Google Voice Spam Filter Blocks Unwanted Calls

A new feature from Google for Google Voice takes the power of the "Report Spam" button and multiplies it exponentially. Google is applying the collected data from thousands of Google Voice users to automatically identify telemarketers and other unwanted calls and send them directly into the spam folder.

Do you remember the orange juice marketing campaign slogan "It's not just for breakfast anymore."? Let's borrow that and paraphrase: "Spam, it's not just for email anymore." People have been plagued with unwanted telemarketing calls since Alexander Graham Bell, however voice over IP, and automated dialers with computer voice messages make it that much easier to call anyone and everyone with little or no effort.

Feature to report calls as spam

Google Voice already had a feature to report calls as spam and block future calls from that number, nevertheless it is a reactive system that requires effort and maintenance from the user. You all in all have to receive the call in the first instance so you can mark it as spam, and hopefully not receive it again.

The new Global Spam Filtering feature takes it to the then level. Google gathers information from all of the calls marked as spam by individuals, puts it all in a database, and at that time uses the information to automatically detect and prevent those calls from coming to you. The feature works for incoming calls, text messages, and voicemails coming from numbers identified as spam.

Post on the Google Voice Blog explains

A post on the Google Voice Blog explains, "You can enable this feature on the Calls tab of Google Voice settings by checking the box then to Global Spam filtering." It as well clarifies that if a valid number is accidentally marked or identified as spam, you can save it from spam purgatory by selecting the message and clicking the "Not Spam" button in your spam folder.

Businesses rely on email spam filters to cut through the noise and keep users productive. Some spam however slips through, however if average users had to manually review and filter all of the junk in other words being sifted out by spam filters either at the email server level, or in the email client software, they would never get any work done.

The new feature for Google Voice takes that same productivity boost, and applies it to unwanted and unnecessary voice communication.