If you’ve ever experienced the pesky nuisance of incessant spam calls and texts on WhatsApp, you’ll be delighted to know that WhatsApp has rolled out a solution to reduce this annoyance.

The new option, somewhat hidden within the settings menu, is called “Silence Unknown Callers.”

With this feature, your phone will no longer ring when receiving calls from unfamiliar numbers via Wi-Fi on the app. Instead, you’ll receive a notification on the calls page, indicating that you’ve been called, but the phone won’t disturb you with a ringtone.

It’s worth noting that this feature won’t obstruct unidentified individuals from messaging you on WhatsApp (we tested this), so automatic blocking of spam messages remains unavailable (although you can manually block them one by one).

Nevertheless, it proves to be beneficial in preventing unexpected spam calls through WhatsApp or bypassing your device’s standard cellular privacy settings, such as when you’ve blocked unknown callers on an iPhone.

Enabling this feature proves quite advantageous, especially if you’re already using a similar silencing feature on your regular phone line. It serves as an additional measure to mitigate the vexation caused by spam.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to activate the call-blocking feature on WhatsApp.

This tutorial was carried out on both Android smartphone and an iPhone even though the processes are nearly identical in every regards.

Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Privacy

Android: Click on the three dot menu on the top-right corner of the app to open the menu option and select “Settings” and then “Privacy”.
iOS: tap the Settings cog. Now tap Privacy.

Select Call

Android/iOS: Scroll down on the Privacy page until you come across “Calls” and then tap on it.

Toggle on Silence Unknown Callers

ANDROID/iOS: Click on the “Call” option and then simply toggle on the “Silence Unknown Callers” feature.

Tools:

• WhatsApp mobile app
• Android or iOS-based smartphones

Materials: Your mobile smartphone

That is everything you need to know about blocking spam calls and unsolicited calls from people you don’t have as your contact.