@karpathy I just don’t pickup any phone anymore unless I 100% know the caller. Max filtering.

@brandmania I don’t pick up anything either but I still get notifications, which are cluttering and annoying.

@karpathy iOS 26 call screening works great

@JacobB1290H I updated last night. This morning I saw a notification of a silenced call (random number), but no voicemail. So instead of 2 notifications it's 1, which is progress. I really need the version with no notifications at all, otherwise 10 of them randomly light up my phone per day.

@karpathy It’s so freaking bad. No matter how many times i have blocked them, they rotate numbers

@danielmerja Same

@karpathy The “solution” here isn’t really a feature tweak, it’s structural. What Karpathy is describing is the breakdown of the phone network’s trust layer. Phones were originally built on the assumption that a phone number mapped to a real, accountable entity. That assumption is dead.

@karpathy yeah you gotta answer 5+ times and tell them you are not in the market for that so that your lead gets scrapped by lists

@karpathy The absolute easiest solution to this would be to implement a carrier charge per call that is paid to you. Functionally you could set a rate per minute or per call for any inbound or text message from an unknown number solves this problem $500 text this number $1k to call

@karpathy Pixel filters them out much better than apple's. I nearly never actually see the spam calls unless I go check phone history. Same with texts. If I check, the text spam folder is full, but I never even saw any of them.

@karpathy The built in call screening and SMS filtering on the Google pixel phones. I get basically no spam whatsoever. Maybe 1 or 2 calls a month slip through, but I have it on the medium setting not the most aggressive.

@karpathy I built an AI voice agent and forwarded all my calls. If they can get past my EAs prompt it gets transferred to me or routed to voice message which is transcribed, summarized, and classified, or it issues a do not call request and blocks the number.

@karpathy It’s a HUGE problem. But I’ve mostly solved it by using a Focus called “Work”, which only allows people who are in my Contacts to ring thru. All other calls go to vm.

@karpathy Switch to GoogleFi. 0 spam calls per day.

@karpathy I get all this too. Once you start getting the calls, it seems to be impossible to stop them. I don’t understand who ever picks up these calls and says yes to a loan, so why do they bother?

@karpathy Set up your inbox with the “This number has been disconnected message” recording. Set it for a while then revert back. Most people text nowadays with others setting up a call time/date.

@karpathy the iOS silence unknown callers silences 100% of calls from unknown numbers. you saying "even if it catches them" makes me think you've never used it!

@karpathy I have a service that requires callers not on a whitelist to listen to a short instructional message and then press "1" to continue through to my actual line Has eliminated 100% of robocalls and spam callers

@karpathy Exact same problem here. Been going on for months. Last Wednesday I reported the latest call to the FTC. Now I haven't had a call since. Simply coincidence? Idk.

@karpathy Settings -> Focus -> DND Set schedule (all day) Allow notifications (none) This blocks everyone & everything. To allow contacts to reach you that you want: Contact -> Info -> Ring/Text Tone -> Emergency bypass on You basically block all, then allow list the ones you want

@karpathy In Germany, I get maybe 3 spam calls per year. Not sure why there is this difference. It could be that the network providers filter better or that spam calls are prosecuted.

@karpathy I have a work phone that isn’t used for anything other than to post on social media. It’s not tied to a social phone number and somehow magically it’s getting spam texts and phone calls. The phone number has never been used.

@karpathy Have you tried using Google Voice as a buffer? Friend switched to it last year and it's been a game-changer - it screens all calls first and their spam has dropped by like 90%. Plus you can keep your real number private.

@karpathy I've had good luck with Google fi screening doesn't stop it but can eliminate interruptions while still leaving room for ability for real call to get through

@karpathy Yes - same problems. The crux of the issue is that there are Telcos and carriers that still profit from this abuse. They have no incentives to implement caller authentication standards. The carriers that do, don't enforce or restrict those who do not. In addition- a few carriers

@karpathy I just sue the companies that call. They usually settle. $500-$5,000 per call. Personal best is a $10,000 settlement for a single call.

@karpathy Best thing is to get a random area code phone number and the spammers will call with that random area code

@karpathy I’ve been having this issue. Recently, I started answering the calls, muting myself, putting it on speaker phone and letting the call go until they hang up due to inactivity. They don’t get a voicemail and they hear no person on the other end, which essentially registers to

@karpathy Have you got your first group text yet and then some retard replies to the whole group “who is this?” And then your phone starts to blow up. Thank god you can block group chats.

@karpathy Same problem. Super annoying. I wish there was an automated way for my phone software to pick up the phone, determine with high accuracy that it’s spam, hang up, block number and delete notification.

@karpathy Can't wait for iOS 26! It has a new voice assistant that picks up unknown calls, asks who's calling and why, then lets me decide if I want to answer... hopefully Apple is not letting us down with this one.