How do you block unwanted calls to your phone?

Hello, hello?.

This week, we're going to talk about a subject that bothers us all. We've all received at least one in our lives, and for some of us (like me, for example), it's easily 10 or so a day.

That's all well and good, but for the sake of sound mental health, let's take a look at how to block these calls, and thus remove unhelpful distractions.

If the line belongs to a company

If the phone line belongs to a company, that company has fewer options for blocking these calls, since the RGPD is for individuals, not companies. So the next paragraph on bloctel won't be for you.
But the following paragraphs are fully functional for a business phone line.

Bloctel

Bloctel is a service set up by the French government, enabling you to register one or more telephone numbers on a list that will be shared with companies so that they can remove your number from their "prospect" lists.

The problem, as you may have already guessed, is that the list is not always respected by companies.
As a result, it is possible to report unwanted calls on the site, but I doubt the effectiveness of this procedure.

How do I register with bloctel?

Nothing could be simpler: go to the site and create an account via the big "create your account" button.

Registration section on the Bloctel home page

Once you've created your account, go to the "My numbers" section, then "Add a number".

My numbers" section on Bloctel

Finally, simply click on the small + to the right of the page

Add a number to Bloctel

Once you've done this, you can request a certificate of registration.

For Free mobile customers

One of the cool things about Free mobile is that it's an operator run by real fans of new technologies.
There are lots of options and services on offer, such as an "SMS gateway", but the option we're interested in here is "Anti-voice spam".

As its name suggests, this option blocks unwanted calls at operator level.

How do I activate the Free Mobile "Anti-voice spam" option?

Go to your subscriber area, then, on the left, search for "My services".

Menu for Free Mobile customers

Once you're in the services section, Anti-voice spam is the first service, so check it.

Free Mobile voice anti-spam service

In addition to checking the service, you can also change whether or not you want blocked calls to be redirected to your answering machine. To do this, click on the service name (not on the checkbox, but on the service label).

You're all set, and having tested it, Free mobile's voice anti-spam is quite effective.

An application to block unwanted calls

Here we come to the option that seems to be the most effective, Orange, has released the "Orange Telephone" application, which is available on iOS and Android.
This app works regardless of your operator, even if you're not with Orange.

on iOS

Like all apps for iOS, you can find the application in the App Store.
Once you've downloaded the app, launch it... and then it gets a bit tricky.

In fact, the app can't "see" incoming calls, it has to tell iOS which numbers need to be marked as "unwanted", so you'll need to go to your iPhone settings:

Settings > Phone > Call blocking and identification.

Activate Orange Phone on iOS

Make sure Orange Phone is ticked.

Now that you've given Orange Phone the right to enter the numbers to be blocked in iOS, you can go back to the "Orange Téléphone" and, in the settings, in "blocking parameters", select whether you want to block canvassing and/or malicious calls.
By default, the application is blocked to "display" if a call is canvassing or malicious, but it won't block anything if the option isn't activated.

A little bonus
On iOS, it's possible to "silence" calls from people who aren't in your contacts. This adds a level of filtering, so that you can contact a person who must first give you their number "by e-mail, for example" or by leaving you a voice message.

To activate this option, go back to: Settings > Phone.
Then go to the "Silent stranger calls" option.

On Android

On Android, like most applications, you'll find the application on the Play Store.
Once you've downloaded the app, launch it, and it should ask you to become the "default dial app", so we'll see what that means.

Android, being more open than iOS, allows you to replace any application, from the "launcher", which is in fact the application that manages your home page, to the "dial", which is the application you use to dial into your device.Orange Téléphone will replace it.
To filter incoming calls, Orange Phone sets itself up as the default phone application, enabling it to see the incoming number and block it.

Once you've set Orange Phone as your default dial-up application, all you have to do is use it to make your calls from now on.From now on, you can replace your phone icon with the Orange Phone icon on your home screen.

On Android, the method is more intrusive than on iOS, but it gets the job done.

Conclusion

Now you have all the cards in your hand to regain a little peace of mind, you won't have to answer back to say that "No, you're not interested in a giant inflatable elephant".
Free mobile customers have a slight advantage in this respect, but the Orange application works everywhere...
Have a nice day and see you next time.