Starting now, iPhones set to Italian can use «Ask the reason for the call», the feature that makes the phone question anyone calling from a number not saved in contacts. With iOS 27.2, released on October 26, Apple brings the localized version of Call Screening to Italy. It was first presented in June 2025 alongside iOS 26 but had no Italian language until now.

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The mechanism kicks in during the ring. The iPhone takes over the call, asks the caller to identify themselves and explain why they are calling, transcribes the answer and shows it on screen as a short message. Only then does the user decide whether to answer, decline or ask for more details. If the text is not enough, the user can send a written message that the iPhone reads aloud to the caller, useful when answering is inconvenient, for example on a train or at work.

The feature does not recognize phone spam on its own and blocks nothing automatically: it does not decide whether a number belongs to a call center or a sales operator. It adds one step, unlike options that silence unknown numbers and hide the call without letting the user assess it. Here the phone still signals the incoming call but holds it until the user decides.

To activate it, install iOS 27.2 on a compatible iPhone, then open Settings, go to Apps, select Phone, scroll to Filter Unknown Numbers and choose Ask the Reason for the Call. The filter works only on calls from numbers not in contacts.

The principle is not new. The system closely resembles what WhatsApp already offers, which on some calls from unsaved numbers can answer on the user's behalf, ask the reason for the contact and show a transcript. In Apple's case, the transcript is what matters: the filter only works if the recipient can read immediately what the caller said. An Italian anti-spam app, Oblio One, is taking a different path, filtering locally on the smartphone without external servers, as already reported on AlexTech.

The news comes as iOS 27 has already introduced other security tools, such as Impersonation Risk Detection. For Italian users the main gain is full localization, which makes the filter usable without beta versions.