Verizon rolls out 'Call Filter,' a free anti-robocall app for its Android and iOS users

[Matrix]

 

 

 

If you have a modern smartphone, there's a good chance you deal with spam on a fairly regular basis. Indeed, for some, "robocalls" and other similar scam calls are a daily (if not hourly) annoyance.

Some phone makers, such as Google, have rolled out protective measures to help customers better detect these fake calls on the phone software side, but similar free options on the carrier side are beginning to crop up now.

Today, Verizon rolled out a free "Call Filter" service to both iOS and Android users. In short, the Filter will warn you ahead of time that a given call might be spam - if it detects such a call, you'll be given options to block the number, report it, or ignore the warnings and take it anyway.

It should be noted that the specific capabilities of Call Filter will vary from phone to phone. As you can see above, the iPhone XS Max offers "spam lookup" functionality whereas Samsung's Galaxy S10e does not.

As robocalls become increasingly common, features like Call Filter from major US carriers will become all the more important. The fact that this feature is completely free is a nice touch, and hopefully, it will prevent Verizon users (particularly those who aren't as tech-savvy as others) from getting scammed quite as often.

Interested in trying Call Filter out? Just download its dedicated iOS or Android app to do so.

 

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[straycat19]

Users aren't happy with this app.  Here is one comment from a user posted on 26 MAR :

 

This is stupid. Can't use it unless you pay $2.99/month, which isn't bad, but it really should be free if it's a system app. Doesn't even let you uninstall it. Try the Truecaller app if you want a good call blocker. Free version works great!

 

Another user posted on 22 MAR:

 

doesn't block obviously spoofed numbers. doesn't block sweet FA actually. I am paying Verizon to pee on my leg and tell me its raining.

 

As if there wasn't enough crap added to phones, Verizon wants you to add more, though from some of the comments on Google Play, the software was preinstalled and not just on Samsung phones, but other brands sold by Verizon.