Caller ID & spam protection: what it does
Caller ID & spam protection is a setting in Google’s Phone app, under More options › Settings › Caller ID and spam. See caller ID & spam names callers outside your contacts and warns you about likely spam, and it’s on by default. Filter spam calls stops those calls from ringing; they stay in your call history.
It only knows the calls Google has flagged: a real caller marked as spam by mistake is filtered without an alert, and a faked number can still ring. Vicem is an AI on its own number that answers the calls you miss and tells you who called and why.
Updated Checked on October 14, 2026
What does Caller ID & spam protection do?
- For calls with numbers outside your contacts, it shows business names and warns you about potential spam callers.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Fake call detection, part of the same setting, alerts you if a caller hides who they are or pretends to be one of your contacts.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Fake call detection needs Android 12 or later, the Phone by Google, Contacts and Google Messages apps, and RCS turned on in Messages.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Google says it doesn’t control whether your own number shows when you call someone.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Caller ID announcement, a separate switch, reads a caller’s name or number aloud: always, only with a headset, or never.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
What do the labels mean?
Labels such as Spam Likely or Scam Likely come from your phone company, not from this setting.
- Google: if you see “Suspected spam caller” or “Spam” as the caller ID, the call might be spam. You can answer it, or block and report the number.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Google says that when you and other people mark a number as spam, it uses that to judge whether calls from it are likely spam.Google, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
- Business names come from reports too: people can report a business name or category for a number, and Google assigns that number a Caller ID.Google, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
What does Google see when it’s on?
- When someone outside your contacts calls you, or you call them, Google says that number is sent to Google to find a business name or check for spam.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Google: “Google doesn’t get phone numbers from your Contact list.”Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protectionGoogle, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
- Google says it doesn’t share those phone numbers, or the other call signals it gathers, with its business partners.Google, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
- For fake call detection, Google says your phone checks that a call is from someone in your contacts and not an impersonator.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
Should I turn it on?
It’s on unless you turned it off. Here is what each choice means, from Google’s help.
- On: you get spam warnings and business names, and numbers outside your contacts are sent to Google.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Off: Google says you get no spam warnings, see no Caller ID names, can’t send Caller ID feedback, and Google stops collecting numbers from your calls.Google, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
- Filter spam calls is optional. Flagged calls don’t ring and send no missed-call or voicemail notification, but you can still check your call history and voicemail.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
What about Samsung?
Samsung’s Phone app has its own setting with the same name.
- Samsung: turn on Caller ID and spam protection in the Phone app’s Settings, then review the terms of service and privacy policy and tap Agree.Samsung US support, Adjust call settings on your Galaxy phone
- Samsung calls the feature Smart Call and says its features “are provided by Hiya.”Samsung US, Smart Call (Apps & Services)
- Samsung shows labels such as Suspected to be spam and Potential fraud on incoming calls.Samsung US, Smart Call (Apps & Services)
- Samsung’s help says the spam protection feature is on by default.Samsung US support, Adjust call settings on your Galaxy phone
Why do spam calls still get through?
The warning depends on what is already known about a number.
- Google bases its warnings on signals about the call, including numbers people have marked as spam.Google, Phone app Help: Learn how your contact information stays private with Spam & Caller ID
- Faked numbers: the FTC says “Scammers can make any name or number show up on your caller ID,” so a scam call from a clean or local-looking number still rings.FTC, Phone Scams
- The FCC: depending on your phone company, a blocked call may go straight to voicemail, ring once, or give you “no notice at all.”FCC, Call Blocking Tools and Resources
- With Filter spam calls on, a real caller marked as spam by mistake doesn’t ring and leaves no missed-call notification.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
How do I mark a call as not spam, or report spam?
- Open the Phone app and tap Recent calls.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- Tap the call labeled spam by mistake, then Not spam. Google says future calls from that number won’t be marked as spam.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- If the number is blocked, tap Unblock.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
- To report spam instead, touch and hold the call, then tap Block or Report spam.Google, Phone app Help: Use caller ID & spam protection
How do I use it with Vicem?
Keep the setting on, and send the calls you don’t answer to Vicem.
- Forward your unanswered and busy calls to your Vicem number. Your phone company’s codes are on the call forwarding page.
- On a Pixel, turn off automatic screening and Take a Message if calls don’t reach Vicem: Google says screened calls aren’t forwarded, and a call Take a Message answers counts as answered.Google, Phone app Help: Call ScreenGoogle, Phone app Help: Take a Message
- Test it: call your number from a phone that isn’t in your contacts and let Vicem pick up.
What does Vicem add?
Vicem is an AI with its own number. It answers the calls you miss, says it’s an AI, and turns scam callers away.
- Junk calls and texts are handled without interrupting you.
- Spam calls it turns away never count against your minutes.
- Works when your phone is off.
- Vicem costs from $24 a month, your US or Canadian number included. Free for 3 days.
What do people ask?
What is Caller ID and spam protection?
A setting in Google’s Phone app that shows business names for callers outside your contacts and warns you about likely spam. It’s on by default.
Should I turn on Caller ID and spam protection?
With it on, you see spam warnings and business names, and numbers outside your contacts are sent to Google. With it off, you get neither, and Google stops collecting those numbers.
Does Caller ID and spam protection block calls?
Not by itself. It labels calls; the Filter spam calls switch is what stops flagged calls from ringing. They stay in your call history.
Is Samsung’s Caller ID and spam protection the same thing?
No. It has the same name, but it’s Samsung’s Smart Call, and Samsung says its features are provided by Hiya. Google’s setting is in the Phone by Google app.