If you live in civilization and have an iPhone, you probably deal with a lot of spam calls. While the cellular carriers are doing a great job of detecting this and warning you a call might be spam, it would be nice if you didn’t even have them ring when they call. Thanks to a feature introduced in iOS 13, it’s possible to kill spam calls for good.
The ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ Feature Will Kill Spam Calls
Buried in the Phone settings in iOS, you’ll find a feature called “Silence Unknown Callers.” In a nutshell, it allows you to kill spam calls. The feature helps you avoid getting calls from people you don’t know. Phone numbers you’ve never been in contact with and aren’t in your contacts list are muted and sent to voicemail. The number will show in your recent calls list, but you won’t be disturbed by the ringing phone.
You’ll still get incoming calls as usual from people saved in your contacts list or your recent outgoing calls. You’ll also get calls from Siri Suggestions that pull numbers from email and text messages to let you know who’s calling.
Here’s how to turn it on. First, bring up the Settings app on your iPhone, and choose Phone. Scroll down until you see Silence Unknown Callers, tap it, then toggle the feature on.
Important Things to Note
While this feature is a great way to kill spam calls, you should first make sure all of your important contacts are saved. Otherwise, you might miss important phone calls that you don’t want to miss.
If you place an emergency call, iOS will disable Silence Unknown Callers for 24 hours. Otherwise, emergency services dispatchers and first responders would have a hard time calling you back.