What is screening calls on iPhone?

Call screening is an iPhone setting for calls from numbers that aren't saved in your contacts. Instead of ringing straight away, the call can be held back so you decide whether it is worth answering.

Apple gives you three choices under Screen Unknown Callers in the Phone app settings:

• Never: calls from unsaved numbers ring like any other call.
• Ask Reason for Calling: the caller is asked why they're calling before your phone even rings.
• Silence: these calls are silenced automatically and sent to voicemail.

To find it, go to Settings, tap Apps, tap Phone, then scroll to Screen Unknown Callers.

What it does and doesn't do

Screening deals with calls from numbers you haven't saved. That includes scam and spam calls, but also a pharmacy, a delivery driver or a new doctor's office. Apple suggests saving important numbers to your contacts, such as family, your child's school and your doctor's office, so you always see those calls.

It also has limits. Apple says standard calling and data rates may apply, that phone calls aren't screened while you're roaming, and that if you call emergency services, call screening turns off for 24 hours.

Screening vs. filtering vs. spam silencing

These are separate settings, all under Phone or FaceTime in Settings. Screening controls whether unsaved numbers ring. Filtering (Call Filtering, then Unknown Callers) moves missed calls and voicemails from unknown numbers into an Unknown Callers list. Spam silencing uses a spam filter to silence suspected spam callers and puts them in a Spam list. You can turn on more than one.

Why it matters

Scam calls often come from numbers you've never saved, and some are spoofed to look local. Screening gives a real person a chance to answer for themselves, while a recorded scam call usually gives up. It doesn't stop your number from being listed, though. Calls reach you because your phone number is in data broker and people-search listings, and that is the cause worth fixing.