TextNow Reinforces Dedication to Trust and Safety Efforts With Appointment of Veteran Leader, Sean Bonawitz
Sean Bonawitz will champion consumer safety for the fast-growing free wireless provider
SAN FRANCISCO and WATERLOO, ON, Aug. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- TextNow, the only free phone service provider in the U.S., has announced Sean Bonawitz as senior director, head of Trust & Safety (T&S). In this new role, Bonawitz will lead the product and cross-functional teams dedicated to making TextNow the safest and most trusted free wireless provider by protecting customers and ensuring a safe experience.
At TextNow, Bonawitz will be instrumental in leading the Trust & Safety team's focus on limiting bad actor access, mitigating abuse, and enabling a positive experience for good customers who are trusted and valued. His initial focus will include strengthening the internal technical team responsible for T&S engineering and analytics, investing in machine learning to improve proactive risk detection, and bolstering existing partnerships with industry-leading third parties.
"The safety of TextNow customers is our top priority, and we are absolutely thrilled to have Sean leading these critical efforts. With his extensive industry knowledge and unparalleled expertise, Sean brings a remarkable depth of experience that will greatly enhance our Trust & Safety programs," said Derek Ting, TextNow's chief executive officer. "Sean is a stellar addition to our internal teams and to the larger TextNow community, and we are excited to see the impact of his leadership in strengthening our safety measures."
Bonawitz has led multiple trust and safety teams in his most recent roles at Patreon, TikTok and YouTube. He brings expertise in machine learning, policy, content moderation, fraud operations and crisis management. Bonawitz has held roles at Deloitte Consulting and Google, where he owned a multibillion-dollar risk management process. He also brings an impressive military and threat intelligence background to TextNow, with his former career as a U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) bomb squad leader on SEAL Team Five. He holds a master's degree in business administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"TextNow's commitment to democratizing phone service is truly inspiring," said Bonawitz. "With the increasing number of digital threats, I'll be very focused on enhancing our security, limiting bad actor access to our platform, and improving the overall experience for our customers."
TextNow has added Bonawitz to the team during a period of growth. The company recently unveiled its free essential data plan in early May, which expands TextNow's unlimited talk and text offering, providing access to email, maps and rideshare with the one-time purchase of a SIM card.
For more on how TextNow keeps its service safe and to learn more from Sean Bonawitz on his vision for trust and safety, please visit the TextNow blog.
About TextNow
TextNow is on a mission to make phone service free, easy and accessible to all as the only mobile provider to offer unlimited calling and texting and free essential data on the nation's largest 5G network. Founded in 2009, TextNow is the largest provider of free mobile phone service in the U.S., supported by advertising. We have offices in San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Waterloo, Ontario, and our app has been downloaded more than 250 million times globally. Our phone service helps millions of people connect freely every month. For more information, visit https://www.textnow.com/, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
