How to Deal with calls and texts

Ignore a call

You may not want to decline an incoming call immediately, as it might annoy the caller that you consciously rejected them. You can press the volume down button to mute the ringtone and let the call go to voicemail.

Respond with text

Tap Remind Me to later be prompted to return the call. If you don’t want the person to go unacknowledged, tap Message to send a text. To alter the three prewritten responses go to Settings > Phone > Respond with Text.

Block nuisances

iOS can help you avoid nuisance callers/ texters. In the Phone app, tap Recents, tap the ‘i’ on a call in the list, then ‘Block this Caller’. In Messages, tap ‘i’ (top right of a chat), tap the top row, then tap ‘Block this Caller’.

Filter unknown senders

Messages has another option to keep unwanted chats out of your way – useful if you use iMessage a lot. In Settings > Messages, turn on Filter Unknown Senders to split them and legitimate chats into separate tabs in the app.

Turn on the blocker

Make sure you open the app itself first to see if it requires any special steps. The thing all apps like Hiya have in common is that you’ll need to go to Settings > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification to activate their services.

Unblock someone

If you decide to unblock a number for some reason, go to Settings > Phone > Call Blocking & Identification. Swipe left on a row under Blocked Contacts. You needn’t stop to tap the Unblock button – just keep swiping left.

Identify scams/spam

CallKit is an iOS feature that allows third-party apps to give you a heads-up about spammers and scammers on the incoming call screen, to help you avoid you accepting their calls. To start, get Hiya (free, bit.ly/hiyablk).

Warn or block?

In Hiya, tap Protect and set whether the app should warn about suspect calls on the incoming call screen, or block them outright. Also go to Options > Privacy and Data to review whether Hiya can collect numbers you block.