Apple iPhone users fed up with relentless spam calls have been urged to take action as soon as possible. And one key thing to remember is to update your Contacts.
Explaining how to stop spam calls in just a few easy steps, the tech giant said that if you enable any feature that works to block unwanted calls, it’s crucial to add trusted contacts to your address book. This is to ensure you never miss vital calls from family, friends, your child’s school, workplace, or GP surgery.
So if you want to stop spam calls, how do you do it? In a message to its users, Apple have said that its customers can activate the built-in Silence Unknown Callers feature or make use of two other features.
Choose how to manage incoming calls from unsaved numbers. This means phone numbers that aren’t saved in your contacts.
FaceTime: Tap to turn on Silence Unknown Callers. Calls from unknown numbers are silenced and sent to voicemail.
“If you call the emergency services, call screening turns off for 24 hours”, the company cautions.
Scroll down to Call Filtering, and turn on Unknown Callers. Missed calls and voicemails from unknown numbers are moved to your Unknown Callers list.
If you want to see your Unknown Callers list in the Phone app or FaceTime, tap the Filter button, then tap Unknown Callers. In the Phone app, this appears in the Recents tab in Classic view, and in the Calls tab in Unified.
Scroll down to Call Filtering and turn on your spam filter.
FaceTime: Tap to turn on FaceTime Spam. Calls identified as Spam or fraud are silenced and moved to the Spam list.
To view your Spam list, tap the Filter button, then tap Spam. In the Phone app, this appears in the Recents tab in Classic view, and in the Calls tab in Unified.
Telephone Preference Service
Following Apple’s updated guidance to users on 26 December 2025, the company is far from alone in tackling nuisance calls. Experts at Citizens Advice say that signing up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is an effective step. Once you have registered, your number will be placed on a database of individuals who have opted out of sales and marketing calls, making it illegal for sales callers – whether operating in the UK or overseas – to contact you.
It adds: “Registering won’t stop automated marketing calls, also known as ‘computer-generated calls’. This is because the law only applies to people, not computers. You should talk to your telephone provider about how to stop these calls.”