How WhatsApp’s Spam Call Blocker Inspired Me to Activate ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ on my iPhone

The company made an exciting announcement in its latest blog post, introducing a new feature aimed at blocking phone calls from unknown callers. By enabling this feature, users will be able to silence calls originating from numbers not saved in their contact list. This is particularly useful for thwarting those bothersome spam callers attempting to sell you extended car warranties.

WhatsApp has taken a user-friendly approach with this update. Instead of ringing your phone, calls from unknown callers will be directed straight to your Call list, allowing you to review them at your convenience and respond to anyone you genuinely wish to connect with.

The Silence Unknown Callers feature has been specifically designed to offer enhanced privacy and control over your incoming calls. It serves as an automatic screening mechanism, effectively filtering out spam, scams, and calls from unfamiliar individuals to bolster your protection. While these calls won’t ring your phone, they will remain visible in your Call list, ensuring that you don’t miss any important calls that may unexpectedly arise.

In addition to this exciting update, the app is also introducing a new Privacy Checkup feature. This functionality empowers users to review and enable the privacy features offered by the app according to their preferences. This is a valuable addition, as the array of privacy options can sometimes be overwhelming to navigate and understand fully. With the Privacy Checkup, users can effortlessly ensure their privacy settings align with their needs.

Overall, these new features demonstrate the company’s commitment to providing a more secure and user-friendly experience, further strengthening privacy measures and offering streamlined control over communication.

WhatsApp has taken a significant stride towards enhancing user privacy by introducing a step-by-step feature that simplifies the process of configuring essential privacy settings. This comprehensive tool, conveniently located within the Privacy settings, allows users to select ‘Start checkup’ and navigate through various layers of privacy, fortifying the security of their messages, calls, and personal information.

It’s commendable to witness WhatsApp’s commitment to empowering users with a deeper understanding of privacy options and the ability to choose the appropriate level of protection. Nevertheless, I’ve always had reservations about enabling the feature that sends unknown callers directly to voicemail. My concern has always revolved around the possibility of missing important calls. Consequently, despite a similar feature being available on iPhones for quite some time, I have kept it disabled.

However, WhatsApp’s recent development has forced me to reconsider my stance. Surprisingly, even after years of keeping this feature turned off, I can’t recall a single instance where I missed a crucial call. Therefore, I extend my gratitude to WhatsApp for prompting me to reconsider and potentially embrace this feature.

These new additions to WhatsApp’s repertoire are not the only updates the company has recently introduced. They have also begun testing the functionality to allow multiple accounts on a single device and have incorporated support for usernames. These additions showcase WhatsApp’s ongoing commitment to expanding their feature set and improving the user experience.