Block unknown or hidden numbers on Android and iPhone

Commercial phone calls torment every cell phone owner: commercial companies use tele-marketing devices to generate numbers automatically, thus preventing the selective blocking of numbers (which in fact cannot be predicted).

Luckily we can intervene on modern smartphones and immediately block calls from private or unknown numbers on both Android and iPhone, in many cases without even having to install apps, so as to be able to stop the plague of commercial numbers or unwanted calls once and for all .

READ ALSO: Best VoIP modems with call blocking and filtering included

1) General advice to avoid sales calls

One of the golden rules to avoid finding yourself in the call center network is certainly that of do not provide your phone when signing up for sites or services that require your mobile numbereven if they appear to be legitimate sites or services.

Every time you sign up for something online and agree to give up your data for commercial purposes to third parties, in fact, your number is placed like a real commodity on the global market and, at that point, it is difficult not to you receive a call within a short distance.

2) Integrated lock on Xiaomi

On Xiaomi phones we can block unknown or anonymous numbers in a slightly different way than on other phones with the Android operating system.

To activate this block we open the app Safetylet’s get into the menu Block listpress on the bolt-shaped icon at the top right and activate the switch next to the item Block listwe press on Call block list and finally we activate the voices Block calls from strangers e Block calls from hidden numbers.

3) Call blocking on Android

If you have another Android phone, the procedure for recognizing and blocking an unwanted number, although susceptible to variation from device to device, is quite simple: select the number, recognized as unwanted, and choose the item Block o Block number from the menu. By doing so, calls and messages from that number will be blocked.

In others smartphone Android we can find the app Google phone (not installable on all phones), which integrates a spam call blocker directly into the settings. To enable this block simply open the app Telephonepress the three-dot menu at the top right, select Settingspress on the menu Caller ID and spam and finally activate the voices View call IDs and spam e Spam filter for calls.

By activating these two items we will immediately have confirmation of the unknown numbers that call us (even if they are not present in the address book: we will be shown the identification of the companies or freelancers present on the Google search pages) and we will automatically block the telephone numbers identified as “spam”, blocking every ring.

To activate this type of block we open the app Calls o Telephone on our device, open the menu with the three dots at the top right or go to the menu of Call settings (usually also present as a button with the three lines at the bottom left), we press on Block list, Number block o Call filter (depending on the phone in use), we open the menu Call block list (or similar menu) and activate the items Block calls from strangers e Block calls from hidden numbers.

If, however, we wanted to manually set the numbers to block, simply press on the menu Blocked numbers on the screen indicated above or press on the unknown number in the call log and use the voice Block o Block number.

4) Call block on iPhone

On iPhones it is possible to block private numbers and unknown numbers in a very simple way; all we have to do is open the app Settingstake us to the menu Telephone and activate the check mark next to the item Unknown numberspresent in the section Deactivation of blocked calls and contacts.
If you are in the app Telephone o in FaceTimeit will be enough to go to (i) located next to the phone number or contact you want to block, scroll the screen to the bottom, and do Block contact.

In this way, any call received from an unknown number or an anonymous number will be blocked at system level and will not make the phone ring; obviously the same considerations made for Android apply in this case too, given that blocking all unknown numbers also means missing important calls from couriers, deliverymen etc.

If, however, we are looking for a more selective blocking method without involving “good” unknown calls, it is best to install one of the apps recommended below on the iPhone and configure it in the menu Call blocking and identificationfrom which we will have to activate permission to be able to act on all incoming calls (essential to obtain blocking).

5) App to block calls

The methods seen so far do not offer very selective filtering (excluding the method proposed by the Google Phone app): either all unknown/anonymous calls are blocked or all are let through. To have a selective call filter capable of blocking only commercial numbers or nuisance numbers we will need to install one of the following apps.

TrueCaller

The first app that we recommend you try to block calls from private or unknown numbers is TrueCalleravailable for Android e iPhone.

Truecaller requires you to register with your phone number to create an account, but with this small price the app will immediately start working, preventing the phone from ringing when called from a number that the Truecaller user community had already reported as a nuisance, call centers or unwanted numbers. Since there are already many Truecaller users in Italy too, almost every number has already been reported, so the problem should already be solved without having to intervene manually.

However, if we were to receive a phone call from a number not yet included in the Truecaller block list, we can in turn report the number in the application, so as to contribute to the effectiveness of the filter.

Hiya

Another useful app for filtering calls from private or unknown numbers is Hiyaavailable for Android e iPhone.

With this application we will have at our disposal a system for recognizing unknown numbers and the system for identifying numbers indicated as scam or scam, so you can immediately ignore calls marked as unwanted; with the right configurations we can also prevent any ringing from annoying numbers, so as not to waste time looking at the screen while waiting for a very important call.

Should I answer?

If the previous two apps didn’t satisfy you we can also try Should I answer?also available for Android e iPhone.

This app has a constantly updated database of call center numbers and numbers with automatic robot voice, so you can block all unwanted calls or calls from private numbers before anyone else.

We can set the app as the default calling system, so as to immediately view the rating on the calling number even before answering; for the more demanding, however, we can set the total blocking of numbers reported as spam or call centers, so as to never let the phone ring.

Mr. Number

Another alternative application to those seen so far is Mr. Numberequally effective on both Android what up iPhone.

Exactly like the previous apps, it allows you to set up a system for recognizing unknown calls, as well as blocking anonymous numbers in the bud (without ringing) anonymous numbers or numbers indicated as spam or scams from the shared database (also created thanks to the use of user ratings ). This app uses the same database as Hiya, so it has similar effectiveness.

Calls Blacklist

Call Blacklist it is a great application for phones Android, which is also free but does not rely, unlike the previous one, on any online archive for viewing and identifying calls. It is able to block both calls and SMS from unwanted numbers simply by inserting the unwanted number into a blacklist.

It allows you to blacklist even numbers in your phone book and not just unknown ones. It is a stable and lightweight app, which takes up little memory but is very effective.

Tellows

Tellows is an application is based on the principle of data sharing and provides Caller ID and information about any unknown number. We can download it for free for Android and for iPhone.

Every day, users review new telephone numbers through the platform and this guarantees the system is always updated, to the point that, in a short time, even the new call center that is bothering you will be registered and can be blocked.

An interesting difference with other apps is given by the fact that unwanted phone calls will be reported with a score ranging from 1 (very serious) to 9 (not very serious). The user himself can then decide to become an active part in the reports by connecting to your account and indicating the numbers to pay attention to.

Conclusions

Blocking calls from a private or unknown number is really very simple: in most cases it will be enough to activate a single phone setting to have a very effective anonymous call filter.

As regards the landline, as mentioned above, there is not much to do other than request registration in the opposition register and adopt countermeasures already explained in the guide on how block unwanted commercial calls on landlines and mobiles.

In another guide we showed you Find out the private number of the callerso we can find out who always calls us anonymously.

In another guide we showed you how Block calls from unwanted numbers and unwanted SMS (Android)to follow if we also want to block SMS full of spam or invasive advertising.