Blacklisting calls and why Apple won't allow an app that does.

[nim6us]

This is a two-parter:

What I want to do is block all calls unless the person is listed my contacts. So basically any call from number I don't know will not even ring. Is the best way to do this to turn on Do Not Disturb and set it allow calls from All Contacts?

Then also, I've read that Apple will not allow a blacklist app. The only way to get one is to jailbreak your phone. Apple knows people get annoying calls all day, it's their own business what calls they accept, why ban blacklisting apps? The only reason to do something so obviously asinine is because it hurts profits some how. So what is it, I don't understand the angle?

SPOILER: lordofthereef had the correct answer

 

[BaldiMac]

iOS 7 will include a blacklist for calls and texts.

The only reason to do something so obviously asinine is because it hurts profits some how. So what is it, I don't understand the angle?

I'd bet on security over some sort of imaginary profit angle.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I don't think it matters to Apple one way or the other and now it's a feature in iOS 7.

 

[vikingjunior]

I hope it works like android where it hangss up on the blocked caller so they can't leave a voice message

 

[nim6us]

What are you serious, all the people saying that it doesn't matter?! Apple does nothing by accident and the fact that they diligently stamp out blacklist apps shows there's some kind of motive. I don't believe it's a security issue. A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies the phone to ring. There's no nefarious security issue there.

I'm just not one to swallow things blindly, I think understanding why people, or companies in this case, do what they do can lend insight into their motives and character.

 

[Shrink]

What are you serious, all the people saying that it doesn't matter?! Apple does nothing by accident and the fact that they diligently stamp out blacklist shows there's some kind of motive. I don't believe it's a security issue. A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies it. There's no nefarious security issue there.

I'm just not one to swallow things blindly, I think understanding why people, or companies in this case, can lend insight into their motives and character.

You seem to be beating a dead horse. Whatever Apple's motivation for not having a blacklist, or allowing blacklist apps...it's over. Apparently, iOS 7 has a blacklist function.

Not clear what insights into motive and character you seek...but that train seems to have left the station.

 

[BaldiMac]

What are you serious, all the people saying that it doesn't matter?! Apple does nothing by accident and the fact that they diligently stamp out blacklist shows there's some kind of motive. I don't believe it's a security issue. A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies it. There's no nefarious security issue there.

I'm just not one to swallow things blindly, I think understanding why people, or companies in this case, can lend insight into their motives and character.

Not sure what you are looking for. Apple doesn't "diligently stamp out blacklist" apps. The don't provide APIs for those apps to work. Thereby bypassing the privacy/security issue of giving a third-party developer access to your phone calls. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

And, again, iOS 7 will include a blacklist for calls and texts. It should be available in a couple months.

 

[dejo]

A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies it. There's no nefarious security issue there.

An app that sees a call come in would need to be running all the time. Otherwise, it's useless. And what do you call an app that runs all the time? An OS. Apple does not want other people controlling their OS.

 

[Interstella5555]

What are you serious, all the people saying that it doesn't matter?! Apple does nothing by accident and the fact that they diligently stamp out blacklist shows there's some kind of motive. I don't believe it's a security issue. A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies it. There's no nefarious security issue there.

I'm just not one to swallow things blindly, I think understanding why people, or companies in this case, can lend insight into their motives and character.

Probably because it can be done on the carrier side.

 

[nim6us]

My apologies I'm not looking to beat a dead horse, I'm just looking for an answer. This is the most active Apple forum on the internet and I thought it would most likely be the place for me to get my question answered, why is Apple against blacklist apps, the fact they're adopting it for iOS7 means it's obviously a good idea. I don't know why everyone's jumping down my throat for being inquisitive, I'll just shut up and get back in line.

 

[lordofthereef]

My apologies I'm not looking to beat a dead horse, I'm just looking for an answer. This is the most active Apple forum on the internet and I thought it would most likely be the place for me to get my question answered, why is Apple against blacklist apps, the fact they're adopting it for iOS7 means it's obviously a good idea. I don't know why everyone's jumping down my throat for being inquisitive, I'll just shut up and get back in line.

The fact of the matter is that the way iOS is built, a blacklist app wouldn't work. You would need root level access and Apple is unwilling to provide that. We can say it's a profit angle (I am one of those that hates how the app store is closed and find it borderline anticompetitive), but I doubt that's the case. Anything that requires root access is barred from the AppStore. The takeaway point here is that it isn't that it is a blacklisting app, per se, but the level of permission required for said blacklisting app to actually work.

No jumping down throat necessary I hope.

 

[ucfgrad93]

What are you serious, all the people saying that it doesn't matter?! Apple does nothing by accident and the fact that they diligently stamp out blacklist apps shows there's some kind of motive. I don't believe it's a security issue. A blacklist app see's a call come in, reads the numbers and if the meet a certain criteria it either allows or denies the phone to ring. There's no nefarious security issue there.

I'm just not one to swallow things blindly, I think understanding why people, or companies in this case, do what they do can lend insight into their motives and character.

Your friend is calling you...

