Then they add ads to the feature. Then charge more for ad-free.
I had a Pixel on Google Fi with this. When I got a call I could tell my Pixel to answer, ask who was calling, and ask the purpose of their call. I could see their responses transcribed and press automated response buttons.
It was amazing. Not sure why other phones don’t support it, definitely a feature I miss.
Call screening and yeah, it is one of their better features.
Easily the best feature. I used it on everyone including family, friends, coworkers, robots whatever
If you’re in America you can add your name to the National Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers seem to be ignoring it in recent years, but for many years I received almost zero spam calls. The feds just have to be prodded into enforcing it again. The penalties can be up to $1000 per call for high-volume offenders, like the autodialer services small businesses subscribe to.
Is that even a thing anymore or did that also get demolished by DOGE? It seems like anything that benefits companies but screws consumers and citizens is being dismantled
Pretty sure it’s still a thing since the website still works. When DOGE shuts things down they tend to trash or turn off the sites.
This is a thing. It’s called Call Screening
I use it on android and most people just hang up.
But it’s nice knowing that companies who call me also have to talk to a robot first before reaching the human, me😊
I have it too. It’s glorious.
9 out of 10, it’s bots talking to bots.
But the 1 time, it was my doctor calling about something afterwards. I love it.
I refuse to take any calls from robot, i’ve had Dr offices say “we tried to call you” and I reply “no you didnt you had a robot try to call me and I ain’t got time for that shit”, of couse “ain’t got time” is relative, because I am mostly just digging holes in mine craft.
Nah fuck that. Your time is precious and I’d rather be spending time in minecraft than answering an unexpected phone call. So yeah, “I ain’t got time” indeed.
I like it when they actually have to reach me because they start talking to it professionally and when I answer I’ve had at least two people say something like “I wish I had an assistant like that.”
IDK what it sounds like but it always makes me chuckle a little.
Sounds nice, but usually when someone calls me, they need something quickly, and that would be really annoing. At least I’m lucky enough that people don’t call me if they can send a text message instead.
Same, my favourite thing recently is when the caller is an AI, I just get a voicemail of the darker AI taking to my pixel’s on device AI for 30 seconds
Ive got a version of that on my phone, but its just me rejecting every call that isn’t in my contacts list.
I want it to be more common and standard. Definitely want to turn on this feature but I don’t have it available for me on my phone.
It’s literally built into Android and iOS.
Only in the US
Not only. I have Android in Ireland, and it has call screening.
Not available on my zenphone 9, quick Google says the manufacturer has to add it themselves, apparently only pixel and Samsung phones rn?
From what i see about iOS, only iOS 26 does which is in beta not even released yet
They’ve had call screening for quite some time now, the on hold call stuff is new.
On iOS, it’s called Live Voicemail under Settings -> Apps -> Phone.
View a transcript of an incoming voicemail in real time and answer the call before it ends.
It also doesn’t work yet, I tried it. Maybe that’s because of my unusual language settings though (German region with English system language and Siri).
My 5 years old Pixel has it and it’s very convenient since 95% of the calls I get are from spammers
where it asks people what they are calling about? Not just spam screening
Yes it asks people why they are calling and shows the response as a text to the user. Here’s how it looks
Awesome
It is, but not all versions and it’s not available for all devices yet.
It used to be easier to screen calls when we had answering machines.
“Pick up. Come on pick up! I know you’re there. Im stuck at the mall and need a ride. Come on pick up…”
Exactly. If you just never answer your phone, you’ll never have to deal with all the people who either refuse to leave a voicemail or send a text message/email instead. It saves a lot of trouble.
I love call screening… All but eliminates scammers
For a whole I had the call screening on going through Voice, but I turned it off a while back when I was looking for a different job. It seemed a lot of recruiters either would hang up or maybe some of them would get screened out as when I had it off I got a lot more return calls. Anecdotal of course.
This is what texting is for.
Unironically.
Text “hey I need to know how to use (xyz), can you walk me through it?”
Response “sure”
(Call)
Unless you’re my friends, which is then this.
Them: wyd?
Me: (immediate response) Hey man. I’m going to wrap up work at 5pm, then I’m going to dinner with my wife. Want to come and bring your new gf? If so, let me know and we’ll pick you up.
Them: (2 hours later) 🦶🪐📐🪬 haha feel me?
i already know. they are selling something, or wantnme to do something for free.
