How to use Kabe

Block calls:

iOS 17 and earlier have no "Apps" level: Settings → Phone → Call Blocking & Identification → turn on Kabe.

Filter scam texts (iOS 26):

iOS 18: Settings → Apps → Messages → turn on "Filter Unknown Senders" → choose Kabe. On iOS 17 and earlier, Messages is on the first Settings screen.

Kabe is greyed out? Go back one screen and open it again.

iPhone does not tell apps whether the text filter is on. So Kabe's home screen reminds you to check it in Settings.

1. Open Kabe. On the home screen, tap into "Phone Blocking" to reach "Block by Number Range".
2. Pick a country and type the first digits of the number.
3. The remaining digits become dots, and Kabe shows how many numbers will be blocked.
4. Tap "Add".

Example: pick the United States and type 866771. It becomes 866771●●●● (10 digits), 10,000 numbers.

One dot stands for any single digit. You can use up to 5 dots, which is 100,000 numbers. If you type a complete number, only that one number is blocked.

Above the number field you can switch between two ways of typing.

• Default: pick a country and type only the start. Kabe fills in the rest based on that country's number length. This is right for most people.
• Custom: type the whole number yourself, starting with the country code. Use the ● key at the bottom left for unknown digits. One ● is any single digit. If a company calls from extensions, add 2 or 3 ● after the number to block the extensions too.

Once Kabe is chosen in Settings, it works on its own. You don't need to add rules.

Suspicious short links and senders that pretend to be a brand go to "Spam" in Messages. Texts from people in your contacts never go through Kabe.

Under "Phone Blocking" on the home screen there is a line called "Exceptions". Tap it and add numbers in the "Exceptions" section at the bottom of the page.

Numbers you add here always ring, even if they fall inside a blocked range.

Usually you can leave this empty. Add a number only when an important caller gets blocked.

No app on iPhone can block these two. A hidden number has nothing to match, and only your carrier can stop calls from abroad.

Kabe's home screen has two guides: "Block “No Caller ID” Calls" and "Block All International Calls". They tell you, for your country, whether your carrier offers this and how to turn it on. If the carrier doesn't, they show what you can do in iPhone Settings instead.

• iOS 26: have you ever called this number yourself? On iOS 26, numbers you have called cannot be blocked. Delete that outgoing call in the "Recents" list of the Phone app and it will be blocked.
• The home screen says "Not blocking: the list did not load": turn your iPhone fully off and on again. Closing and reopening the app does not help.
• One rule does not work: in "Block by Number Range", swipe that row to the right and tap "Not blocking" to tell us.

Still stuck? See the FAQ, or use "Send feedback" in the app.