How to Manage and Screen Incoming Calls on an iPhone
Avoid spam and scam calls as more importantly stats from Hiya show 28% of calls could be fraudulent. While iPhones don’t support any Android-like AI call assistants, there’s still much you can do to lessen the barrage of unwanted calls. The following guide will focus on features as seen in the iPhone 15 Pro Max on iOS 18.2.
Silence Unknown Callers
To flag unknown numbers, the first thing to do is to silence the calls not in your contact list. This won’t catch every spam call but helps significantly.
1. Open Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Caller.
2. Toggle on Silence Unknown Callers
Calls from unknown numbers will not ring but will directly go to voicemail and recent calls list. Whereas calls from contacts, recent dialed numbers, or Siri Suggestions will always notify you.
If your carrier supports the feature, enable Call Blocking & Identification under the same settings. Go ahead and turn on Business Call Identification and Silence Junk Callers to filter known spam numbers.
Use Live Voicemail
Transcribe in Real-time with Live Voicemail, and choose to Accept the call or not.
1. Go to Settings > Phone > Live Voicemail.
2. Flip the switch to enable Live Voicemail.
Tap Accept during the recording to jump into the call. The transcription and audio can later be found in the Voicemail tab.
Block Numbers
Blocking a number ensures they can’t call again unless they use a different number.
1. Open the Recents tab in the Phone app.
2. Tap the blue info (“i”) button beside the call.
3. Choose Block Caller and confirm.
Manage blocked numbers under Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts.
Third-Party Apps
Apps such as Truecaller and Call Blocker can identify and block spam. Truecaller provides free number lookups and SMS filtering, but live call identification requires a $4.49 monthly subscription. Call Blocker offers free identification but charges $6.99 per month for automatic blocking and database updates.
Carrier Services
Carriers including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have apps available such as ActiveArmor, Call Filter and ScamShield. Most of these applications have the capability for spam filtering; check features with your carrier along with pricing.
These steps can help minimize interruptions from scammers and unwanted callers.
Disclaimer
NextNews strives for accurate tech news, but use it with caution - content changes often, external links may be iffy, and technical glitches happen. See full disclaimer for details.