Android doesn't have one call screening switch. Google builds Call Screen into the Pixel's Phone app, Samsung builds its own screening into Galaxy phones, and other Android phones may get a manual version through Google's Phone app, or none at all. Find your phone in the table, then follow the link for the full steps.
| Phone | Where to find it | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Pixel | Phone app › More › Settings › Spam and Call Screen (or Call Screen) › Call Screen | In the US it can screen automatically: it answers unknown and suspicious calls, asks who's calling and why, hangs up on calls it judges to be spam and rings you with the answer for the rest. You can also tap Screen call yourself. | It decides who's unknown from the contacts on your phone, and Google says not to use automatic screening with call forwarding. Full Pixel guide |
| Samsung Galaxy with Android 16 and One UI 8.5 or higher | Phone app › More options › Settings › Call screening, then turn on Auto screen calls | Galaxy AI screens unknown callers and shows a live transcript, and you accept or reject the call while it's talking. | A caller who hangs up on the AI can leave no missed-call notification. Full Samsung guide |
| Older Samsung Galaxy | Phone app › More options › Settings › Text call | Bixby Text call. You answer, Bixby speaks for you, and you read the caller's words and type your replies. | You start it yourself when a call comes in. On One UI 5, Wi-Fi calling has to be off. Full Samsung guide |
| Other Android phones | If the phone runs Google's Phone app: More options › Settings › Spam and Call Screen (or Call Screen) | Manual Call Screen on selected Android phones in the US and Canada, plus caller ID and spam protection with a Filter spam calls option. | If there are no Call Screen settings at all, Google says the phone doesn't work with Call Screen. |
Automatic or manual
The table mixes two kinds of screening, and the difference matters more than the brand. Automatic screening answers for you: a Pixel's Call Assist, or a Galaxy with Auto screen calls on, picks up an unknown call and asks who's calling before you're involved. Manual screening waits for you. The call rings, and you hand it over by tapping Screen call on a Pixel, or Call assist and then Call screening or Text call on a Galaxy. If you're up a ladder with both hands busy, only the automatic kind does anything for you.
What the built-in screens have in common
- They run on the handset. Google says Call Screen works on your device without Wi-Fi or mobile data, and Samsung's settings live in the Galaxy's own Phone app.
- Unknown means not in this phone's contacts. A Pixel decides whom to screen from the contacts stored on it. Samsung's auto screening covers unknown callers, and its unknown-number block treats anyone not saved in your contacts (or identified by Smart Call) as unknown.
- Spam detection has gaps. A Pixel hangs up on calls it judges to be spam, and Google says not every spam call or robocall can be detected. Samsung's spam and scam blocking comes through Caller ID and spam protection, which may not be available on every carrier or model.
- Travel changes things. A Pixel won't screen automatically while roaming.
Where it stops for a business
On a personal phone, turn on whichever of these your phone has. On a business line, the same gaps show up on every brand. A first-time customer is an unknown number, so they're screened like any stranger. An emergency call goes through the same question as everything else. And the screening belongs to one handset.
VettedCalls puts the screening in front of the phone instead of on it. Your cell forwards every call to us first. We answer with "Thanks for calling" and your business name, then "Who's calling, and how can we help today?" The caller has 4 seconds to start talking. From there:
- Priority Passthrough lets customers who say one of your selected priority words ring straight through to you, regardless of the time of day. The call rings for up to 40 seconds.
- Everyone else who gets through presses 1 or 2, and then your phone rings in the Cloud Softphone app.
- Callers who stay silent or sound like spam, and then don't press, get flagged on a spam registry that every VettedCalls account adds to and checks. Ten counted flags block the number for everyone.
- On Receptionist, a call you can't answer goes to an AI receptionist that takes the caller's name, reason and the days that work for them. A missed priority call, or a missed call from a saved contact, lands in voicemail.
The whole flow is on our call screening page, features covers the rest of the app, and pricing shows what each plan includes.
Setting up VettedCalls on Android
The steps are the same on every brand, with one extra on a Samsung.
- Install Cloud Softphone, free on Google Play.
- On the phone, open the welcome email from VettedCalls and tap Activate VettedCalls. The app configures itself.
- Allow Phone, Microphone, Notifications and Display over other apps, then set Cloud Softphone's Battery setting to Unrestricted. On a Samsung, also add it to Never sleeping apps.
- Forward all calls: in the regular dialer, enter
**21*NUMBER#, or*72NUMBERif you're on Verizon or a carrier that runs on Verizon.
Your number stays the same, and once forwarding is on, the cell itself shouldn't ring. If you've been using automatic Call Screen on a Pixel, remember Google's advice not to combine it with call forwarding, since screened calls won't be forwarded. The Android setup page has each step in detail.
On an iPhone instead? See iPhone call screening. If your business runs on a Google Voice number, read Google Voice call screening.