How to Block Spam Calls on iPhone & Android (2026 Strategy)

If your phone rings 5 times a day with "Potential Spam," you aren't alone. Robocalls are up 9% this year. Here is how to stop them at the source.

Most people try to block spam calls one by one as they come in. This is a losing battle. Scammers use "spoofing" technology to change their number every time they dial. To truly stop spam calls, you need to use built-in tools and remove your number from the lists they buy.

1. How to Block Spam Calls on iPhone

Apple has a powerful built-in feature called "Silence Unknown Callers." Here is how to enable it:

Go to Settings > Phone.
Scroll down and tap Silence Unknown Callers.
Toggle the switch to On.

This will send any number not in your contacts straight to voicemail. It is the most effective way to handle spam calls on iPhone without third-party apps.

2. How to Block Spam Calls on Android

Android's Google Dialer has excellent spam filtering built-in:

Open the Phone app.
Tap the three dots (More options) > Settings.
Tap Caller ID & Spam.
Turn on Filter spam calls.

💡 The Root Cause

Blocking calls is a band-aid. The reason you receive them is that data brokers like Whitepages and Spokeo sell your phone number to marketing agencies.

3. The Nuclear Option: Remove Your Number from Lists

If you want to how to block spam calls permanently, you need to get off the marketing lists. Data brokers scrape your phone number from public records and sell it for pennies.

You can contact each broker individually to demand removal, or you can use an automated service.

Stop the Leak with CleanupMyInfo

We scan the deep web for your phone number and automatically send legal removal requests to over 200 data brokers. When your number is removed from their database, it is removed from the scammers' call lists.