You don’t have to speak to everyone
Block unwanted callers
Blocking phone numbers is useful if someone keeps trying to call you and you’re starting to get tired of it. Or even worse: if you are bothered by a stalker. Below you can read how you can block certain or anonymous numbers and how you can automatically forward unwanted callers to voicemail.
- Block phone numbers
- Anonymous callers
- View blocked people
- Spam numbers
Block phone numbers (contact and no contact)
We start with simply blocking phone numbers. It can be done in different ways. If you have saved someone as a contact, you can also do so via the Settings app. We explain the ways.
- Contact
- No contact person
Block phone numbers from your contact list
First, we’ll explain how to block people who are already in your contact list. At the same time, blocking also means that you will no longer receive iMessages or FaceTime messages from this person. We have a separate tip about this, namely blocking contacts for iMessage and FaceTime. How to proceed:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down until you get to Phone and tap it.
- At the bottom, tap Blocked contacts.
- Tap Add.
- Select the appropriate contact.
From now on, this caller will automatically be sent to your voicemail, so it will not be immediately clear to the blocked person that you have blocked this person.
Block phone numbers that are not in your contact list
If you have received an unwanted call from a person you do not know, you can also block it via the list of recent calls. The person in question must not have called anonymously. It goes like this:
- Open the Phone app on your iPhone and go to the Recents tab.
- Tap the i symbol next to the phone number in question.
- Scroll down and choose Block this caller. This person does not have to be in your contact list.
We have a separate tip about blocking unwanted calls from unknown numbers. There we also mention a number of apps that you can use for this, such as TrueCaller.
Block anonymous callers and send them to voicemail
It is also possible to automatically forward unknown callers to voicemail. This is especially useful with anonymous numbers, which you normally prefer not to pick up. The auto-mute feature isn’t on by default, so you’ll need to enable it yourself. If someone then calls you anonymously or from an unknown number, your iPhone will not ring. The caller is immediately forwarded to your voicemail.
To automatically send anonymous callers and unknown numbers to your voicemail, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down until you get to Phone and tap it.
- Tap Silence Unknown Callers and turn it on.
You can see what time you were called in your call history in the Phone app, but calling back is obviously not an option for anonymous callers.
View blocked people
The person you blocked will appear in your blocked list. Do you want to be able to reach this person by phone again? Then you can remove this person from the list:
- Open the Settings app
- Scroll down until you get to Phone and tap it.
- At the bottom, tap Blocked contacts.
- Swipe left on the name and tap Unblock.
Block spam numbers on iPhone
If you want to block certain spam numbers, you can use special apps for this. You can read more about this in our article about blocking spam numbers. Some apps can work with your iPhone to detect spam.