Calls to your mobile number at times when you are least expecting them are annoying. What if such calls come from unidentified or unknown numbers? What if those calls are from someone harassing you? What if, those are annoying marketing calls? Will you pick up and answer every single call? That makes no sense.
The best solution that you can apply to this nuisance is to block them completely. Yes, it is possible to block unwanted calls from your Android device.
Today, most of the Android phones come preloaded with a system feature of blocking calls. Unfortunately, the feature is hidden deep inside the settings, and finding it, again and again, can be quite annoying. There is an alternative to this problem – install a nice app from Google Play Store.
Many of you probably know this, but for those of you who are not aware, yes, there are dedicated Android apps that will block any mobile number you want.
It translates into two things. First, the app you install will block all calls from the numbers you block. Second, the app will also block text messages from those numbers.
This is quite interesting, don’t you agree? So, let us quickly find out about the best Android apps to block a mobile number.
Truecaller
We are starting with this app because it is insanely popular in the Android world. With near-magical capabilities, this app can not only block calls and text messages but, at the same time, it also functions as a caller ID app.
You read it right! Truecaller can match the number against its database and return the name of the caller if it is present in Truecaller’s database.
But,
Though the app doubles up as a caller ID app, it is not effective in this function. The caller ID function is far from being accurate. Here is a brief explanation of what we want to say:
Let us assume that you have Truecaller installed on your phone and you receive a marketing call from say, Bajaj Allianz insurance company. You save the number with an arbitrary name say, ‘Insurance Bug.’
Truecaller will register the name ‘Insurance Bug.’ Now, let us assume that ten days later, your sister installs Truecaller on her phone. She then receives a call from the same number. Truecaller will show the name as ‘Insurance Bug.’
There is another problem. Different people can save the same number with different names. Which name will Truecaller pick up? The golden rule of thumb that the app follows is to pick up the name which people have used a maximum number of times.
So, if 80 out of 100 people have saved the name of the caller from Bajaj Allianz as ‘Crappy Caller,’ and you saved the name as ‘Insurance Bug,’ Truecaller will pick up the name ‘Crappy Caller.’ The method above is far from being reliable and accurate, don’t you think so?
The app also allows reverse phone number search. The free version of the app is not so powerful in reverse phone number search as the paid version.
If you get a paid version, the search results are more accurate compared to the results provided by the free version. But still, reverse phone number search never gives the most accurate results you desire.
Call Blacklist
Call Blacklist is yet another powerful mobile number blocking app out in the market. It performs the following functions:
- Blocks spam calls.
- Blocks spam SMS.
- Blocks hidden and private numbers.
- Blocks any number that you add to the block list.
- The app allows you to whitelist or blacklist numbers as per your choice.
- Allows you to block calls and SMS as per your preferred time.
- Allows you to turn off the blacklist.
- Allows you to lock the app using a password.
The app is incredibly light and fast. However, the app has a downside. Ads support the app. However, you also get the ability to buy some extra features from inside the app.
Should I Answer?
That is a very impressive and catchy name, don’t you think so? One of the unique features of the app is that it displays some information about the number calling you in a very organized fashion. The app provides the following information:
- It displays the number.
- It displays the rating of the number. The rating is either Negative or Positive.
- It tells you whether the call is a spam call or not.
Other interesting features offered by the Should I Answer app include the ability to block specific numbers or block every single call from the numbers that are not present on your contact list.
The second feature here is not a good choice because you may receive calls from important places such as a potential employer.
By far, the best features of the app include:
- Ability to decide which information gets uploaded into the database of the app.
- Unlike Truecaller, the app works offline.
- It is completely ad-free.
Hiya – Caller ID & Block
Hiya is one of the finest mobile number blocking apps for Android users. The app is feature-packed, and more importantly, it is free without any ads. Here is a quick list of features offered by Hiya:
It blocks unwanted calls and messages.
- Blacklists numbers of your choice.
- Offers reverse phone number lookup or search (did you know You also have an option to find out the caller’s details using this site – Yournav.com?).
- It protects you from caller ID spoofing. In simple terms, it will quickly do a reverse phone number search and find out whether the caller is a legitimate one or not. Some callers will deliberately display another caller ID by suppressing their true ID. It is known as caller ID spoofing.
- The app allows you to create alerts. Once calls come in from unwanted numbers, the app will alert you.
Aren’t these features amazing? Of course, they are!
Honorable Mentions
While we have a list of four Android apps to block a mobile number, the list is nowhere close to being robust and comprehensive. There are some other incredible apps out there that will help you to achieve what you want to. Here is a quick list of some honorable mentions:
- Number
- Safest Call Block
- Whoscall
- Call Blocker
To be honest, there are many more that can go up on this list. But, we will leave it on to you to try out as many as you want. If you happen to ask us, our vote invariably goes to Hiya.
