Let me predict, Google will remove their advertisers numbers from the list for a fee…
Great, Google will scoop up every number, let users define what the numbers are (more info gathering for them), and once they’ve gathered enough info, kill the app.
Just get Yet Another Call Blocker
I was curious so had a look at that app. Hasn’t been updated in years and the original author appears unresponsive.
I would probably advise against that, at least from a security standpoint.
What’s it going to do, block the wrong call?
It blocks anyone not in my contact list. The end.
Just because somethings old doesn’t mean it’s insecure. I swear, I don’t know where people got this crazy idea stuff needs to be constantly updated.
No, youre right - just because its old doesnt mean its insecure. But honestly, it’s very short sighted to think there may not be potential security issues. I haven’t gone through the code, and I’m not going to, but the amount of problems that could crop up due to using an app that is not being maintained are potentially huge.
Maybe its reaching out to a server to get a block list, and that server has now been exploited and is now distributing malware to your phone?
Maybe the way it handles blocking calls has a huge flaw which can be exploited by another app to gain higher privileges than its own?
Just looking at the issues list, a year ago someone even points out that through using a static analyzer they found 23 issues. Who knows the severity of them?
This is all speculation. But to just wave off a geniune concern is ignorant.
I think it’s too late for this to be useful. Number spoofing is ultra-common these days and most of the unwanted calls I receive are from spoofed numbers that appear to come from local areas.
If we start blocking the spoofed numbers then eventually we’ll just be blocking every possible combination of digits that can exist.
What we really need first is better detection and blocking of calls using spoofed numbers.
since STIR/SHAKEN protocols started to roll-out, the number of ‘spoofed’ calls coming in here have fallen-off considerably. down to only one, maybe, a week on a cellular line; and one every day or two on the office pots. nearly all bogus calls coming into a cell phone are marked by verizon as ‘potential spam’ alongside the reported cid number–some of which don’t even ring through at all.
if you get more than that on your phone, you need to get on your provider’s case about their STIR/SHAKEN implementation, or lack thereof.
I’d never heard of STIR/SHAKEN…but after looking into it, supposedly T-Mobile was one of the first mobile carriers to implement it…and I’m on T-Mobile…but for the past several years, I keep getting unwanted spam calls to my cell phone that appears to be originating from very regional local numbers (area codes and number prefixes that are local to my area)…because of that I just assumed that they had to be spoofed since the calls are always an unwanted telemarketing robo call and never involve an actual business that is local to me.
So I don’t know how they are still doing it, but somehow telemarketers are causing calls to route through exchanges that are completely local to me.
But try starting a google account with a spoofed number…
It might not be very useful for spoofed calls, but I can see the use to block harassers. You block once, and they are block in the phone and messages app, and also are blocked on your other or next devices.
Also, I think the block list is not shared between users, only between your own apps and devices.
Cool, so all the real people whose numbers get spoofed won’t be able to call anyone anymore.
The ways I understand it, it’s not shared between users, but between your apps and devices.
Useful when migrating to a new phone. Also, the same number can be blocked in Messages and the phone app.
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