---
title: "Silence unknown callers"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2025/08/silence-unknown-callers/
last_updated: 2026-02-16
---


I absolutely **never** get any spam calls. This has been true for _many and
many_ years now.

What is the formula to do so? Just be an uninteresting, boring person. Be
invisible. !next

Sure, this is one way, but let's get more practical and realistic. I have _only_
three guidelines, assuming you do not want to live as an hermit[^1]:

## 1) Silence unknown callers

Apple, [Block or avoid unwanted calls on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphe4b3f7823/ios):

> You can avoid unwanted calls by identifying callers, blocking certain people,
> and sending unknown and spam callers directly to voicemail.

> **Turn on Call Identification**
>
> iPhone can help identify incoming calls using information from Apple Business
> Connect, supported carriers, and supported call identification apps.
>
> Go to Settings > Apps > Phone, then tap "Silence Unknown Callers".

A must-have.
There's absolutely _no reason_ to let strangers be able to interrupt you on a
whim.

This can only work effectively if you do not feel
[FOMO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_missing_out). My philosophy is: if
there is a pressing matter, people or institutions will make an effort to reach
out, whether by multiple attempts or by employing alternate means (e.g. email?
WhatsApp?) to do so.

**Exception**: If you are waiting for a phone call but do not know the origin
number (e.g. from a pharmacy, medical doctor, job interview, prospective
landlord). In this case, turn this setting off temporarily.

## 2) Disable most app notifications

There's no reason to let your phone disturb you. It _should_ be a tool that
_you_ control, not the other way around. Disable notifications for most apps,
especially social media.

**Alternatively**: Enable ["Do Not
Disturb"](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105112) most of the time. These days
most phones can be configured to enable it on a configurable schedule, or based
on location (e.g. when you're home, or at work).

**Exception**: Let your loved ones be able to reach you. iOS has settings to
allow certain apps and/or contacts to bypass DNS. Being reachable by loved ones
doesn't need to entail emergencies only. Note that this only works if this is a
small list. If you decide that you love everyone (noble!), then you'll need a
two-tier love system to decide who you love the most.

## 3) Protect your Crown Jewels

Tate Jarrow, [Protect your Crown
Jewels!](https://web.archive.org/web/20230204060013/https://onlinesafety.substack.com/p/protect-your-crown-jewels):

> [...] you can reduce the majority of your risk by protecting the handful of
> your most important assets – I call these your crown jewels. These are
> probably only a fraction of your digital assets, and can be done much more
> easily and quickly — so start there.

I rarely hand out my main phone number when signing up for various online
accounts. I don't want to be reachable in the first place (see guideline 1)), so
why expose my number to third parties?

I have a second phone number that I use only for chat apps (WhatsApp, Telegram,
etc), so that there is no need to leak my main phone number to acquaintances.
And I have a third phone number that I use whenever signup forms make it
mandatory to provide a number and when "0000000000" or "+12131234567" or similar
do not work.

- — -

3) is the most important. There was a point in my life when I would use my main
phone number for everything. Then I kept getting spam phone calls (and texts). I
would still ignore them anyway (1)) – it feels that I've been doing so since
forever – but it was annoying to get spammed.

It's never too late to do 3): you can always get a new phone number and start
over.

[^1]: [Hermit](https://pcaro.es/hermit/): One of my favorite monospace fonts,
    mind you.