Photo by James Bareham / The Verge
Getting spam calls is no fun. Screening those unwanted calls with Google’s free “Screen Call” feature available for Pixel phones gives you a chance to protect your privacy.
Here’s how it works: when you think you’re getting a spam call, or you just don’t know who is on the line, you press a “Screen Call” button instead of the green button used to accept a call. The Google Assistant answers on your behalf by informing the person on the other end (if there is one) that you are screening the call, and asking the caller to identify themselves and describe the purpose of the call. You can listen live, jump in to answer it at any time, or continue to follow along via an automated transcript that is generated on the call screen. If you deem it…