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

[Apleeseed84]

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.

They don't attack them because you give out your number more than you actually know. Everybody wants your business which is why every where you shop they "track" you through your phone number. It's tied to almost all my rewards and log ins like amazon/walmart or target.

AtT also has a number you can forward the spam for them to know, which helps with the screening process but there's always a few that get away.

My biggest problem tbh is the person who had the number before me, he likes to give it out to debt collectors lol

 

[aidler]

I am eu and it is available for me

So it probably has to be activated by the carrier, and at the moment, it only supports English. In which country do you live, and what carrier are you using, if I may ask?

 

[Oblivious.Robot]

I for one am perfectly okay sanctioning India to get the spammers and scammers in order. Go ahead T man, do one good thing while you’re at it.

 

[klasma]

hey if you love your spouse, you should love what she loves!!!

She hates her mother-in-law as well.

 

[chrisone]

Either I'm being stupid or this isn't available in the EU

It is available but only if your phone language and region matches. So if you’re an expat with eg English language in Spain, you are not supported, and this time they can’t blame EU but their own poor design choice

 

[Plutonius]

I can see two iPhones talking with each other without any of the users knowing .

 

[Chomp81]

Why couldn't he have left a voicemail instead of emailing?

He told me that it was a "different voicemail" that he never heard before; so he preferred to email.

Not his fault.

 

[the 12th Doctor]

The early betas were good. Now even when I pick up the phone it vibrates endlessly until I move the phone away from my ear and then the person thinks I hung up on them.so far it’s very temperamental.

 

[escargot3]

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).

The other features that fully block are still available. But for many people that threw the baby out with the bathwater and was unusable. It’s nice they are including a middle ground option.

Let me guess: it's US only?

No it’s available in over 20 countries

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.

Why would they not leave a voicemail in that case? I don’t understand why people refuse to leave voicemails these days. It’s not like it takes any extra time, really.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

There are people who have to pay for a call. So if a robot answers a call, it already costs them money. If I was an employer, who wants to tell a job applicant that he has the job, I would hang up and give the job to someone else.

 

[kcwookie]

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.

Why? No one says you have to use it and it’s not turned on by default. I believe you protest too much.

 

[kcwookie]

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.

Take out your mother-in-law’s phone number. Your wife will still see that your mother-in-law is in your contacts and she’ll never know that it’s only her email address.

 

[kcwookie]

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.

Maybe you should’ve remembered. Why do you insist on blaming a feature on your phone that you turned on from a mistake that you made by not securing phone numbers or turning it off if you were expecting an important phone call from an unknown number? This is truly a personal problem.

 

[escargot3]

I have a VTech landline phone with a similar smart blocking system and in the four years I have had it, nobody has had trouble getting through to me. People seems to understand how it works pretty well.

Well, when legit calls get blocked you would never know. So it certainly seems that way, but that could be bad data.

 

[arc of the universe]

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

why would you not indicate that this is a carrier level approved and implemented feature , and that these options might not appear if your carrier doesn't offer them.

 

[ChrisA]

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, ...

There is a robocall machine that auto-dials, then when/if you pick up the call, it gets routed to a live scammer. But if there are no available live scammers, the call is dropped. What you are experiencing is just that, all the humans were busy.

These scammers never dial the number, they are given the line right after you pick up and answer

 

[Parowdy]

It displayed the option to turn it on in the Phone app, bit apparently it didn’t work and the option isn’t available in Settings.
Weird.

 

[Rafagon]

I don't understand why this call screening isn't available for all callers if you so choose. It is puzzlingly limited to only people who are not in your Contacts.

 

[stevenshizzle]

I had Hiya spam filter, but was not a fan of their call screening implementation. It felt like I was being forced to use a different app to deal with phone calls. On top of that, the spam notifications didn't work in many cases, so phone calls seemed legit. The new call screening feature has stopped all illegitimate calls from making it to me and I love it.

 

[bmark]

I don't understand why this call screening isn't available for all callers if you so choose. It is puzzlingly limited to only people who are not in your Contacts.

The point of call screening is to screen out unwatched calls.

Do you want to call screen your friends and family on your contact list?

 

[G5isAlive]

There is a robocall machine that auto-dials, then when/if you pick up the call, it gets routed to a live scammer. But if there are no available live scammers, the call is dropped. What you are experiencing is just that, all the humans were busy.

These scammers never dial the number, they are given the line right after you pick up and answer

Wow actual useful information at MR, are you new here? Seriously thank you

 

[Zapski]

I’ll stick with not answering

 

[G5isAlive]

I don't understand why this call screening isn't available for all callers if you so choose. It is puzzlingly limited to only people who are not in your Contacts.

Presumably because you can readily identify who is calling from your list and screen yourself 😎

 

[G5isAlive]

There are people who have to pay for a call. So if a robot answers a call, it already costs them money. If I was an employer, who wants to tell a job applicant that he has the job, I would hang up and give the job to someone else.

Then you really didn’t want that applicant and it’s probably a crap job if you can’t spare a dime for a phone call 😂

 

[Newbee2025]

How about for calls that are not spam? Would be great