Rakuten Viber Is Adding Caller ID, Spam Filtering for Any Incoming Call |Pacific Updates

The Rakuten Viber chat app is adding call screening features that could help you avoid spam, including for calls that aren’t being made through Viber.

The messaging app announced Tuesday that its new Caller ID feature, which will initially launch on Android, will identify any call after being turned on along with a warning for possible spam. This could be very useful for anyone with limited Caller ID support through their carrier, but would like any way possible to avoid these spam-like features.

Spam calls are being identified through a combination of what Viber says is a spam score aggregation and through phone numbers reported by other Viber users. When opted into the feature, users will receive post-call options that include redialing a number, reporting a number, messaging or saving a contact.

The feature also comes as Android phone makers continue to incorporate similar features for avoiding spam calls. Most recently, Samsung has launched a Bixby Text Call feature that allows you to text a phone caller, with your responses dictated using the Bixby assistant. Google has also included its own set of call screening features on its Pixel devices, which let the Google Assistant screen an incoming call using guided prompts. However those options from Samsung and Google require you to purchase one of their phones, but this Viber feature would be available for anyone using Android.

The feature is first launching internationally to Viber users in Vietnam, Armenia and Moldova. A global rollout of the feature will continue through the rest of the year. An iOS launch is also planned, but a representative from Viber said that timing for it is not yet available.

While the Viber chat app is more popular internationally than in the US, with 1 billion active users as of March 2020, a caller identification feature like this could provide a reason to use Viber even if you don’t have friends or family using it for texting. Robocalls of all kinds have been a persistent thorn, and any new feature that helps fight them for free, the better.