Best call blocker app

Most of us would kill for this feature or an app that does it. Haven't found it yet.

Take a look at Hiya https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.webascender.callerid&hl=en
Might not do it all, but it does most of it. I've been using it for almost a year. Free and configurable.

phred1313 said:

Take a look at Hiya .... Free and configurable.

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Thanks for the reminder about Hiya, phred1313.

I tried Hiya about 6 months ago but deleted it because of privacy and performance concerns. I just installed it today to review the privacy issues, and deleted it again.

"Blocking" a call in Hiya is done by sending the calls to voicemail. (I don't think a third-party software can literally block the call from arriving at all; that would be a carrier function. And in any case, I'm fine with the idea that callers I don't recognize might be important enough for me to want to check the voicemail.)

Unfortunately, if I want to "block" callers who aren't in my contacts as the OP requests, I have to grant Hiya permission to text that caller to ask who they are. To do this, I have to grant permission for Hiya to access all of my text messages. Reviewing their user agreement, they retain the right to inspect all messages, take actions based upon them, and even to send text messages -- probably mostly in support of this identity verification.

1. I am not comfortable granting an unknown company the ability to read and modify its behavior based on all of my text messages.
2. The texting method of identity verification only works on calls from mobile phones. A call from a new vendor, say a home center or doctor, may well be on a landline -- which makes the feature useless.
3. Oh yes, if I set up my Hiya account (an optional feature) using Facebook or Google credentials, Hiya grants itself permission to access and use any content they can scrape from those identities. No thanks.

It would be perfectly possible for Hiya to block non-contacts in the same way they block blacklisted fraudulent callers, but they choose to require access to my texts for this odd "identity verification". Not a good tradeoff in my opinion. I suspect that this highly desirable feature requires me to let Hiya monetize this "free" app by their usage of my contacts and texts.

So my current process is:

• Throw all unidentified calls to voicemail with the standard "reject" button. If I think I'm about to get a call from someone not yet in my contacts, I might pick it up -- but I usually regret that.
• My voicemail is set up to use Google Voice which fairly accurately transcribes the messages into text. I can quickly review the transcription of the message to see if it's someone I need to respond to.
• This takes about the same amount of time as the Hiya app would, without any privacy risks.

I understand your concerns Kenin-B and don't disagree with them. FWIW, 99% of the calls Hiya blocks for me, do -not- result in a voice mail message being left. They're all spam and the spammers don't leave message.

That being said, there's an app called NomoRobo. I'm using it on my landline (via Comcast/Xfinity) and the way it works is when a robo or spam call comes in, NomoRobo sees the CallerID and immediately disconnects the call. The landline rings once and that's the end of the caller. I'm mentioning this because NomoRobo also has an Android app. I don't use it on the device because I don't want to pay (I believe) two dollars a month when HiYa does a good enough job for me for free.

EDIT: I just reread your message and I do disagree with one point you make. HiYa does -not- text the caller. Perhaps it does for incoming text messages, but not for phone calls. They use a database of phone numbers that have been reported as spam, telemarketers, etc.

phred1313 said:

...
That being said, there's an app called NomoRobo. I'm using it on my landline (via Comcast/Xfinity)

EDIT: I just reread your message and I do disagree with one point you make. HiYa does -not- text the caller. ...

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Great info, phred! I took the item about texting callers from their interface, but I'm sure you're right.

I really wanted to use NomoRobo, but it wouldn't work in my Google Voice account. In any event, it didn't promise to do what the OP requested: block calls that aren't in your phone book, regardless of whether they are on a spam caller blacklist.

The good news is that app makers are starting to see the value of this sort of thing. The bad thing is that phone carriers could easily block fake and spam calls at the source, but they don't want to kill the revenue they receive from the robocallers' business.

Kevin-B said:

The bad thing is that phone carriers could easily block fake and spam calls at the source, but they don't want to kill the revenue they receive from the robocallers' business.

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Indeed! And being on the government's Do Not Call list doesn't guarantee that you won't get the telemarketing/spam/phishing calls as the list is easily ignored. Also, many of the telemarketers are now spoofing their phone number. I'm constantly getting calls on both my landline and my cell that have the same area code and exchange numbers as mine. My thinking is that they assume you'll see a 'local' number and answer it.

I've used this
http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.mohammadag.xposedcallblocker

and it's pretty great if you buy the key to it.
it did require a rooted device And Xposed Framework, But that's how I roll.

You guys DO know that you can open the dialer, tap the 3 dots up in the corner, tap settings, block callers, then toggle on the "block unknown callers" right?

Joe Eris said:

You guys DO know that you can open the dialer, tap the 3 dots up in the corner, tap settings, block callers, then toggle on the "block unknown callers" right?

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Not available in all dialer apps
but when it's there it's NICE
LoL

No

Astr4y4L said:

Not available in all dialer apps
but when it's there it's NICE
LoL

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I'm referring to the stock dialer not an app.

Joe Eris said:

I'm referring to the stock dialer not an app.

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all due respect sir but the stock dialer is an app

Astr4y4L said:

all due respect sir but the stock dialer is an app

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True, but if my stock dialer on my S8 has this option ,shouldn't all S8's or does it vary by carrier

Joe Eris said:

True, but if my stock dialer on my S8 has this option ,shouldn't all S8's or does it vary by carrier

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many times it does vary as will the content provided by the carrier...

such as apps, and providers bookmarks , etc.

On my Verizon Galaxy S8, this feature is available under settings > block numbers. But it is not the feature the OP asked for: it would block all unknown callers, rather than sending them to voice mail. I'm supposing that the OP doesn't want to hear the phone ring, but wants the option to review the calls later in case a long-lost relative leaves him some money (or other desirable connection from someone not yet in his address list).