Stop Spam Calls with iOS 26 Call Screening

Call Screening is a brilliant new feature in iOS 26 that helps cut down on spam calls by stopping your phone from ringing until you know why the person is calling.

In the Phone app, tap the More button in the top-right corner and choose Manage Filtering. This opens the Settings app straight to the Phone section, where you’ll find Screen Unknown Calls.

By default, this is set to Off. That means unknown numbers behave like before - your phone rings, and you decide whether to answer or not.

The second option is Ask Why They’re Calling. With this enabled, when an unknown number rings, Siri intercepts the call and asks the caller to explain why they’re phoning. You’ll then see their response as a priority notification, not as a ringing phone call. If you want to answer, simply tap the notification to start the call.

The third option is Silence Unknown Callers. This blocks the ring entirely and doesn’t show a notification. You’ll just see the missed call in your Phone app afterwards.

Personally, I like the middle option where the caller has to say why they’re ringing. For example, here’s an unknown number calling me right now. Instead of ringing, I see a notification explaining it’s “about a job” - which sounds suspicious. I can easily ignore it without being disturbed. But if it were important, I could just tap to answer.

This is such a useful feature for filtering spam without missing important calls. And it’s just one of the many new things in iOS 26. Check out my channel for more QuickTips, and I’ll see you next time.