Apple's Finally Adding Call and Message Screening. Better Late Than Never, I Say
Apple's new call and text screening feature could do more than keep you from talking to strangers -- it could keep you safe from scammers looking to steal your information or your identity.
Similar to features from Google and Samsung, Apple's Call Screening vets unknown callers by checking what they want before sending them your way. The company announced the capability at its WWDC 2025 keynote.
This could help curb the threat of AI voice clone scams, which allow scammers to create AI voice clones with just three seconds of voice. These call and message screening features may come years after many of Apple's competitors have already implemented them, but it's an easy W for Apple nonetheless.
There's also a new text message filtering capability that places messages from unknown senders into a separate folder for you to review or ignore. This could help limit the number of people who fall for job, toll, or other text phishing scams.
I get two, maybe three of these text messages a week. Having them on their own little island may not stop the frequency at which they're sent, but it will certainly provide some peace of mind that I won't accidentally click a scam link or fall for some AI phishing scam. Plus, a less cluttered inbox is always nice.
Apple's new features come at a good time, too. A recent CNET survey showed that 96% of Americans receive at least one scam message from email, phone calls or texts each week. While Apple may be late to the party, anything that helps fewer scams reach you is a welcomed addition.
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