Other how iPhone establishes "known" numbers

[Doug Lass]

You can block calls, with an iPhone, from all "unknown" phone numbers, where "known" numbers are (1) those in your contact list, (2) the last 100 of your "Recents" and (3) e-mails. Now, I don't understand the latter. Does this mean that Apple mines your e-mails and extracts phone numbers that have been e-mailed to you? This strikes me as not only invasive, but kinda stupid, in that a spammer can just e-mail you with their spammer phone number, which your iPhone will happily answer. Explanation, please?

 

[jaytv111]

I think you have to email back and forth with someone for them to become a suggested contact. So the spammer thing won’t happen unless you’re responding to them back and forth.

Also it’s not Apple that’s mining your emails. It’s your iPhone. The data detection is done on device, not on Apple servers. So Apple doesn’t get any access to your emails, nor are they building a profile of your contacts and mining information from it. That information stays on your phone.

 

[Doug Lass]

Thank you. That helps. Still not quite sure what "back and forth" means. Does that mean that someone sends you a number, and when you do a reply with that e-mail (with phone number) attached, that number is considered "known"? That is, the phone number has to be in an e-mail that YOU send in order for it to be considered "known"? You'd think that Apple would explain all this somewhere.

Also, is there an accessible list anywhere of all your "known" numbers? That is, you get a call from a "known" number, and you might like to know exactly how you "know" them.

 

[jaytv111]

I think you can only look up your address book. Suggestions pop up in some apps like the email app but you can’t really look it up in one place.

I’m not sure but in the past for me it would suggest phone numbers for existing contacts and not new contacts, phone numbers from emails. So for me at least it can’t just take someone emailing me, they would have to be an existing contact using their name. I don’t think Apple says what goes into this process exactly but it’s called proactive intelligence, presumably it’s an AI thing that doesn’t use hard and fast rules to decide how to act.

I wouldn’t worry about it. My stock broker called and emailed me a few weeks ago, they still showed like any other unknown number. (Random number, no name) They wanted to do a check up call, I didn’t.

 

[Doug Lass]

That makes sense that, of course, you can just look in your own Contacts and Recents, but it would be nice to know what e-mailed phone numbers it has decided to declare "known". Yes, not worth a big worry. The phrase "proactive intelligence" is useful. If I Google that with "known numbers" I learn that if your phone admits a call from a phone number that came from an e-mail, it will tell you whose e-mail that phone number came from.

Also, https://www.compsmag.com/how-to/disable-contacts-found-on-mail-on-ios/
is interesting, in that you could evidently once disable this feature, by:

1. Go to Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars
2. Under Contacts, toggle the switch labeled Contacts Found in Mail to the OFF position

That doesn't seem to relate to anything in iOS15, though. Ain't no Mail, Contacts, Calendars setting anymore.

Thank you for the information.

 

[Fred Zed]

I can't believe the max is still only a100 recents from call log in this day and age.