‘Invisible' iPhone setting blocks spam & scam calls automatically – but it only appears if you make little-known change
Spam phone calls aren't just annoying – they can also be a dangerous tactic by criminals
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Don't let your iPhone experience be ruined by dodgy callers
Credit: Apple
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This setting will only appear if you've downloaded call ID apps
Credit: The Sun / Apple
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You can set your iPhone up to screen calls using a list of known scam and spam numbers
Credit: The Sun / Apple
Some unlucky phone owners will be plagued by dozens of these dodgy calls every single week.
But there's a little-known
It's called Call Blocking & Identification, but it's invisible on your phone – at least until you download the right app.
Once you download a call ID app, the feature will then show up in your settings.
Read more on iPhone
There are loads of call ID apps out there.
They maintain giant databases of phone numbers that are known to be linked to spam or scam operations.
So once you've got the app and the feature switched on, your calls will be screened to see if there's a match with a dodgy database.
That way, you can avoid having to put up with non-stop spam calls.
Most read in Phones & Gadgets
HOW TO TURN IT ON
First, you'll need to go to the official Apple App Store and download some call ID apps.
Some popular options are Truecaller and Whoscall, but there are loads out there.
Apples's big announcements from WWDC with a flurry new features for the gadgets you already own
And the more you have installed, the greater your chance of catching a dodgy number.
Once you've downloaded them, you can go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification.
This setting will only appear if you have at least one call ID apps installed.
Chose the option to Silence Junk Callers (which works based on your carrier) and then activate any Call Identification apps that you've installed.
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Truecaller is just one of the many call ID apps that you can try
Credit: The Sun / Apple
TRY SILENCING UNKNOWN CALLERS
Here's another trick that's worth trying...
You can actually set your iPhone up to silence all phone calls from unknown callers.
If you turn the setting on, unknown callers will be sent straight to voicemail.
Just go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Calls > Silence Unknown Callers and toggle it on.
Also, if you've got iOS 17 or later (go to Settings > General > Software Update to check) then you can read transcriptions of your voicemail so you don't have to listen to them.
And they should show up in real-time as the voicemail is being left.
Picture Credit: The Sun / Apple
You'll need to toggle them to the green "on" position for them to become active.
COMING SOON!
There's another handy feature coming soon that will help you avoid even more phone scammers.
It's called Call Screening, and it's a new trick due out in the upcoming
That won't be out until September at the earliest, but it'll make a big difference.
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A future iOS update will introduce a Call Screening feature that uses a robot to vet your calls for you
Once it's out, go to Settings > General > Software Update to claim the new
features
.
Then when that's installed, your phone will use a virtual AI robot to automatically screen your calls.
It will ask the person's name and reason for calling – all using a robot voice – and then write out the answer for you in real-time on your screen.
Once that appears, you can decide whether to answer, or instead send it to voicemail if you think it's a scam.
IOS 26 SUPPORTED DEVICES – THE FULL LIST
Here are the
iPhone 16e
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (3rd gen)
iPhone SE (2nd gen)
Picture Credit: Apple
It's also a handy way to stop scammers from hearing or recording your voice and then cloning it for
future
cons.
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