Apple has added a new feature to iPhones running iOS 26 that allows users to know why an unknown number is calling them before the phone rings, by asking the caller to identify themselves and state the purpose of the call.

According to a report from the American Associated Press agency, the feature, called Call Screening, acts as a mediator between the user and the anonymous caller; the iPhone automatically answers the call and then asks the caller to state their name and reason for calling.

After the caller responds, the phone converts their speech to text and displays it on the iPhone screen while keeping the caller on hold, allowing the user to view the information and decide whether to answer or reject the call.

New feature in phone settings

The feature, which appears under the "Ask Reason for Calling" option in the phone settings, allows users to handle incoming calls from unknown numbers without having to answer them directly to identify the caller or reason for the call.

The new feature differs from the "Silence Unknown Callers" option, which prevents the phone from ringing for incoming calls from unknown numbers and sends them to voicemail; instead, the Call Screening feature gives users a chance to identify the nature of the call first, making it suitable for handling important calls as well as nuisance and automated calls.

According to MacRumors, the iPhone asks the caller who is not in the contact list to provide their name and reason for calling. The response is then displayed as a text message to the user, allowing them to accept or reject the call or take other action.

With this feature, Apple aims to reduce the nuisance caused by random, automated, and fraudulent calls while still allowing important calls from unknown numbers to be received instead of automatically blocking all anonymous calls.

The feature is available in iOS 26 and can be accessed through Settings > Apps > Phone, then selecting Screen Unknown Callers and activating the option Ask Reason for Calling.