My Pixel blocks spam calls, however can different Android telephones do it too?

Telemarketing and spam calls are relentless, and also you is perhaps stunned to study that you are able to do little to cease them — for instance, political campaigns are exempt from the Nationwide Do Not Name Registry. Fortunately, our telephones have began to incorporate glorious spam filters to maintain undesirable incoming calls at bay. However that raises an essential query: do you want a selected telephone, or is that this safety normal throughout the Android ecosystem? Whereas many suppose nice spam safety is a Pixel-exclusive characteristic, the reality is, you don’t really want a Pixel telephone in any respect. So, who and what’s actually saving us from the spam deluge? Let’s break it down.

Whereas the Pixel will get numerous consideration and advertising for its spam-blocking prowess, most Android telephones offered at present even have the identical or comparable instruments that will help you dodge undesirable calls. You’ll be able to thank the Google Dialer app for this — it’s pre-installed because the default telephone app on units from manufacturers like Nokia, Motorola, and even Xiaomi in Western markets. Google maintains a database of identified offenders, and you’ll contribute to this listing by marking any undesirable calls you obtain as spam.

Out of the field on a brand new Android telephone, the Google Dialer doesn’t block calls outright, but it surely does provide a layer of safety. When a suspicious name is available in, it’s flagged with a purple warning together with a label like “Suspected spam.” For even stronger safety, a fast journey to the Dialer app’s Settings > Caller ID & spam part lets you allow the “Filter spam calls” possibility. This characteristic prevents flagged calls from ringing your telephone in any respect, as a substitute silently declining them within the background.

In case your telephone doesn’t have Google Dialer pre-installed, you’ll be able to obtain and set up it from the Play Retailer. Which means that the spam safety most individuals affiliate with a Pixel can also be out there to the broader Android ecosystem. Some manufacturers like Samsung additionally keep their very own spam databases, so examine the Dialer app’s settings web page and allow filtering if out there.

Do you have to use a third-party app for spam safety?

If the built-in spam safety in your Android gadget isn’t slicing it, third-party apps might help. Apps like Truecaller and CallApp provide spam-filtering options past what you’ll discover with the Google Dialer, however include a few downsides. The primary being advertisements or a month-to-month subscription charge to assist the app’s improvement and upkeep of spam filters.

The larger drawback with utilizing a third-party app for spam filtering is that they usually request entry to your contacts, name logs, and different information as a way to operate. Because of this, I’d contemplate such apps to be a final resort possibility.

Due to Name Screening, Google’s Pixel smartphones do have a leg up with regards to spam safety. The characteristic permits the Google Assistant to reply your calls and assess whether or not it’s essential sufficient to seize your consideration. Nonetheless, most Pixel house owners don’t know you could have Name Screening robotically kick in for not simply potential spam calls but in addition numbers that you just haven’t saved in your tackle e book.

In case you personal a Pixel 6 or later, I extremely encourage you to mess around with the decision screening choices out there within the Cellphone app > Settings > Spam and Name Display > Name Display. First off, you’ll wish to allow the toggle for “Mechanically display screen calls” and choose from one in all three safety ranges: primary, medium, and most.

Fundamental safety does the identical factor because the “Filter spam calls” toggle described above. That makes “Medium safety” the primary Pixel-exclusive tier. It robotically screens suspicious calls by way of the Google Assistant and will yield a noticeable discount in undesirable calls.

Within the US and Canada, you may even see the choice to manually display screen calls on newer Motorola and Nokia units together with others that use the Google Dialer app. It’s not as helpful as automated Name Screening on Pixel units, however you’ll be able to work together with the caller by way of text-based prompts to search out out if the decision is value answering first.

Sadly, automated Name Screening is a traditional instance of a Pixel-exclusive characteristic that isn’t out there worldwide. With solely a dozen supported nations, it might not work in the event you’re on trip or use a overseas SIM card. This restriction additionally applies to some areas the place the Pixel is formally offered, like Singapore and India.

Fortunately, you continue to get the essential stage of safety irrespective of the place you reside — as I stated earlier, you’ll be able to thank Google Dialer for delivering many of the spam safety you want.