How to Use Call Screening on iPhone

Traceback Team
3 min read

Important for Traceback Users: We do not recommend enabling Call Screening if you use Traceback. When Call Screening is on, your iPhone automatically answers the call for you, which prevents Traceback from identifying the caller. You can use either featur

Call Screening is a built in iPhone feature (available on iOS 26 and later) that automatically answers calls from unknown numbers on your behalf. The caller is asked to say their name and the reason for their call, and you see a live transcript of their response before deciding whether to pick up.

How to Enable Call Screening

  • Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  • Scroll down and tap Apps.
  • Tap Phone.
  • Scroll down to the Screen Unknown Callers section.
  • Choose one of the three available options (explained below).

The Three Call Screening Options

Never: Call Screening is turned off. All unknown numbers will ring your phone normally.

Ask Reason for Calling: Your iPhone automatically answers calls from unknown numbers and asks the caller to state their name and reason for calling. Once the caller responds, your iPhone rings and shows a live transcript so you can decide whether to answer.

Silence: Calls from unknown numbers are silenced, sent to voicemail, and shown in your Recents list. Your phone will not ring.

How Call Screening Works in Practice

When you receive a call from a number that is not in your contacts or recent calls:

Your iPhone answers the call silently in the background.

An automated voice asks the caller for their name and the reason for their call.

If the caller doesn't respond, the call ends automatically.

If they do respond, your iPhone rings and shows a live transcript of what they said.

You can then choose to answer or decline the call.

Why We Do Not Recommend This for Traceback Users

Traceback identifies unknown callers when you reject an incoming call. Rejecting the call forwards it to our system, which sends back the caller's identity within seconds.

When Call Screening is turned on, your iPhone automatically answers the call in the background before you have a chance to reject it. As far as the call is concerned, it has already been picked up. This means the call is never forwarded to Traceback, and we are not able to identify the caller for you.

In short, you can use either Call Screening or Traceback, but not both at the same time. If you turn on Call Screening, Traceback will not identify unknown callers for you until you turn Call Screening off again.

If you prefer Traceback's caller identification, make sure Screen Unknown Callers is set to Never.

How to Turn Off Call Screening

If you previously enabled Call Screening and want to use Traceback again:

  • Go to Settings > Apps > Phone.
  • Tap Screen Unknown Callers.
  • Select Never. Traceback will resume identifying unknown callers right away.

Need Help?

If you have any questions about Call Screening or how it affects Traceback, our Customer Support team is here to help.

Was this article helpful?

Your feedback helps us write better support content.

Related articles