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iOS 12 uses third-party apps to report spam calls and messages

Tackle robocalls through your preferred apps.

Right now, there isn't much you can do to fight spam calls and text messages directly from your iPhone. You can report iMessages, but not much more. That's all set to change with iOS 12, however. Hidden amidst the many other feature updates is support for third-party app extensions that will let you report unwanted calls or texts from within the Phone and Messages apps. You'll just have to swipe on an offending number or chat to pop up the option to flag it, block it or both.

As MediaNama noted, the extension support represents Apple's long-promised compromise with Indian regulators on phone spam. Apple was at odds with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) after it rejected an anti-spam app on the grounds that it would violate the company's privacy policies. This won't be as extensive as TRAI would have wanted (it wanted full access to your call and SMS logs on its own terms), but it would achieve the ultimate goal of reducing unwanted chatter.