Hiya Spam Blocker vs PhoneBlock

Hiya Spam Blocker is an Android and iOS app for identifying unknown callers and screening or blocking unwanted spam, telemarketing, and robocalls. Its free version provides spam and fraud alerts, caller ID for known businesses and spam numbers, spoof protection settings, and blocking settings. Premium adds automatic call blocking, reverse number lookup, enhanced caller ID, Call Screener, and more frequent spam updates on iPhone. Premium costs $3.99 a month or $24 a year, and a 7-day trial is listed. Features vary between platforms: automated call screening is listed for iOS, while visual voicemail is listed for Android. Call Screener requires Premium and is available in the US and Canada on supported carriers; Android requires one active SIM. Individual non-business number identification is a Premium feature and is unavailable in Europe due to privacy regulations. Hiya also describes real-time voice analysis that warns about suspected deepfake voices during calls. It says newly emerging or spoofed spam numbers may initially go unflagged, and withheld numbers cannot be individually identified or blocked.

PhoneBlock is a free call-blocking service that uses a community-maintained database to identify unwanted advertising and spam calls. Users can report numbers through the app, website, or personal blacklist, and reports join the shared blacklist. The Android app blocks known spam calls, keeps call history, and supports reports and personal lists; it requires Android 10 or later. For incoming calls, the Android app sends only the phone number’s SHA-1 hash and does not access contacts.

Landline users can choose a router dongle, a Fritz!Box cloud answering machine, or a blocklist phonebook synchronized through CardDAV. The documented iPhone setup syncs spam numbers into contacts through CardDAV; a native iPhone app is in development, and beta registration is available. Phone systems can download the blocklist in different formats or query it through an API. PhoneBlock is licensed under GPL-3.0 and operated as a private project. The operator accepts email requests for help, including for mistakenly listed numbers. PhoneBlock costs nothing, with donations optional; its terms advise against business use.