Technology
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Spam and scam calls are irritating as hell. Though you can sign up for the Do Not Call Registry or opt out using the Telephone Preference Service in the UK, it often doesn't seem to stop the calls coming in. Generally it just gives you something extra to talk about with cold callers as you explain you're on the Do Not Call list, before they call again next week.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Apple has tried to give you the option of killing off these irritating calls in its latest update, iOS 13. A new option will allow you to "silence unknown callers".
The new option uses "Siri intelligence" to block unknown callers and spammers from getting through. The feature, Apple explains, will only allow numbers that are known to you (from your contacts, your mail, and messages) to ring you. All other callers will be sent to your voicemail, where all but the most determined of spammers will usually give up and hang up the phone.
As well as blocking spammers, the new update introduces a new "dark mode", which sounds like you're going off-grid à la Mission Impossible, but in reality, is a new color scheme designed to be easier on your eyes in low-light environments. Now you won't have to turn your phone off in bed in order to let your partner sleep, and can continue to satisfy your unhealthy addiction to it unhindered. Woo hoo.
When it is released later this year, you will also be able to connect to a new WiFi network without having to navigate your way through the settings menu. Instead, if you do a long press on the WiFi symbol in the control center menu, available networks will display themselves, which is much easier.
As well as a whole host of new privacy settings (including notifying you when an app is tracking your location in the background) the new update can also read incoming messages and notifications to you through your airpods, and the health app will offer predictions for when your period is likely to begin and end each cycle for the next three cycles, and notify you when your fertile window is approaching.
If you can't wait for the release of the new update to block spam calls, the Beta version is available to the public.
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