If you were to ask most people what the most annoying thing about phones is, the majority of people might say spam calls. Whether you’re dodging bill collectors or just trying to avoid stores that still do old school client call marketing, getting spam phone calls is plain annoying. That’s why Google is trying to stop the spam madness.

Google has released a new app for Android that will effectively block unwanted spam calls. Here’s how it works.

Available for Certain Phones

The new spam blocking update is available for Google’s Nexus and Android One devices. Google has created the app (technically an app update) to help users identify core callers from spam callers. Google’s app will use a user’s phonebook to identify callers that are stored in that phonebook and to sort out callers that are not identifiable.

When a spam call comes in, a large red banner will display across the top of the phone. The banner will determine that the caller could be a spam caller. When a spam caller has been identified, the app gives the user the option to permanently block the caller. If the caller is not actually a spammer, users have the option to add that number to a phone book.

Appealing to Android Users

The new app update is very appealing to Android users. Android phones (most) already have a sophisticated caller ID feature, and this additional feature will simply add to the caller identification option. Google has chosen to make the app update available on some phones and not others for the time being - mostly so that the Android phones with the new update will sell better, it seems.

While this is not the first time that a spam call identifying app has been created for Android phones, most of those apps are outside apps. The new Google app update will be the first of its kind to be fully integrated into the Android phones mentioned here. Apple phones, on the other hand, have been somewhat restricted in the past - but that’s about to change too.

iOS As Well

The new iOS 10 is coming out this September, and along with that update a spam blocker is expected to be integrated into the new iOS systems. The spam filter will operate much the same way as Google's but with Apple restrictions in place. Further, it is expected that Apple will make it easier for third party apps to create apps for iOS, which is currently difficult for some third party app makers to do.

Caller ID is something basic that smartphones tend to be a bit behind on. While the technology to screen callers in detail is there and is relatively ready, most smartphones do not have spam projecting tech integrated. Seemingly, this is all going to change this year. Soon, you might be able to tell if the person lighting up your phone is a spam caller - and mark those phone calls as spam calls for future reference. Needless to say, this will make the jobs of bill collectors a lot harder in the near future.