We've had enough of phone scams and unwanted marketing communications for years. And although there are already laws that regulate it, the truth is that blocking spam on iPhone has been complicated for some time. However, and indirectly, Apple has just brought the best weapon against unwanted calls. This is the case with iOS 18.2.
In this latest update for iPhone, the Californian company has integrated a new functionality exclusively for users in the European Uniongiven that it is motivated by the legal obligations imposed by the famous DMA. This feature is simply about opening iOS to more third-party apps that work on top of the native apps, including “Phone”.
What's new in iOS 18.2 for calls
For years, Apple's philosophy has been to offer a series of native tools that, under no circumstances, can be eliminated and replaced by others. This is precisely what led, in order to avoid monopolies, Europe to make a request to Apple with which it can delete apps like “Phone”, “App Store” or “Photos”.
Added to this is the possibility of choosing new default applications for the actions contained in these native applications. And like some time ago we could change the default browser on iOS or choose another default messaging app, now we can do the same with the “Phone” app.
Here is what we find in reference to the native application:
This setting is available in Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Ability to configure an app for default calls different from what we had until now natively.
- Ability to configure a call screening application independent of the one we use by default and whether or not it is Apple.
- Ability to delete Apple's “Phone” applicationbeing necessary for this to already have another one installed to configure by default. In any case, the native app can be grabbed from the App Store.
And regarding the difference between call and filter appyou should know that for the first case we would choose the application with which we will manage as standard all the calls that we receive or make, while with the second we will only have an identifier that can be used to directly restrict the ability to receive calls if they are detected as fraudulent.
There will be full phone apps that include filtering and others that just offer one of the two. This is what will allow us have the combination that suits us best and that in a way we cannot abandon Apple's native options if we choose our classic calling application and on the other hand configure an application that can filter numbers.
Why does this suggest it's the end of spam on iOS?
Those who have been using the iPhone for a long time will have noticed that over the years, improvements have been made to the “Phone” application to detect the country you are calling from. In countries like the United States, they are already testing caller ID so that businesses can register in a system and the iPhone can identify and differentiate them from fraudulent calls. However Apple's call screening leaves a lot to be desired.
That there can now not only be more apps to manage calls, but even filter them, is great news. We don't know if Apple will get its act together in the future in this area and whether proposals like the aforementioned “Caller ID” will reach more countries, but for now the door is open to third parties that already specialize in this area. their tools to iOS. The problem is that it will only be aimed at European users.
What applications exist to screen calls
There have been call screening apps in the App Store for a long time and now that they can be configured natively, it is worth considering some of the most popular ones. Of course, we had already warned you that some may require subscription with recurring payment to access all its functions.
'Google phone', the great desire in the absence of promises
You probably missed the 'Google Phone' application in the previous compilation and this For many, it is the queen of spam filtering due to the number of functions it has brought to Android recently, where it is usually the native function. And no, we didn't leave it out for some obscure reason.
What happens is that It's not on iOS and they haven't announced it's coming. The doors are already open in Europe, but the Mountain View firm is not willing to do so at the moment. And while that may sound pessimistic, it may never happen and a lot of that may be because they don't want to compete with Apple as much, knowing the million dollar deal between the two for years.
In any case, whether from Google or another, It's time for anti-spam options to appear on iOS. There are no longer any technical or legal obstacles to offering it to European users and we will surely see the birth of new tools in the months and years to come. And a lot of them come from Android, where they've always been able to be limitless.
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