I need an automated system like they do for companies where you have to navigate through an option tree by pressing numbers when prompted. And there is only one very elusive path to let the call through to me, all the other parts end to either endless loops or a dummy voicemail box that doesn’t actually record any messages.
Many smartphones today have a call screening option where a voice agent asks the caller why they’re calling and messages you the result.
You will be glad to hear that what you describe is also pretty easy to setup.
hold on where is this? last I checked no phone has in call playback of audio so even just simple answering machine apps can’t exist even though it would be superior in every way to network provided voicemail that you have to call and listen to purely via call audio and dialpad
It’s built into the phone app for Pixel phones.
iPhone too. And the fall update can now detect when you’re put on a hold for systems that make you wait, and it will let you go about and when they answer it will let them know you’ll be available in a moment.
For my Samsung phone
Phone app -> settings -> Call assist -> Text call
phones need to implement personal:
if you are calling to make cancel change appointments press 1
if you are calling to share updates press 2
if you are calling about those 20$ you owe me, press 3 for venmo info
…
i want it
I just ignore the call
If it was important, they’ll call again
If it was an emergency, they’ll call non-stop and text a bunch of times
Otherwise, most times, when it’s not important, the person calls once, realizes it wasn’t important and doesn’t call again
sounds like texting but with extra steps
That’s what words are for… If you pick up, and say “hello,” they will say why they are calling. God damn people will do everything in their power to NOT communicate with eachother these days
I can read why you’re calling in 3 seconds and it takes no mental energy if I don’t care. If I talk to you I need to use significantly more mental energy and it’s more disruptive to anything I was focusing on. The people I least want to talk to are the most likely to call, and are the ones who will be the least direct about why they’re calling and waste the most of my time.
Not wanting to talk to you on the phone is not the same as not communicating. The vast majority of phone calls are basically someone saying “stop what you’re doing, what I want to talk to you about is more important” and they’re wrong.
This exact argument applies to caller ID too. If you pick up you will hear their voice or they will tell you where they are calling from. Still would rather have caller ID.
You’re right that people avoid talking to people nowadays, preferring a text or an email or whatever. But that’s not the point here, it’s being interrupted from whatever you’re doing to answer the phone for no reason. Modern autodialers make calls continuously, and when someone answers they feed the call to whichever telemarketer in the room is open. If they’re all occupied the machine just hangs up, but it keeps dialing because they don’t want to pay their minimum wage workers to sit idle for precious seconds. So for that reason people out in the world have to stop what they’re doing to pick up the phone, say “Hello” and hear nothing but dead air and then a click. It’s the tech equivalent of kids ringing people’s doorbells and running away, except for profit. Fuck that crap.
I wish they never invented mobile phones, my wage doesn’t justify being bothered outside of work.
Voicemail is part of a phone plan already.
It’s not the same. You can’t answer it mid-recording. and if the phone call turns out to be important, you have to call back, and if it’s a company you’ll likely have to navigate a maze of options, then wait while “all operators are busy”.
I can answer a call mid voicemail on my iPhone. I thought that was a feature for a while on Android?
I don’t know what kind of voicemail you’re referring to, the one provided by networks over here just sends the caller to voicemail if you don’t pick up, you will get a text later.
There may be a different voicemail service where you live (visual voicemail?) that I have no experience using.
Then there’s Call Screening that android had indeed been had for a while, but it doesn’t record a message, it’s a back and forth interactive conversation and you can see the transcript in real time.
I guess it’s called Live Voicemail and it’s been on iPhones since iOS 17.
I just assumed it was some Android feature first and they were 5 years behind implementing like so many other things on the iPhone.
Android kinda has that. There’s call screen where the phone asks why you’re calling and the user can follow along, potentially pressing a button to prompt for more details, to pickup, or to send the caller to voicemail.
It’s integrated into the spam blocking. Usually spam calls just don’t say anything so it hangs up on them, so I don’t actually know how it would handle a human telemarketer.
Get a pixel
“you have received a request for a call concerning Casual Conversation from Friend BILLY. Press 1 to accept”
Might be convenient
I want it to cost $6.99 to even fucking call me. Period.
Ah, blessed silence.
Omg! That’s the answer! I need to change to a 1-976-xxx-xxxx number. $1 to call, and an additional $1/min.
