With the release of iOS 12, Apple is poised to add a feature that Android users already know well: Spam reporting.
It appears that the feature won’t be baked in to run automatically at the system level, as it does on Google OS phones. Apple’s developer website shares the details on “SMS and call spam reporting,” which is described as an app extension that users will have the option of turning on or off.
“To report SMS messages and calls, the user must enable an Unwanted Communication extension in the Settings app,” the posting reads (h/t 9to5mac). “They can only enable one Unwanted Communication extension at a time.”
The website goes on to explain that users will be able to swipe left on individual items from their “Recents” list or in their Messages transcript. From there, they simply select the “Report” option and reporting feature handles things from there.
Blocked numbers are also automatically added to the device’s Blocked Contacts list.
What’s less clear is if this feature will be baked into an iPhone’s Apple-made phone app. It seems reasonable to assume that it would be, but given that this info comes from a third-party developer-facing info resource, there’s nothing about Apple’s own plans for utilizing the new feature.
On Android devices — or at least, on my own Pixel XL — the whole screen turns red when a suspicious call comes in, with the caller ID noting it’s a suspected spam call. Users have the option of swiping down then and there to report the number and add it to the device’s block list.
