Your iPhone Can Ask Why Someone's Calling Before You Pick Up

[MacRumors]

Spam calls have become such a nuisance that many people simply don't answer their phone unless they recognize the number. In iOS 26, though, you can learn about who's calling before you respond, thanks to a clever new feature that intercepts unknown calls and asks the caller to identify themselves before your iPhone even rings.

The new "Ask Reason for Calling" feature is kind of like having your own receptionist. When someone who isn't in your Contacts calls, your iPhone automatically answers the call with a polite automated message asking for their name and reason for calling. The caller is placed on hold while their response is transcribed to text and displayed on your screen, letting you decide whether to accept, decline, or ask for more information.

It's a decent upgrade from the existing "Silence Unknown Callers" option, which simply sends all unrecognized numbers straight to voicemail. With the new approach, legitimate callers – like your doctor or a delivery service – can identify themselves, whereas robocallers and spammers are likely to hang up when greeted by the automated response.

How to Enable Ask Reason for Calling

The following steps show you how to turn on the feature:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Apps.
3. Select Phone.
4. Under the "Screen Unknown Callers" section, tap Ask Reason for Calling.

That's all there is to it. Your iPhone will now intercept calls from numbers not saved in your Contacts and request information before alerting you.

Other Unknown Caller Screening Options

If you don't want to use the new Ask Reason for Calling feature, iOS 26 offers two alternative approaches for handling unknown numbers:

• Silence: This option automatically sends all calls from unsaved numbers to voicemail. The calls still appear in your Recents list, and you'll receive the voicemail if the caller leaves one. It's the same behavior as the "Silence Unknown Callers" toggle in iOS 18.
  
• Never: With this setting, calls from unknown numbers ring normally, just like calls from saved contacts. Missed calls appear in your Recents list as usual. It's your typical iPhone calling experience.

To switch between these options, go to Settings ➝ Apps ➝ Phone, and select your preferred option under "Screen Unknown Callers."

The Ask Reason for Calling feature works best when you maintain an up-to-date Contacts list. Any number saved in Contacts will ring through normally without triggering the screening process, so make sure to add the details of legitimate contacts as soon as you know them.

Article Link: Your iPhone Can Ask Why Someone's Calling Before You Pick Up

 

[rjp1]

Awesome feature, but unfortunately doesn’t work 🤣 I still get calls from a ton of numbers that seem to bypass this. I’ve had it on since one of the betas.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Introducing the new "iRelax Pro Max".

Makes outgoing calls only.

 

[chachawpi]

This is definitely one of the better features they've copied from the Google Pixel.

 

[NicosAccount]

How to make everyone feel like theyre calling an automated phone service lol

 

[littleredwagen]

I wish this feature would let you specify which line you want to use it on, in the case of users with multiple SIMs/eSIMs.

 

[bmark]

Awesome feature, but unfortunately doesn’t work 🤣 I still get calls from a ton of numbers that seem to bypass this. I’ve had it on since one of the betas.

Call screening feature works perfectly for me!

 

[CharlesShaw]

I'm waiting until the general public is more aware of the feature before I enable it.

 

[latsyrhc]

I used to get a dozen spam calls a day, but every since turning this one I've had virtually none. Favorite feature by far.

 

[bmark]

How to make everyone feel like theyre calling an automated phone service lol

If they are in your contacts then the call screening feature is bypassed.

 

[ericinboston]

I don't understand why Apple/the phone companies don't attack spam calls with a much easier process:

1. When I get a likely Spam call, AT&T tells me it's Spam Alert and 99% of the time it's correct
2. I block the number (yes, I know there are tens of thousands of phone number combinations spammers can use)
3. Apple should communicate to AT&T that I want this number blocked because it's spam
4. AT&T should do a daily or weekly lookup and if they see 203-123-4567 blocked more than 200 times, AT&T as a company should somehow block that number from dialing in the first place

I know there are other ways spammers get around the phone companies (or at least used to get around them decades ago), but at the end of the day, it's the PHONE COMPANY that is providing me phone service and should be responsible for annoying spammers. It's harassment plain and simple.

