In some areas, including the US, Google Pixel phones enable a helpful feature called Call Screening. According to a report, over seven years after the functionality’s inception, the corporation is now working on bringing it to India. During calls, the Pixel phones’ Call Screening feature will also utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to display intelligent reply options that the user must manually select to answer callers. Later this year, Apple is expected to release iOS 26, which will have comparable call-screening tools.
Pixel Phone Call Screening May Need Regulatory Approval
Google is aiming to introduce the feature in India, according to files discovered by Android Authority during a recent APK deconstruction of the Phone by Google app. The Call Screening feature on the Google Pixel smartphone app may utilise one of these: a ZIP file that contains the text “hi_in”, which refers to the language (Hindi) and localisation (India).
Another string, known as “enableIndiaManualScreeningOnlyMode,” was also discovered by the newspaper, indicating that users in India will not be able to access the automated version of Call Screening that is available in the US. If manual call screening is implemented nationwide, users will have to select from a variety of responses after tapping a Screen call button for incoming calls.
While the company has not confirmed its intentions to add Call Screening to Pixel phones in India, the magazine speculates that the feature may be subject to regulatory approval before being rolled out. Furthermore, it’s unknown if Google will launch the feature in Hindi and English or if other languages will be added later.
Google has been observed developing support for call screening on previous occasions. The function was activated by a user on a rooted OnePlus 7 running AOSPA, a modified version of Android, in January 2024. After downloading a Hindi language pack on their smartphone, users can activate the feature.
A similar feature, which asks callers for details and allows the user to choose whether to accept or reject a call, is also expected to be released by Apple later this year with iOS 26. The Live Voicemail feature, introduced to iPhone users in India with the iOS 18 update, is expected to work in conjunction with this functionality.
