How to Block a Phone Number from Calling or Texting Your iPhone

In an era of relentless spam calls, telemarketers, and unwanted text messages, taking control of who can contact your personal device is essential. Fortunately, Apple has built robust blocking features directly into the core operating system of the iPhone. When you block a phone number, that caller will not be able to reach you via traditional cellular calls, FaceTime, or SMS text messages (including iMessage).

Most importantly, the blocked caller is not explicitly notified that they have been blocked. If they call you, it will simply ring once and go straight to voicemail. If they text you, the message will look like it sent on their end, but it will never arrive on yours.

This guide explains how to block a specific phone number from calling or texting your iPhone.

How to Block a Number from Your Recent Calls List

If you just received a spam call or an unwanted call from a specific number, the easiest way to block them is directly from your call history.

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Recents tab at the bottom of the screen.
3. Locate the number or contact you want to block. Do not tap the name/number itself, as that will call them back. Instead, tap the small blue “i” (Information) icon to the far right of the number.
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the information page.
5. Tap Block this Caller.
6. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Tap Block Contact to finalize the action.

How to Block a Number from a Text Message

If the unwanted communication arrived via a text message, you can block the sender without ever needing to add them to your contacts.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the conversation thread containing the spam message.
3. At the top of the screen, tap the profile icon or the phone number/name of the sender.
4. A drop-down menu will appear. Tap the Info button on the right side.
5. On the details page, scroll to the bottom and tap Block this Caller.
6. Confirm by tapping Block Contact.

How to Manage Your Blocked Contacts

If you accidentally block someone, or if you decide to unblock a number in the future, you can manage your entire list of blocked callers from the Settings app.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on Phone.
3. Scroll down and tap on Blocked Contacts. Here, you will see a list of every number you have ever blocked.
4. To unblock someone, simply swipe left on their number and tap the red Unblock button.