment File​

  1. Copy from example.env and fill in your values
  2. Save new file called .env

Your file should look something like this.

## This is the full name of your SignalWire Space. e.g., example.signalwire.com
SIGNALWIRE_SPACE=
# Your Project ID - you can find it on the `API` page in your Dashboard.
SIGNALWIRE_PROJECT=
# Your API token - you can generate one on the `API` page in your Dashboard
SIGNALWIRE_TOKEN=
# The first proxy phone number you'll be using for this guide. Must include the `+1` 
SIGNALWIRE_NUMBER_1=+1xxxxxxxxxx
# The second proxy phone number you'll be using for this guide. Must include the `+1` 
SIGNALWIRE_NUMBER_2=+1xxxxxxxxxx

Modify Your Proxy Session File​

You will need to edit proxy_sessions.json to reflect the correct participant numbers and the SignalWire numbers you choose to wish as proxy numbers.

[
  {
    "Session_Id": "Demo123",
    "Participant_A_Number": "+15551237654",
    "Participant_B_Number": "+15553883000",
    "Proxy_Number": "+15556611212"
  },
  {
    "Session_Id": "Demo234",
    "Participant_A_Number": "+15555181212",
    "Participant_B_Number": "+12347896543",
    "Proxy_Number": "+15556611212"
  }
]

Configuring the Code​

When the /lookup-session route is called, it will look up an active proxy session and create a back-to-back phone call that is proxied, or a proxied text message. LEG A <-> SIGNALWIRE PROXY <-> LEG B

# Lookup a proxy session by proxy number
@app.route('/lookup-session', methods=['GET', 'POST'])
def lookup_session():

    # Initialize SignalWire Client
    client = signalwire_client(os.environ['SIGNALWIRE_PROJECT'], os.environ['SIGNALWIRE_TOKEN'], signalwire_space_url = os.environ['SIGNALWIRE_SPACE'])

    # Read proxy number from request
    proxy_number = request.values.get("To")

    # Read participant number from request
    leg_1 = request.values.get("From")

    # read proxy sessions from json file
    with open('proxy_sessions.json') as f:
         sessions = json.load(f)

    # Lookup session, find session that has proxy number and participant that matches
    for session in sessions:

        # Lookup the second session participant, if A is calling
        if session["Proxy_Number"] == proxy_number and session["Participant_A_Number"] == leg_1:
            leg_2 = session["Participant_B_Number"]
            found = True
            break

        # Lookup the second session participant, if B is calling
        elif session["Proxy_Number"] == proxy_number and session["Participant_B_Number"] == leg_1:
            leg_2 = session["Participant_A_Number"]
            found = True
            break

        # We did not find anything yet
        found = False

    if found == True:
        # Check if a CallSid exists, if it does, it is a voice call
        if "CallSid" in request.values.keys():
            # Bridge legs voice
            response = VoiceResponse()
            response.dial(leg_2, callerId = proxy_number)
            return str(response)
        # Check if a MessageSid exists, if it does it is a text message
        elif "MessageSid" in request.values.keys():
            # Send a message, with challenge code to phone number provided.
            message = client.messages.create(
                from_ = proxy_number,
                body = request.values.get("Body"),
                to = leg_2
            )
            return "200"
    else:
        # No session found
        response = VoiceResponse()
        response.say("We are sorry but your call can not be completed at this time. Good Bye!")
        return str(response)

Wrap Up​

If you ever had a situation where you wanted to keep your phone number private between two parties, this example will help you out. Services like Lyft and Uber use technology like this every day to help protect the personal phone numbers of both passengers and drivers. There are many use cases for this, and we hope you find it helpful.

Required Resources

Sign Up Here​

If you would like to test this example out, create a SignalWire account and Space.

Please feel free to reach out to us on our Community Slack or create a Support ticket if you need guidance!