 

[BaldiMac]

My apologies I'm not looking to beat a dead horse, I'm just looking for an answer. This is the most active Apple forum on the internet and I thought it would most likely be the place for me to get my question answered, why is Apple against blacklist apps, the fact they're adopting it for iOS7 means it's obviously a good idea. I don't know why everyone's jumping down my throat for being inquisitive, I'll just shut up and get back in line.

You received several reasonable answers. No one jumped down your throat.

EDIT: Okay, ucfgrad93 jumped down your throat.

 

[nim6us]

The fact of the matter is that the way iOS is built, a blacklist app wouldn't work. You would need root level access and Apple is unwilling to provide that. We can say it's a profit angle (I am one of those that hates how the app store is closed and find it borderline anticompetitive), but I doubt that's the case. Anything that requires root access is barred from the AppStore. The takeaway point here is that it isn't that it is a blacklisting app, per se, but the level of permission required for said blacklisting app to actually work.

No jumping down throat necessary I hope.

THANK YOU! That's what I was looking for. That totally makes sense. Because there are blacklist apps that work, but only on jailbroken phones. Apple is just trimming the hedges of the walled garden I appreciate the feedback.

p.s. I could tell by your signature you're a open minded person, we're a dying breed.

 

[ucfgrad93]

EDIT: Okay, ucfgrad93 jumped down your throat.

Just having a little fun, that's all.

 

[nim6us]

It's okay, as long as I gots my answer I'm a happy camper.

 

[Mebsat]

Possible solution

I have a certain friend who calls me way too much during work hours, and ignores my repeated requests not to do it.

So I created a silent ringtone for him (recorded silence saved as ringtone in iTunes).

That way I set his ringtone and it lights up the phone but I don't have to hear it.

Depending how many contacts you have, you could make a silent ringtone your default and then give audible ones to your contacts.

Or you could wait for iOS 7....

 

[old-wiz]

I have a certain friend who calls me way too much during work hours, and ignores my repeated requests not to do it.

So I created a silent ringtone for him (recorded silence saved as ringtone in iTunes).

That way I set his ringtone and it lights up the phone but I don't have to hear it.

Depending how many contacts you have, you could make a silent ringtone your default and then give audible ones to your contacts.

Or you could wait for iOS 7....

This is how I deal with repeated spam calls. works fine.

 

[nim6us]

Yeah well nobody commented on the first part of the post:

"What I want to do is block all calls unless the person is listed my contacts. So basically any call from number I don't know will not even ring. Is the best way to do this to turn on Do Not Disturb and set it allow calls from All Contacts?"

I've actually implemented that, and it seems to be working great. If I've got them saved in my contacts the phone rings through. Any number that's not associated just shows up in missed calls but I'm not alerted at all. iOS has a neat feature too, that if the person calls twice in a 3min time frame then it will ring through. That way if you don't know the number and it's important then the calls rings through.

With this setup as a base, then yeah you could set silent profiles for other pesky contacts that you need to silence.

 

[jamezr]

An app that sees a call come in would need to be running all the time. Otherwise, it's useless. And what do you call an app that runs all the time? An OS. Apple does not want other people controlling their OS.

Why would it have to control the whole OS? Why not just have access to the phone app?

 

[dejo]

Why would it have to control the whole OS? Why not just have access to the phone app?

Even if it had access to the phone app, it would need to be running all the time to be effective. Apple doesn't allow apps to do that.

 

[jamezr]

Even if it had access to the phone app, it would need to be running all the time to be effective. Apple doesn't allow apps to do that.

It would not have to be running anymore than any other app. The trigger for the app to run would be when the phone app is engaged say....when you get an incoming call.

 

[dennyhayes]

I doubt that the new features of Apples IOS will give users a real call monitoring system as has been available for computer apps for years. A good app would allow users to set their cellphones to recognize either the number or the name, and allow different callers to get different messages depending on who they are. You could also automatically transfer certain numbers to another number, or blacklist others. There are apps that have been doing that for years, using computers to make the decisions, based on what the user wants. You can even list who called when and his many times in the past year, with the length if the call. Since a cellphone is really a computer, that capability could be available on them too, if these companies were more interested in giving people what they want instead of controlling their actions and squeezing every dollar they can.

 

[Lucille Carter]

The no call/blacklist feature in iOS7 is one we have all waited for. It will be very welcome.

I would still like to see Apple work more on the notifications system in it's next version. They improved it but it is still lacking a few features that even my lowly Blackberry had.

I, too, believe that Apple had it reasons to block these apps but they are now going to fix it for us!

 

[dennyhayes]

One other thing worth mentioning is that the ability to have some control has been available for a long time, if users just figured out how. For one, you can create a contact called something like "No Ring". You can give that contact a ring tone that plays nothing, which are on the Internet or can be created with any ringtone creator app. Then when someone calls you simply add those numbers to the same user that you just created. Then when any of them call you will never even hear the ring. If they leave a message, you will see the "No Ring" in you caller list so you know whether to listen to the message or just delete it. This is just one of many ways to stop people from irritating you.