iOS 26 has an updated Phone app with several new functions. There are notable new additions like Hold Assist and Call Screening, along with smaller options like a feature to flag spam voicemails.
When you tap into a voicemail from an unknown number, you’ll see a new “Report Spam” button that you can tap if it is a spam call. Tapping on option sends the voicemail to Apple, and you can either report the message as spam and keep it, or report it and delete it.
Apple doesn’t include information on what it does with spam voicemails, but the company has allowed similar reporting of spam iMessages for some time now. It’s also not clear what Apple does with iMessages that are reported as spam, but they appear to inform spam filtering functionality added in iOS 26.
As with spam iMessages, reporting a voicemail as spam does not block the caller, and that needs to be done with a separate step.
Apple is working to implement features that cut down on spam messages and calls. The Call Screening option in iOS 26 intercepts calls from numbers that are not saved in your contacts list, and asks the caller for more information like a name and reason for calling before forwarding the call along to you.
The Messages app also has a refined spam reporting workflow in iOS 26. Messages that Apple detects are spam are sent to a specific Spam folder, which is now distinct from the Unknown Senders folder. Messages from numbers that aren’t in your contacts, such as two-factor authentication messages, go in Unknown Senders. Scam messages are sent to the spam folder. If you get a spam message that’s not correctly categorized, you can tap into a miscategorized message and tap on the “Report Spam” option.
Messages from unknown senders and spam messages are both silenced and you won’t get a notification for them, but you will see a badge at the top of the Messages app. You can disable these features in the Messages section of the Settings app, if desired.
There is no automatic filtering of spam voicemails, but that is a feature that Apple could use in the future after receiving enough voicemails that people flag as spam.
iOS 26 is limited to developers right now, but a public beta will be launching in July. The software will see a public release this fall alongside new iPhone 17 models.
