Cool, so all the real people whose numbers get spoofed won’t be able to call anyone anymore.
This happened to me. I got a very angry call from someone asking why I was spamming them and had to explain that someone was spoofing my phone number to call similar phone numbers, and that it could be happening to his number or anyone else’s as well. I look forward to being globally blocked. :(
This doesn’t read as a global Blocklist for all Android phones in the world. It reads more as a local database/API for blocked numbers on your phone.
So blocked numbers would theoretically be applied to your messages apps and other “telephony” based apps that use phone numbers such as WhatsApp (should said apps implement the API).
Google already seems to have a spammer database for numbers, though I’m not sure if that applies to just Fi users, Pixel users, or anyone who uses the Google Phone app. If I have call screen disabled, I’ll see numbers on an incoming call have a red background with a “likely spam” description.
But based on the comments on this post, I feel as if I’ve overlooked something in the article here (I’ve just woken up so it wouldn’t surprise me) - is there a mention of it being a worldwide list?
No after reading the article, you’re definitely right. I just assumed Android already had that functionality, because that’s how it works on iOS, and usually iOS doesn’t have any features Android is missing.
Here’s a feature iOS has that android doesn’t:
Guides in maps.
I don’t use it for its intended purpose, but as a school bus driver it’s great for keeping track of where the stops are without maps trying to direct me.
I can set up a route in Google maps, but it insists on directing me and I can only put in 10 stops before having to start a new route.
I don’t need directions, I just need to know if it’s this corner or the next one.
The ways I understand it, it’s not shared between users, but between your apps and devices.
Useful when migrating to a new phone. Also, the same number can be blocked in Messages and the phone app.
Doctors, pharmacies, basically anyone in the medical industry.
Businessmen, people with sales jobs, basically anyone who needs to coordinate shipping, receiving, transactions, at the scale of a large business.
Anyone in the military.
Lots of government offices, courts, basically all of the executive and judicial offices and administrations for every government.
Should I go on?
Thanks, if you hadn’t guessed I learnt being serious.
Maybe I should have /s’d?
I’ll give you the upvote, I got the sarcasm with a tinge of truth there.
I only take scheduled calls anymore. Even for work (for the most part), because my work schedule is so full.
Yet Another Call Blocker has been fantastic for me, even on a non-rooted phone. Very configurable, let’s your contacts ring through (if you choose).
Human beings who want to speak with other human beings.
I know. It can seem like a strange concept to some people. It’s strange to me that they find it strange.
Apart from taxi drivers.
Man, fuck taxis. Uber/Lyft have their issues, but I will NEVER go back to taxis even if Uber/Lyft becomes more expensive than a taxi.
Yeah, how neat to support a company that pays cents to the drivers and skirts all legislation related to safety and taxes, right?
Let me predict, Google will remove their advertisers numbers from the list for a fee…
Great, Google will scoop up every number, let users define what the numbers are (more info gathering for them), and once they’ve gathered enough info, kill the app.
Just get Yet Another Call Blocker
I was curious so had a look at that app. Hasn’t been updated in years and the original author appears unresponsive.
I would probably advise against that, at least from a security standpoint.
What’s it going to do, block the wrong call?
It blocks anyone not in my contact list. The end.
Just because somethings old doesn’t mean it’s insecure. I swear, I don’t know where people got this crazy idea stuff needs to be constantly updated.
No, youre right - just because its old doesnt mean its insecure. But honestly, it’s very short sighted to think there may not be potential security issues. I haven’t gone through the code, and I’m not going to, but the amount of problems that could crop up due to using an app that is not being maintained are potentially huge.
Maybe its reaching out to a server to get a block list, and that server has now been exploited and is now distributing malware to your phone?
Maybe the way it handles blocking calls has a huge flaw which can be exploited by another app to gain higher privileges than its own?
Just looking at the issues list, a year ago someone even points out that through using a static analyzer they found 23 issues. Who knows the severity of them?
This is all speculation. But to just wave off a geniune concern is ignorant.
I think it’s too late for this to be useful. Number spoofing is ultra-common these days and most of the unwanted calls I receive are from spoofed numbers that appear to come from local areas.
If we start blocking the spoofed numbers then eventually we’ll just be blocking every possible combination of digits that can exist.
What we really need first is better detection and blocking of calls using spoofed numbers.
since STIR/SHAKEN protocols started to roll-out, the number of ‘spoofed’ calls coming in here have fallen-off considerably. down to only one, maybe, a week on a cellular line; and one every day or two on the office pots. nearly all bogus calls coming into a cell phone are marked by verizon as ‘potential spam’ alongside the reported cid number–some of which don’t even ring through at all.
if you get more than that on your phone, you need to get on your provider’s case about their STIR/SHAKEN implementation, or lack thereof.
I’d never heard of STIR/SHAKEN…but after looking into it, supposedly T-Mobile was one of the first mobile carriers to implement it…and I’m on T-Mobile…but for the past several years, I keep getting unwanted spam calls to my cell phone that appears to be originating from very regional local numbers (area codes and number prefixes that are local to my area)…because of that I just assumed that they had to be spoofed since the calls are always an unwanted telemarketing robo call and never involve an actual business that is local to me.
So I don’t know how they are still doing it, but somehow telemarketers are causing calls to route through exchanges that are completely local to me.
It might not be very useful for spoofed calls, but I can see the use to block harassers. You block once, and they are block in the phone and messages app, and also are blocked on your other or next devices.
Also, I think the block list is not shared between users, only between your own apps and devices.
