Rejected: Google Pixel phones aggressively fight annoying spam calls

Do you get spam calls everyday and find them absolutely infuriating? Well, help is on the way if you own a Google phone and are willing to beta test early software.

Google's new anti-spam features are coming to the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, original Pixel and Pixel XL, and Nexus phones via suspect-call-weeding Google Dialer app update.

Right now, silencing annoying marketing calls requires signing up to become a beta tester of the Dialer app, or you can wait for the official roll out in a few weeks, notes 9to5Google.

How it works on the Google Pixel 2

Google already highlights spam calls on Pixel phones with a bright red background and the words 'Suspected spam caller'. Today's beta update goes further than that.

The Dialer app sends spam calls straight to voicemail and doesn't ring the phone. It doesn't even show a missed call or voicemail notification on the lockscreen.

It's almost as if your device is on Do Not Disturb mode when telemarketers try to hijack your otherwise productive day. It's a long-overdue feature for smartphones.

Google's Dialer app update is the most aggressive first-party method of fighting spam calls, one that will benefit more users than any individual third-party app. 

Of course, we fully expect liquefied T-1000-like marketers to piece themselves back together, and either find ways around this filter or focus more on spam texts.

Matt Swider