BlackBook – Secret Contact List for Your BlackBerry

by Ronen Halevy on Sep 14th, 2009 at 11:14 am EST

The developer of BlackBook, MBLware, Let me know about their application that gives you a secret contact list on your BlackBerry. It is only accessible by entering in a custom key combination on the keypad. The cool part is that it ties into the call and email and lets you view them with the right contact information through the application. It does not work as well with SMS due to API limitations but there is a workaround.

Features include:

Fully editable information fields keep your contacts up-to-date.
User defined filtering for incoming and outgoing calls, sms, pin, and email conversations.
Customizable caller-id names for incoming calls.
Import and export the BlackBook contact list fast, and efficiently.

The app is currently going for $3.99 in the store which is pretty decent for such a application. It only works with OS 4.5+ devices so keep that in mind. The app has a few caveats that you should read up on in the FAQ if you are considering using the application.

Thanks DavidB, Tashanna, & KPatel for also sending this one in via BlackBerryCool!

Please Share With A Friend!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 and is filed under News, Utilities.
Tags: BlackBook, Secret Contacts

If you enjoyed this article, make sure you subscribe to our RSS Feed to stay on top of the latest BlackBerry news you can use.

Previous Post: Sports Illustrated For BlackBerry Now Available! »
Next Post: Three Applications Claim to Help You Drive Safely… »

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

Latest Articles:

23 Comments to “BlackBook – Secret Contact List for Your BlackBerry”

Posted by: mh
September 14, 2009 at 11:56 am EST

great for cheating on your sig. other.

Reply
- Posted by: Tamara
  September 14, 2009 at 12:14 pm EST
  
  Just what I was thinking! Not too many other uses for this app that I would know.
  
  Reply
  - Posted by: automan69
    September 14, 2009 at 12:37 pm EST
    
    What a useless app! Next!
    
    Reply
    - Posted by: Kyle Waddick
      September 14, 2009 at 1:02 pm EST
      
      You must be living in an age where security of personal information isn’t needed. I live in the 21st century so this idea is great. Just dl’d. Will see how it goes.
      
      Reply
- Posted by: SE
  September 14, 2009 at 2:02 pm EST
  
  Uhm, how about for protecting your personal and business contacts that you would not want someone coming across if you happened to leave your phone somewhere accidentally? Password protecting your phone is a pain in the butt, having a completely hidden contact list that no one can access but you saves you from having to input your password every single time you want to use your phone, while still protecting your contacts & personal correspondence.
  
  Celebrities would probably love this to keep their business/personal contacts safe as well. Also anyone doing something illegal. haha, but it’s has obvious uses aside from cheating on your significant other.
  
  Reply
  - Posted by: SVF
    September 14, 2009 at 5:19 pm EST
    
    Password protection is a pain in the butt.???
    This app is intriguing but senseless.
    why would I lock my desk and leave my office door open.
    Lose my BB accidentaly… glad I have password protection.
    My entire BB is private and protected with a password.
    The only interesting thing I see is perhaps an ability to store additional confidential info within a contact which may be preserved from the access of the server admins but would still be protected by a device password. If the data is stored but hidden in the native address book then this is moot. where is this ‘hidden data’ stored and where can it be exported to. Talk about a pain to unlock a device , how about having to unlock every time i access this contact list. Might be good to think before we speak cause this app makes about as much sense as leaving my BB without password protection. Besides I give all my bookies, dealers and mistresses secret names anyway- and so does my wife…
    
    Reply
    - Posted by: SE
      September 15, 2009 at 11:49 am EST
      
      To go with your analogy, indeed, why would you lock your desk & leave your office door open? You kinda threw that back on yourself there. Putting a password on your blackberry isn’t akin to locking both, you are still only locking one. So if you feel the need to protect your entire BB with a password, what is the harm in the extra security of having a completely secret & hidden contact list that no one can find even if they manage to get past your phone password protection? That would be locking both door & desk. Instead, you are only locking your door, and leaving your desk drawers wide open to anyone who can manage to get passed the door. Blackbook is like having a completely hidden & secret locked drawer in your desk that no one is even aware of.
      
      Yes, password protection is a pain in the butt! Glad for you that you don’t find it so, & that you are happy having your BB password protected, but for those of us who actually use our BB constantly through-out the day for things OTHER than calling people from our contact list, it is indeed a pain in the butt! I don’t want to have to enter my password every single time I have to answer a call, or get a message, or use my BB for the zillion other things I use it for during a day. Simple password protection might be a solution to keeping people out of your BB, but it’s ridiculous for anyone who uses the phone for more than answering or making a few calls every day. I don’t need nor want to hide everything in my BB, but my business & some personal contacts? Definitely. If I lose my phone, and someone can go in & call Joe Blow from my call log & be a dick, I don’t care, but if I lose my phone & someone calls an important business contact? Completley different. An application that I only have to put a password in when I actually want to contact someone “confidentally”, instead of every single time I want to do ANYTHING on my phone? That makes way more sense than typing in my password 40 or 50 times a day. I know I’m not the only person who uses their BB this much during a business day.
      
      I think it’s hilarious that you think it’s really annoying that you would have to unlock your private contact list everytime you want to use it, but you think unlocking your phone everytime you want to use it for anything at all isn’t a pain in the ass. That really makes no sense to me.
      
