Spam callers are a menace that we seemingly just have to put up with in daily life, yet Apple users have been left stunned after finding out that the key to solving the problem might actually be hidden inside their iPhone.
There are countless convenient features packed into your iPhone that you likely didn't even know existed, and these can range from simple distraction tools to life-altering feature adjustments that you just won't be able to live without.
One such feature that falls firmly into the latter category was introduced all the way back in 2019 alongside the release of iOS 13, but there's a good chance that you never even knew it was there until now.
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Known as 'Silence Unknown Callers', this feature does exactly what it says on the tin and serves as the perfect deterrent against those pesky scam and cold callers that just won't leave you alone.
"This blocks phone numbers that you've never been in contact with before and aren't saved in your contacts list," outlines Apple's official help page on the feature, adding that "if you've previously texted someone using their phone number or if a person has shared their phone number with you in an email, a phone call from that number will go through."
Of course, not every unknown phone call that you receive will be spam and there are some instances where a 'cold call' will be something that you'll be interested in, but for the vast majority of people its unlikely that you're ever going to want to immediately pick up a call from someone you don't know.
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What's best is that their call still goes straight to your voicemail too, so if it's anything important that you need to hear they'll hopefully leave a message for you to get back to them. You simply won't get a notification that you're being called, saving you the stress and distraction.
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It's certainly proven to be a popular addition for many on social media too, as one post on the r/iOS subreddit from u/netter666 has outlined how it's proven to be a game changer for them:
"As someone managing a busy pharmaceutical distribution business, I’ve found 'Silence Unknown Callers' on the iPhone to be an absolute lifesaver," they explain.
"I have a structured setup where my chemists are assigned to specific salespeople, and I’ve dedicated office landline numbers to handle customer queries.
"However, customers often bypass these channels and call me directly. While I want to provide excellent service, this disrupts my workflow—especially when it comes to tasks like planning and strategizing for growth."
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That's where Silence Unknown Callers comes in clutch, and saves you so much hassle in your job and general life.
Others have stressed the importance of remembering to turn it off when you're waiting for an important call though, as while it does still go to voicemail as previously mentioned, sometimes you want to make sure that you pick it up as soon as they call.
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"And that's why I could never turn this on," one person reveals in another Reddit thread about the feature, with one reply adding that they "turned this on and thought it was the cure-all to all my spam problems [...] until I was laid up sick and nearly missed a teledoc appointment because he couldn't call me."
It does then have it's drawbacks, and it doesn't appear to be something you'll want to enable all of the time, but if you're wanting to temporarily block out frustrating spam callers then there's no better feature than this.