On this page · 14 sections
- Block a contact on iPhone: every app at a glance
- How to block a number from the Phone app
- How to block someone in Messages
- How to block a FaceTime caller
- How to block an email sender in Mail
- Block from Settings and see who you have blocked
- How to unblock a contact on iPhone
- What the blocked person experiences
- Silence unknown callers and call screening in iOS 27
- India: spam calls and TRAI's DND registry
- Fixes when blocking does not seem to work
- For IT teams and businesses
- How eCorpIT can help
- References
Summary. To block a contact on iPhone, open their conversation, call record or contact card, tap their name or number, then tap Block Contact (some screens say Block Caller). Apple says a block made in Messages also applies in Mail, Phone, FaceTime, Calendar and other apps. To unblock, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts, select the person and tap Unblock Contact. A blocked caller can still leave a voicemail but you are not notified; their messages are not delivered, they are not told, and their email goes to Trash. For numbers you have never saved, iOS 27 offers Screen Unknown Callers (Never, Ask Reason for Calling or Silence) in Phone, a Silence Unknown Callers switch in FaceTime and Screen Unknown Senders in Messages. You cannot block a group conversation; leave it or mute it. In India, add TRAI's Do Not Disturb preferences through 1909 and complain within 7 days of a spam call or SMS, not the 3 days some older pages show.
About this article. For iPhone users and the IT teams who support them. We checked every step on 11 November 2026 against Apple's iOS 27 iPhone User Guide, Apple Support, Personal Safety and developer pages, and TRAI's regulations. The current release that day was iOS 27.2.1 (9 November 2026); labels can change in point releases, and steps differ on iOS 18 and earlier. The India section is general information, not legal advice. Researched with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.
Block a contact on iPhone: every app at a glance
You can start a block from five places; all feed the same Blocked Contacts list. Steps are from Apple's iOS 27 guides and support article.
| Where you start | Steps in iOS 27 | Button you tap |
|---|---|---|
| Phone, Contacts tab | Phone > Contacts > tap the contact | Block Contact |
| Phone, call history | Phone > Calls or Recents > tap the number (or its Info button in Classic view) > scroll down | Block Caller |
| Messages | Open the conversation > tap the person's icon at the top > Info > scroll down | Block Contact |
| FaceTime | Call history > tap the call; or during a call, tap the number or email | Block Contact or Block Caller |
| Open an email > tap the sender's address > View Contact Card | Block this Contact | |
| Settings | Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts > Add Blocked Contact | Select the contact |
How to block a number from the Phone app
- Open the Phone app.
- For a saved contact, tap Contacts, tap the person, then tap Block Contact.
- For an unsaved number, open your call history (Calls in the Unified layout, Recents in Classic), tap the number (or the Info button in Classic view), scroll down and tap Block Caller.
If someone you blocked starts calling from a new number, Apple suggests adding that number to their contact card so it is blocked too.
How to block someone in Messages
- Open Messages and go to the conversation.
- Tap the person's icon at the top of the screen.
- Tap Info, scroll down, then tap Block Contact.
You cannot block a group conversation, so leave it or mute it; in a group you still share with a blocked person, you will not see their messages, but they will see yours. Reporting spam does not block the sender either. To report an unopened message, swipe left on it, tap the delete icon, then tap Delete and Report Spam. In an opened message from an unknown sender, tap Report Spam at the bottom, then Delete and Report Spam. You cannot report a message after replying to it. iMessage reports go to Apple; reports on SMS, MMS and RCS may go to your carrier, depending on carrier and country.
How to block a FaceTime caller
Apple lists three ways:
- While it rings: tap the left side of the call notification, tap Join FaceTime at the top, then tap Block Caller.
- During a call: tap the email address or phone number, tap Block Caller, then Block. You may need to tap the FaceTime window first.
- Afterwards: in your FaceTime call history, tap the call, tap Block Contact, then Block.
For a Group FaceTime call, tap the people count and choose Block All Participants (or, during the call, Block Unknown Participants). To report spam, touch and hold the call's tile in your history and tap Report Spam.
How to block an email sender in Mail
- Open Mail and tap a message from the sender.
- Tap their email address, then tap View Contact Card.
- Tap Block this Contact.
Apple says blocked email goes to the Trash folder and that email blocking works across all your Apple devices.
Block from Settings and see who you have blocked
You can block someone without opening any app:
- Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Blocked Contacts.
- Tap Add Blocked Contact, then select the contact.
The same list shows everyone you have blocked. Phone and FaceTime also show a Blocked Contacts list under Settings > Apps > Phone or FaceTime. A block made on one device applies on every Apple device signed in to the same Apple Account.
How to unblock a contact on iPhone
- Open Settings and tap Privacy & Security.
- Tap Blocked Contacts.
- Select the contact, scroll down, then tap Unblock Contact. Or tap Edit, tap the remove button next to the entry, then tap Unblock.
Numbers that are not saved contacts may sit under a row that shows a count followed by Unknown; tap it, swipe left on the number and tap Unblock. In FaceTime you can also tap the call in your history and tap Unblock Contact. Apple says messages sent while a contact is blocked are not delivered, and it describes no way to retrieve them after you unblock.
