CallKit: Blocked Calls Appearing as Unanswered in iOS 18

Expected behavior: Blocked calls should not appear in the Phone app's recent calls list.

Actual behavior: Blocked calls appear as "Unanswered" in the recent calls list.

I think this was the intended behavior, so your best option is to file an enhancement request asking for the behavior to change.

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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware

We've filed a report and hope for this behavior to change as it looks more than a bug rather than a normal behavior.

Many of our users are confused by this behavior, expecting blocked calls to disappear entirely.

Showing blocked calls as unanswered seems to go against the user's intent when blocking a number.

We've filed a report and hope for this behavior to change as it looks more than a bug rather than a normal behavior.

What's the feedback number?

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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware

Thank you for following up. The feedback number is: FB15163490

I appreciate your attention to this matter.

Dear Elliot, I wanted to provide a brief update and reiterate our concerns:

1. User Feedback: Since our last exchange, we've received more user complaints about this behavior. Many find it confusing and counterintuitive.

2. Privacy Concerns: Some users have expressed privacy worries, as blocked numbers are still visible in their call history.

3. App Store Reviews: We're seeing negative reviews mentioning this issue, which affects our app's reputation despite being an iOS behavior.

4. Purpose of Call Blocking: This feature appears to contradict the fundamental purpose of call blocking. When users block a number, they typically expect to eliminate all traces of communication from that source, including entries in their call history.

We understand that changes can't happen overnight, but we hope this feedback helps illustrate the impact on users and developers. Is there any update you can provide on whether this behavior might be reconsidered in future iOS versions?

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

@Papaductions is the blocking working for your app when the number being blocked is in the user's contacts? Or is the call being let through if the blocked number is in the phone's contacts (incorrect behavior since the number should be blocked)?

@echu No, the blocking isn't working when a phone number exists in the user's contact list.

Or is the call being let through if the blocked number is in the phone's contacts

By design, none of our blocking APIs block numbers that are in the users contacts, under the assumption that users want to receive calls they've intentionally added to their own contacts. This also avoids the need to create an additional, complex, multi-layer system to allow the user to unblock numbers blocked by apps.

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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware

Thank you for explaining the contacts behavior. While we understand the rationale behind not blocking contacts, we're currently dealing with a more pressing issue in iOS 18 that's causing significant user confusion:

Blocked calls (non-contacts) now appear as "unanswered" in the call history, whereas before iOS 18, they wouldn't appear at all. Our users are finding this new behavior confusing and counterintuitive, as they expect blocked calls to be completely hidden. To be clear - while the blocking itself works (phone doesn't ring), the calls still show up as "unanswered" in the history.

We're receiving numerous complaints about this change, as users think their call blocking isn't working when they see these "unanswered" calls. We've already submitted feedback (FB15746906) about this, but I wanted to highlight how this is impacting the user experience.

Would it be possible to reconsider this behavior in a future iOS update?

Would it be possible to reconsider this behavior in a future iOS update?

This should be fixed in the most recent seed release (iOS 18.2 beta 3, 22C5131e). I don't have an example at hand to look at, but I believe blocked calls should be labeled in recents and "Blocked" and (I think) also include a reference to "what" (like your app) actually blocked them.

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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware

Thank you for the update. This change in iOS 18.2 beta 3 sounds much better - having blocked calls labeled as "Blocked" and showing which app blocked them makes much more sense for users. This should significantly reduce any confusion.

Really appreciate your help in addressing this issue.

@DTS Engineer Thank you for the update about iOS 18.2, but we're observing that blocked calls still appear as "unanswered" in the call history in iOS 18.2, contrary to what was indicated would be fixed in beta 3 (22C5131e). To clarify: blocked calls still don't ring, but continue to show up as "unanswered" in the call history instead of being marked as "Blocked" as was suggested.

Is there any additional information about when this behavior might be addressed? Our users continue to find this confusing as they expect blocked calls to either be labeled clearly or not appear in their history at all.

@DTS Engineer Thank you for the update about iOS 18.2, but we're observing that blocked calls still appear as "unanswered" in the call history in iOS 18.2, contrary to what was indicated would be fixed in beta 3 (22C5131e). To clarify: blocked calls still don't ring, but continue to show up as "unanswered" in the call history instead of being marked as "Blocked" as was suggested.

Are these existing calls or new calls? To clarify my earlier answer, the fix here will change how new calls are displayed but I don't think it will change anything about older calls. Changing how existing calls are showing quickly gets very, very complicated due to the information available and edge cases.

Is there any additional information about when this behavior might be addressed?

If this is happening with new calls, the please file a bug and post the number back here.

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Kevin Elliott
DTS Engineer, CoreOS/Hardware

The issue persists with new incoming blocked calls in iOS 18.2. We understand that existing calls from before the update would retain their previous status, but even fresh blocked calls are still appearing as unanswered (in the Recents Tab) rather than being labeled as "Blocked".

To be specific: when a new call is blocked by our Call Directory extension in iOS 18.2, it:

1. Successfully blocks the call (doesn't ring)
2. Shows up in the call history as unanswered
3. Has no indication that it was blocked

We've filed a new bug report here: FB16093992

@DTS Engineer Following up, have you had a chance to review the feedback report (FB16093992)? The behavior with blocked calls appearing as "unanswered" is still present in iOS 18.2. Any insights would be appreciated.