Since iOS 26, an iPhone can answer a call from an unknown number on its own, ask the caller for their name and reason, and then ring you with their answer so you can decide whether to pick up. On iOS 18, the choice for unknown callers was to silence them or not; no setting asked them anything. The new option, Ask Reason for Calling, comes with iOS and does its job well. Here's how it compares with VettedCalls on a phone that doubles as your business line.
Side by side
| iPhone call screening | VettedCalls | |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Built into iOS. Apple notes standard calling and data rates may apply. | Pro $29.99 a month, Receptionist $99.99 (coming soon). |
| Which calls get screened | Calls from numbers that aren't saved in your contacts, when you pick Ask Reason for Calling. | Every call is checked. Saved contacts, callers who got through in the last 60 days and anyone who finished screening, left a voicemail or texted us in the last 4 hours skip the questions. |
| What the caller is asked | Their name and their reason for calling. | Who's calling and how we can help, in your business name, then press 1 or 2 to connect. |
| What you get | Your iPhone rings and shows what the caller said. | Cloud Softphone rings with the caller's number. Answer and you hear their name and reason, then a beep. |
| Spam | The Spam filter silences calls your carrier flags as potential spam or fraud and sends them to voicemail. | Callers who never press a key are cut off, and a registry shared by every customer blocks a number at 10 counted flags. |
| Emergencies | If you call emergency services, call screening turns off for 24 hours. | A caller who says one of your priority words skips the press 1 step and rings you for up to 40 seconds. |
| Calls you miss | Silence sends unknown callers to voicemail, and the Unknown Callers filter moves their missed calls and voicemails to a separate list. | Pro: voicemail, with the transcript by email. Receptionist: an AI receptionist answers, except for priority calls and saved contacts. |
| Setup | Settings, then Apps, then Phone, and choose Never, Ask Reason for Calling or Silence. | Install Cloud Softphone, tap Activate in the welcome email, allow its permissions, and dial your carrier's code to forward all calls. |
iPhone details come from Apple's support pages for iOS 26 and the current iPhone User Guide, as of September 2026.
When the iPhone setting is enough
If most of your unknown calls are junk and your real callers don't mind saying who they are, Ask Reason for Calling does a lot, with nothing to sign up for, and it's the right tool for a personal phone. Apple recommends saving the numbers that matter in Contacts so those calls always come through, which is good advice with any kind of screening. Siri does the answering, in your iPhone's default language. Our iPhone call screening guide walks through each setting.
Where a business line needs more
Your trade's emergencies. iPhone screening sorts calls by whether the number is saved in your contacts. Priority Passthrough lets customers who say one of your selected priority words ring straight through to you, regardless of the time of day. Your priority words are six universal words such as urgent and emergency, defaults for your trade, and up to 20 of your own. A caller who says one of them at 2 am rings you right away, on every plan.
Spam that other businesses already caught. Apple's spam filter works from what your carrier identifies. We add a registry shared across every VettedCalls customer, and once a number has 10 counted flags there, it's blocked on your line too.
Somewhere for missed calls to go. On Pro, you get a text alert and each voicemail's transcript by email, and callers who pressed 1 get a text saying you missed them. On Receptionist, callers who pass screening reach an AI receptionist straight away after hours, and during business hours it picks up if you haven't answered in 12 seconds; priority calls and saved contacts you miss go to voicemail instead. It takes the caller's name, what they need and the days that work, and you confirm the appointment when you call back.
A record of every call. Each voicemail lands in your dashboard with its transcript, and on Receptionist, every AI call's summary and transcript sit in the dashboard's AI call history.
More than one person. Team answering adds up to 4 more people to Pro. Every login rings together, and whoever answers first gets the call.
Android phones, too. Cloud Softphone runs on iPhone and Android, so the same screening covers a teammate who carries a Galaxy.
Running both on one phone
With VettedCalls on, your cell forwards every call to us first, and the cell line itself shouldn't ring. Calls that pass our screening ring in the Cloud Softphone app instead. So while forwarding is on, our screening is the one doing the work. Turn forwarding off with ##21#, or *73 on Verizon, and calls go back to ringing your cell under your iPhone's own settings. The pricing page has the plan details, and features lists the rest.
iPhone screening questions
Is iPhone call screening free?
It's built into iOS 26 and later, under Settings, then Apps, then Phone. Apple notes that standard calling and data rates may apply.
Does iPhone call screening work when I travel?
Apple says calls aren't screened while you're roaming, whatever your settings are.
Do I need an iPhone to use VettedCalls?
No. The Cloud Softphone app is free on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android.