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.
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.
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.
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.
