Best Call Spam Blocking Apps?

[consultant1027]

I've been on a mission to find the best call blocking app. I've tried just about them all. They key really is who has the largest most up-to-date database to not only identify who the caller is (even if their Caller ID number has no name associated with it in their carrier's database).

It basically has come down to Whoscall, Hiya, and Truecaller. All the others, the user base is too small to have that big of a database as these databases rely on users submitting names associated with the numbers or flagging calls as spam.

I used Whoscall but recently it seems to not block a lot of spam calls so I went back to the drawing board and revisiting all the major apps in this category.

Truecaller there's some bad reviews from the past that if you give it access to your contact list, it will download all your contact information and add it to their database. After some more digging, it appears this is no longer the case because they got such bad press. Allowing access to your contact list is only necessary if you want to block all incoming calls that are not in your contact list. I find that feature too heavy handed as you get a lot of legit calls that may not be in your contact list.

Hiya is less full featured, but unlike Truecaller it doesn't require you to make it your default dialer, which may or may not be attractive to some users. Supposedly it uses the same database as another popular app Mr. Number, which helps make the database larger by combining input from users of both apps. But it's interface and feature set is lacking compared to Truecaller. Truecaller appears to be by far the most installed app for spam call blocking.

What I ended up doing is installing both! And for the first few days, I was surprised with the results as I expected Truecaller to be more 'accurate' based on a larger installed userbase. It wasn't. Hiya gave more accurate names for the callers without a name on their caller ID so their database appears to be for whatever reason more accurate. In addition, a couple of the most annoying (always calling daily) spam calls I get, Hiya blocked them, Truecaller didn't.

I may uninstall Truecaller for a while to make sure it's not blocking the spam just because for whatever reason Hiya is blocking it before Truecaller has a chance to. I would be surprised if that's the case since Truecaller is my default dialing app for making/receiving calls and Hiya isn't.

I'd be curious to hear other people's experiences over time with any call blocking apps.

 

[ManiacJoe]

If you are in the USA, all the major carriers also have their own apps and databases. (Some options you pay a fee for, some options are free.)
I would certainly add these apps into your testing.

 

[consultant1027]

The free version of Call Filter on Verizon (my carrier), the standard app that comes pre-installed on the phone, doesn't work. I think only the paid version works now and I'm on prepaid and prepaid doesn't work with the paid version but Verizon CLAIMS the free version works on prepaid. It does not. I'm on an LG V30 running Android 9. Not some super ancient phone running Android 7/8.

 

[Rukbat]

I've been on a mission to find the best call blocking app. I've tried just about them all. They key really is who has the largest most up-to-date database to not only identify who the caller is

No one, actually. VoIP trunks supply their own callerID, and they usually choose it randomly (as long as it's not your number - then they choose a different one). So the number they choose could be your neighbor's number, your father's number, your son's number. And it's not illegal. But there's no way you can block calls any longer, unless someone is using a legitimate number and you want to block it. Telemarketing is no longer blockable.

 

[consultant1027]

Thank makes sense because I actually went through my call history for the past two months and typed the phone numbers I knew were spam into both the Hiya and the YouMail reverse number lookup. Hiya identified about 60% of the calls as spam and YouMail about 50%. Some of the spammers get added by the community and they are not changing their CallerID frequently enough to avoid the filters. But as you point out, many of the telemarketers are changing the number frequently enough they can make it through before it gets added to the community database.

I would be a little skeptical though that the telemarketer wouldn't have to select numbers from a very large block of numbers they actually own. They could own many numbers in your same area code and prefix, but to actually send a Caller ID for a number they don't own I would be very surprised is not considered against the law (fraud) in the United States at least. I suppose if it is technically against the law to spoof a number you don't own, operating from outside the USA would be a way around it.

In other words, I don't think you're going to get away with robo calling people spoofing a caller ID number for let's say, the main toll-free support line number for Apple or Microsoft. They'd put a stop to that quite quickly. Otherwise you could sabotage the reputation of companies by spoofing their phone numbers. So I think definitely you must own/control the number you are spoofing. If not, go setup a robo caller spoofing (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753). (the main US number for Apple Support) and see what happens.

 

[ManiacJoe]

The free version of Call Filter on Verizon (my carrier), the standard app that comes pre-installed on the phone, doesn't work. I think only the paid version works now and I'm on prepaid and prepaid doesn't work with the paid version but Verizon CLAIMS the free version works on prepaid. It does not. I'm on an LG V30 running Android 9. Not some super ancient phone running Android 7/8.

That is just laziness on the part of Verizon.

For my LG V30, the free ATT "call protect" app does a pretty good job.

 

[mustang7757]

[Moved this from dev apps forum to general help ]