Verizon is out with an update for its Call Filter system that automatically labels and fights spam/robocalls and spam texts. The carrier’s customers are starting to see category labels like “health care” or “public service” for more context on unknown callers.
Verizon announced the news in a press release today:
“It’s not just spam texts that are a nuisance: robocalls can be pests as well. That’s why we’re doing even more to help customers know who is calling with new enhancements to Call Filter. When customers receive a call from a phone number not saved in their contacts list, Call Filter will soon label calls with a category such as health care or public service. This new feature will help customers decide whether or not to answer a call.”
Verizon also detailed its progress in dealing with spam texts and calls. In 2021, after processing 267 billion texts, Verizon’s systems blocked 11 billion spam texts. And the carrier has blocked 26.5 billion robo/spam calls in total.
Verizon shared a reminder it’s easy to report spam texts by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM). iOS also gives an option to report texts as junk when deleting them.
While Verizon just didn’t share an exact timeline on the rollout of the new category labels for unknown callers, we’ve seen the feature go live for several of us here at 9to5Mac. If you’re not seeing it already, expect to see it show up soon.
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