To see every number you’ve blocked on an iPhone running iOS 26 or later, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts. On iOS 18, go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Blocked Contacts, and on iOS 17 or earlier, Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts.
That list shows the numbers, contacts and email addresses you’ve blocked. It doesn’t show when a blocked person tried to reach you: the iPhone keeps no log of blocked calls or texts. The one trace you may find is a voicemail, which lands in a separate Blocked Messages folder if your carrier supports Visual Voicemail.
Where is the blocked list on your iOS version?
Not sure which version you have? Check Settings > General > About > iOS Version.
| iOS version | Path to the blocked list |
|---|---|
| iOS 26 and later | Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts (the Phone settings path below also still works) |
| iOS 18 | Settings > Apps > Phone > Blocked Contacts |
| iOS 17 and earlier | Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts |
Phone, Messages and FaceTime share one block list, so you don’t need to check each app separately. On older versions you’ll also find the same list under the Messages and FaceTime settings.
How to view blocked numbers in Settings
These steps are for iOS 26 and later.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Privacy & Security.
- Scroll down and tap Blocked Contacts.
- Look through the list. Saved contacts appear by name, and everything else appears as a phone number or email address.
A saved contact can have several numbers and email addresses, and blocking the contact blocks all of them. If someone still gets through, check whether they’re calling from a number that isn’t saved on their contact card.
Note: If Blocked Contacts isn’t under Privacy & Security, you’re on iOS 18 or earlier. Use the path for your version from the table above.
Check whether one specific number is blocked
If you only want to know about one person, you don’t have to scroll the whole list.
- Open the Phone app and find the number in your call list, or open Contacts and tap the person’s name.
- Tap the number or name to open its details.
- Scroll to the bottom. If you see Block Caller, the number isn’t blocked. If you see an option to unblock instead, it is.
In Messages, you can do the same by opening the conversation and tapping the person’s name at the top.
Can you see calls and texts from blocked numbers?
Mostly no. According to Apple’s blocking guide, texts from a blocked person aren’t delivered, and the sender isn’t told they were blocked. Blocked calls don’t ring and don’t appear in your recent calls either, so there’s no history to review later. Unblocking someone doesn’t bring back anything they sent while blocked.
Here’s what does and doesn’t leave a trace:
| What the blocked person does | What you can see |
|---|---|
| Calls you | Nothing. The call isn’t listed in your recent calls. |
| Leaves a voicemail | The voicemail, in Blocked Messages (Visual Voicemail only). You get no notification. |
| Sends an iMessage or text | Nothing. The message is never delivered. |
| Calls you on FaceTime | Nothing. |
| Sends an email to the Mail app | The email, moved straight to your Trash folder. |
How to find voicemails from blocked numbers
Apple says blocked callers can still leave a voicemail, but you won’t be notified. Where you find it depends on which layout your Phone app uses in iOS 26.
- Open the Phone app.
- In the Unified layout, tap Calls, tap the Filter button in the top-right corner, then tap Voicemails. In the Classic layout (and on iOS 18 or earlier), tap Voicemail at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll to the bottom of the voicemail list and tap Blocked Messages.
If there’s no Blocked Messages entry, either no blocked caller has left a message or your carrier doesn’t send voicemail to the iPhone this way. Carriers that don’t offer Visual Voicemail keep all messages in their own mailbox, which you reach by calling it, and they may not separate blocked callers at all. Apple’s page on the Unified and Classic Phone layouts shows how to switch views if you prefer the old tabs.
A number isn’t on the list, but its calls still don’t ring
Blocking isn’t the only thing that stops calls. If someone says they called and you saw nothing, check these before assuming they’re blocked:
- Unknown caller screening: On iOS 26, Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers can silence numbers that aren’t in your contacts. On older versions the switch is called Silence Unknown Callers. Our guide to letting unknown callers ring again covers both.
- Focus or Do Not Disturb: A Focus can silence calls from everyone outside an allowed list. Silenced calls still appear as missed calls, unlike blocked ones.
- Carrier or app spam filters: Your carrier’s spam protection or a call-blocking app can stop calls before they reach the phone, and those numbers won’t show in Blocked Contacts.
- Screen Time limits: On a child’s iPhone, Communication Limits can restrict who can call.
Unblock, or block someone new
You can manage the list from the same screen. Tap Edit to remove entries, or tap Add Blocked Contact to block someone from your contacts. For the full steps, including unblocking from the Phone or Messages app, see how to unblock a number on iPhone. If you need to stop someone who isn’t on the list yet, here’s how to block a caller, and you can block unwanted texts the same way.
Questions people ask about blocked numbers
Does the blocked list sync to my other Apple devices?
Email blocking works across every device signed in to the same Apple Account, according to Apple. Numbers blocked for calls and messages usually show on your iPad and Mac too, but check the list on each device if a blocked number still gets through there.
Can a blocked person tell they’re blocked?
Apple says the person gets no notification. They may notice their calls go straight to voicemail or their iMessages never show “Delivered,” but the iPhone doesn’t tell them directly.
Can I recover texts a blocked number sent me?
No. Blocked texts are never delivered to your iPhone, so there’s nothing to recover, even after you unblock the number.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.