How to block spam calls on Android (Google and Samsung)

The short answer

Which Phone app do you have?

Android phones come with one of two Phone apps, and the settings differ. Samsung Galaxy phones use Samsung’s own Phone app. Pixels and many other Android phones use Phone by Google. Open your Phone app and tap the three dots, then Settings: if you see Caller ID and spam, it is Google’s; if you see Caller ID and spam protection and Block numbers, it is Samsung’s.

Phone by Google

Filter spam calls

1. Open the Phone app and tap More options (three dots), then Settings.
2. Tap Caller ID and spam.
3. Leave See caller ID & spam on, and turn on Filter spam calls.

Filtered calls don’t ring and leave no missed-call or voicemail notification, but they stay in your call history. If a real call gets labeled spam, tap it in your recent calls and tap Not spam. To identify callers, the app sends Google the numbers of people who are not in your contacts.

Block one number

1. In the Phone app, tap More, then Call history.
2. Tap a call from the number.
3. Tap Block / report spam.

Block hidden numbers

Tap More, Settings, Blocked numbers, and turn on Unknown. Despite the name, this blocks only private and unidentified numbers. A number that is simply not in your contacts still rings. Your blocked list is on the same screen; tap Clear next to a number to unblock it.

Call Screen on Pixel

On a Pixel, Call Screen can answer a call for you, ask who is calling, and show you a live transcript. Some Pixels do this automatically; on those, there is no Filter spam calls switch, because spam blocking is part of Call Screen.

1. Open the Phone app, tap More, then Settings.
2. Tap Spam and Call Screen (or Call Screen), then Call Screen.
3. Choose a protection level: Maximum, Medium or Basic.

On a Pixel 7 or newer, you can choose which callers are screened automatically: spam, possibly faked numbers and first-time callers. Automatic screening works in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia. Numbers saved in your contacts are not screened, so save the ones you expect. When a call rings, you can also tap Screen call yourself.

Samsung Galaxy

Block spam and scam calls

1. Open the Phone app, tap More options (three dots), then Settings.
2. Tap Caller ID and spam protection, turn it on and agree to the terms.
3. Turn on Block spam and scam calls.
4. Choose Block all spam and scam calls, or Only block high-risk scam calls to block scams but let ordinary sales spam ring.

Block one number

In the Phone app’s Settings, tap Block numbers. Type the number and tap the plus sign, or pick it from your recent calls, messages or contacts. You can also block from a call in your recent calls list.

Block unknown numbers

On the same Block numbers screen, Block calls from unknown numbers blocks, in Samsung’s words, calls “from numbers that are not saved in your contacts or identified by Smart Call.” That is much stricter than Google’s Unknown switch. A new doctor’s office or a delivery driver will not get through, so save the numbers you expect first.

Your carrier's free blocking

Carrier blocking works in the network, before the call reaches your phone, so it is worth turning on as well.

More on these, the Do Not Call Registry and reporting is in how to stop spam calls.

Spam texts

Google Messages has spam protection built in. When a scam text gets through, forward it to 7726(SPAM) to report it to your carrier. Don’t tap the link and don’t reply.

What these settings can't do

• New numbers get through. Spam lists know numbers that were already reported. A number used for the first time this morning is not on them.
• Hidden is not the same as unknown. On Phone by Google, the Unknown switch stops hidden callers, not strangers.
• Strict settings catch real calls. Blocking every unknown number on a Samsung also blocks the pharmacy and the new doctor.
• They protect this phone only. Nothing here helps a parent’s phone across town, or a landline.

That last gap is why PhoneShield exists. You forward a phone, Android, iPhone or landline, to a PhoneShield number. Calls the network labels Scam Likely or Spam Risk, numbers on our shared scam list and numbers with repeated FTC complaints are refused before the phone rings. Favorites ring straight through. Everyone else, hidden numbers included, is asked who they are and why they are calling before the phone rings. It is $29.99 a month for one line, and it reduces scam calls a great deal without promising to stop every one. See how it works.

Questions people ask