 

[slkjflla]

.

 

[selliott]

Awesome feature, but unfortunately doesn’t work 🤣 I still get calls from a ton of numbers that seem to bypass this. I’ve had it on since one of the betas.

This! It doesn't work, normal people that aren't saved in my phone get asked who they are. Spam and Telemarketers bypass that step and the phone just rings. Could have been a great feature but they already broke it.

 

[bmark]

This! It doesn't work, normal people that aren't saved in my phone get asked who they are. Spam and Telemarketers bypass that step and the phone just rings. Could have been a great feature but they already broke it.

Your logic makes no sense at all. It's a call screening feature. If normal people aren't saved as contacts then they get call screened as any random number calling you.

 

[DJM1740]

The caller might be using the workaround for the silenced calls by calling twice within a minute or two. I know I've had to call family members twice in rapid succession to get past the silenced notifications.

 

[teh_hunterer]

It's stopped the near daily scam/spam calls, but I have had a couple of legit callers give up as soon as they heard the AI voice. One was a delivery driver and I didn't get my package until the next day because of it.

So there might be some adjustment period as this sort of thing becomes more common, because a lot of people just get confused and give up, or are in the habit of hanging up as soon as they hear a robot voice.

 

[G5isAlive]

This! It doesn't work, normal people that aren't saved in my phone get asked who they are. Spam and Telemarketers bypass that step and the phone just rings. Could have been a great feature but they already broke it.

eh. a) most if not all 'normal' people that I work with or friends with or are family, are saved in my contacts so it works perfectly for me. I am sure there are use cases where some people wont have people saved in their contacts but I would think that to be a relatively rare outlier.

b) if an industrious spam person wants to waste the time bypassing this step, then I am back in the existing condition, I see a number I dont recognize, often marked as spam, and I don't answer. In addition another piece of data, no transcript. instant non answer. So.. works for me.

 

[adrianlondon]

I like the idea, but to me it's a bit like the Apple Mail privacy feature which downloads all remote content to its own servers.

For spam calls: Yes, it stops your phone from ringing when the spammers call, but it also tells the spammers that you have Apple products, that the number is valid and currently in-use and that your iPhone is turned on. To be fair, just letting it ring out also does this to some degree, but I believe many spammers remove numbers from their list if they're not answered.

For Mail: Yes, it hides your actual IP address, but it also tells the spammer that (a) you have Apple products and (b) that the email address is valid (compared to blocking all remote content).

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Shame there's no option for it to ask in another / multiple languages. I often have delivery drivers or sales people calling that only speak Spanish.

 

[appleuser21]

Let me guess: it's US only?

 

[turbineseaplane]

or are in the habit of hanging up as soon as they hear a robot voice.

This is definitely a concern and a problem for a feature like this.

If folks are worried about missing calls they'll likely end up simply not using it at all.

 

[G5isAlive]

so related, but I have tried to understand what scammers hope to accomplish by calling. More and more there is no reply when I answer, no sales pitch, no nothing, so I suspect they as just verifying its a working number, perhaps to sell to a scammer with a pitch... anyone else have this experience or know what is going on with calls with no answer?

In overthinking it, I am concerned simply by sending a call to voice mail I am verifying its a working number, and if thats the play, then this call screening would also alert someone its a working number.

 

[Chomp81]

It sounds like a great idea, I turned it on as soon as I updated to iOS26.

Then, I had some job interviews, Iforgot that it was on. The recruiter, thought it was voicemail and hung up twice. He emailed, me, turned it off and I had the call.

So, even though it is good on paper, in real life, it's a hit and miss.

 

[NMBob]

Can you get it to politely put your mother-in-law on hold even if she is in your contacts? ...and then just not answer it, of course.

 

[G5isAlive]

This is definitely a concern and a problem for a feature like this.

If folks are worried about missing calls they'll likely end up simply not using it at all.

eh, the Venn diagram of people I want to talk to but are NOT in my contact list is a very small fraction. And the one time that happened, the person called back and got through. So this does not concern me.

but, yes, some people are concerned about their own shadow, or so they say.