What the blocked person experiences
Apple documents these points; the last three come from its Personal Safety guide, written for iOS 26:
- Calls: a blocked number can still leave a voicemail, but you get no notification.
- Messages: their messages are not delivered. They are not told about blocked calls or messages and cannot find out they are blocked.
- Email: their mail goes to your Trash folder.
- Your side: you can still call or email a blocked contact.
- Find My: location sharing with them stops at once without notifying them, though a blocked Family Sharing member can still see where your devices are.
- Emergency contact: blocking someone removes them as your emergency contact.
Apple does not document what a blocked caller hears or what delivery status their iMessage shows, so treat such claims as unofficial.
Silence unknown callers and call screening in iOS 27
Screen Unknown Callers (Phone). Go to Settings > Apps > Phone, scroll to Screen Unknown Callers and choose:
- Never: unsaved numbers ring like any other call.
- Ask Reason for Calling: your iPhone answers, asks the caller for their name and reason, then rings and shows you the answer so you can decide.
- Silence: calls from unsaved numbers are silenced, sent to voicemail and listed in Recents.
Siri does the answering in your iPhone's default language, and Apple lists English (India) among the languages Call Screening supports.
Silence Unknown Callers (FaceTime). Go to Settings > Apps > FaceTime and turn it on. FaceTime calls from unknown numbers are silenced and sent to voicemail.
Call Filtering. In the same settings, turn on Unknown Callers to move missed calls and voicemails from unknown numbers into a separate list, and turn on the spam filter to silence calls your carrier flags as possible spam or fraud. In the Phone app, tap the Filter button to open either list, and tap Mark as Known on any caller who belongs in your normal history.
Call Blocking & Identification. Under Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification, you can turn on Business Call Identification (names from Apple Business Connect or your carrier) and any caller ID apps you have installed.
Three caveats from Apple: standard calling and data rates may apply to screening, calls are not screened while you are roaming, and screening switches off for 24 hours after you call emergency services. Apple also suggests saving important numbers, such as your child's school or your doctor, to Contacts so those calls always reach you.
Screen Unknown Senders (Messages). In Messages, tap the Filter button, tap Manage Filtering and turn on Screen Unknown Senders. Texts from unknown senders move to a separate folder without notifications; tap Allow Notifications to let through categories such as verification codes (options vary by country). Text Message Filter sorts SMS, MMS and RCS from unknown senders into Transactions and Promotions, but not from senders you have replied to three or more times.
India: spam calls and TRAI's DND registry
Spam callers rotate numbers, so also register your preferences. Under TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2018, you choose which categories of commercial calls and messages you accept, by mode, time band and day. You register by SMS or call to 1909, through your operator's or a TRAI-approved app, or on an OTP-verified web portal.
TRAI's third amendment, notified on 18 September 2026, reworks the broadest choice: sending BLOCK PROMO by SMS to 1909 (or dialling *1909*50#) opts out of all promotional communication, and existing full-block registrations move to that option. Transactional, service and government messages are not blocked by it.
Complaints work separately. Since TRAI's February 2025 amendment, you can complain about spam from unregistered senders without registering any preference first, and a complaint counts if made within 7 days of the call or message, up from 3 days. A valid complaint needs only your number, the sender's number, the date and a short description, and operator apps must accept screenshots, so a screenshot or a screen recording of the spam helps. The September 2026 amendment kept the 7-day window; anything later is recorded as a report rather than a complaint. TRAI's older consumer page still shows the 3-day rule, so go by the amended regulation.
Fixes when blocking does not seem to work
- The same caller rings from new numbers: set Screen Unknown Callers to Ask Reason for Calling or Silence, turn on the spam filter and report the calls.
- No Report Spam link: you may have replied to the message, or your carrier may not support reporting texts. Apple says to contact the carrier.
- Important calls going to voicemail: save the number to Contacts, or tap Mark as Known in the Unknown Callers list.
- Someone seems blocked but you never blocked them: check whether they share a phone number or email address with a contact you did block.
For IT teams and businesses
Screening changes how your outbound calls land. When a customer sets Ask Reason for Calling, your sales, delivery or support agent is asked for a name and purpose before the phone rings; with Silence, the call goes straight to voicemail. Tell customers which number you will call from and ask them to save it. Also check whether your business can be listed in Apple Business Connect, a source for Business Call Identification.
Caller ID and spam apps build on two Apple extension points: a CallKit Call Directory extension, which identifies and blocks incoming calls by phone number, and an Identity Lookup Message Filter extension, which filters unwanted SMS and MMS. Treat blocking as a nuisance control, not a phishing defence, and keep staff reporting suspicious calls and texts to IT. Our guide to iOS 27 scam detection in India covers what the release adds against fraud, and our iOS 27 features guide covers the rest of it.
How eCorpIT can help
eCorpIT is a Gurugram-based technology organisation, founded in 2021, assessed at CMMI Level 5 and MSME certified, with senior-led engineering teams working across AWS, Microsoft and Google platforms. Our iOS developers build and maintain iPhone apps, including CallKit Call Directory and Message Filter extensions for caller ID and spam filtering. Talk to us at /contact-us/.
Last updated: 11 November 2026.