      As much as you are joking (I am assuming) about giving your mistresses & dealers etc. code names, I’m sure some people do indeed do this… well they still show up with their real phone number, don’t they? Meaning that anyone could still call them back or recognize their number, regardless of their code name. Though I haven’t needed to do this myself, what I consider one of the neatest features of blackbook is that you can spoof any incoming call from a blackbook contact to show up as a different name AND number. That’s neat.
      
      The data is stored in a secret location, not the native address book. It is completely separate. There is no app icon to give way that you have it installed, there is no way for someone to know you have it unless you say “hey, I have blackblook, and here is my secret code that brings that app up!”. I mean, for someone who seems all for protecting your information to the best of your ability, I find it weird that you seem so against an app that surpasses the normal security of password protecting your phone, and that could actually get rid of the need to do so for a lot of people.
      
      Reply
    - Posted by: BlackBerry Broker
      December 4, 2009 at 6:20 pm EST
      
      @ SVF LMAO at the last sentence.
      
      Reply
Posted by: Ghostshell
September 14, 2009 at 3:57 pm EST

sounds ok, can i have a free copy to try please?

Reply
Posted by: Brian
September 14, 2009 at 4:39 pm EST

this looks like a good app but is not needed as the bb has a filter option and can u just go there make one called Numbers U Dont See and then move the contacts there go back in and uncheck the Numbers u dont see and there is your normal addy book again but if u have stuff to hide u should not even have a phone lol damn cheaters i tell ya

Reply
Posted by: Brian
September 14, 2009 at 5:06 pm EST

okay im so sorry it does not hide they still show in normal addy book umm wonder if there is away around this cause i just tested it to make sure cause i rem doing it before and they didnt show but its not working now so sorry ronen cant right it up as the info was a lil wrong.

but there should be a way to do this

Reply
Posted by: Brian
September 14, 2009 at 5:10 pm EST

omg k nvm i was wrong it can be done renen if i was to do a video for ya and send it to ya would that be okay?

Reply
Posted by: John
September 14, 2009 at 5:43 pm EST

Purchased it but it doesn’t work…
Great idea but very poor execution – perhaps it should go back to alpha testing?

If it ever works properly, I would love to use it but for now, it is a money well wasted… too sad

Reply
Posted by: Brian
September 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm EST

john did u hit the red call button 4/5 times on first install to get it to work as the maker said and then from there u pick the keys

Reply
Posted by: Brian
September 14, 2009 at 5:55 pm EST

Warn this may be painful to some users who have a few contacts so do at your own if u have something to hide from your other

Start by grabbing your blackberry and going into the address book.
1.once in hit the “Menu”button which is to the left of the trackball
2.then scroll to “Filter” and click trackball
3.once in u will see 2 category’s u can remove them or use them up to u
4.hit the menu button again and go to “New” and give it a “Category” Name name it all contacts
5.once u done that hit the “menu” button again and uncheck the category u made

WARN THIS IS THE PAIN IN THE BUT PART IF U WANT TO HIDE THE CONTACTS
your contacts u have below will have to be changed to all contacts category u do that by editing the info of the contact
1″Menu” button and go to “Edit” scroll down to “categories” and hit the space button or trackball 2 times will open the “categories” window
from there u pick all contacts “category” save it and do it for all contacts u will still see them all in the address book that is normal cause we have more to do

Go back to the “Filter” window by again doing the “Menu” and Picking “filter” and check “all contacts” and there u go u will keep it on this for default and im sure if u restart the bb should stay like this now back to more steps.

once u see all your contacts u want to show hit the “Menu” button and go to “Filter” again and “Menu” button again and go to “New” name it “blackbook” or something once u done add the contacts u want here and rem when u add the numbers and stuff to scroll down to “categories” and hit “space” button or trackball 2 times and move them into the blackbook and once u done u go into the filter again and check all contacts and there u go they are now hidden when u go to call from addy book and do a sms

to all who did this must of been a pain but in the end will make u happy cause no need for app to do this

Reply
- Posted by: Kyle Waddick
  September 14, 2009 at 6:06 pm EST
  
  All message still go to public boxes. Calls still goto call log. And anyone can easily view that filter group if they have the phone. This isn’t even close to a substitute, waste of time.
  
  Reply
Posted by: Kyle Waddick
September 14, 2009 at 6:00 pm EST

John,

I had a problem with contact importing and got a reply from their support in less than 5 minutes. Turns out I was an idiot. Everything works for me. Maybe your OS is too old. who knows.

Reply
Posted by: dajunz
September 14, 2009 at 10:54 pm EST

will it work fine on my BB 8900, anyone ??

Reply
Posted by: chadtatro
September 15, 2009 at 10:44 pm EST

it has been tested on the 8900 and no errors were reported, so you should be good to go.

Reply
Posted by: Gary OConnell
December 5, 2009 at 7:29 am EST

I’ve been waiting for something like this to be developed for bb. Thanks!!!

Reply
Posted by: Mark Demers
December 5, 2009 at 8:23 am EST

This is an excellent app. Everyone. And I mean everyone at one time or another has done something naughty we’d like to keep from Mr/Mrs Nice . Brilliant app.

Reply
Posted by: april
December 7, 2009 at 6:01 pm EST

So does this app hide certain sms from the hidden contact as well?

Reply