These days there are just too many friends and family members that call us and we need to see which one is calling, after all, some may invite us to a great party while others can be a royal pain that we would simply rather not talk to at the moment. There are just as many strangers out there looking to get a hold of us to sell something, maybe a bill collector, or an ex-spouse, ex-girl or boyfriend that just will not leave you alone. The first type of call requires Caller ID and for the latter type of caller you could use Call Block to keep those kinds of calls from ever reaching your device and bothering you in the first place.
Below is a list of some of the better Apps we found to perform those functions – there are many out there – but the following ten were either highly rated, had lots of downloads, or many options, and a nice user interface. Let us know on our Google+ Page which Caller ID or Caller Block app you use and why you like it so much – we would love to hear from you.
HD Full Screen Caller ID
If you just want a Full-Screen Caller ID picture, then this is the app for you. It has over 4 million downloads and offers 18 different themes free of charge. I never understood why the device manufacturers offer us these large displays, but give us such a small picture when it comes to caller IDs and messaging – well, this app will fix what ails you. You can use up to 500 contacts for free, and see an HD Full Screen Caller ID for incoming/outgoing calls, missed calls, and SMS messaging.
Truecaller
This app has over 40 million downloads and close to 400,000 reviews/ratings. It will handle both needs – Caller ID and Call Blocking by giving you access to Truecaller’s extensive top spammers list. It will also do a reverse number lookup for both mobile and landline numbers, and even finds numbers to pre-paid phones. You can also create a widget to see your caller history from the launcher. It is free and has no advertisements.
LINE Whoscall
This App has over 5 million downloads and was “One of the Best Apps of 2013” on Google Play in eight different countries. You can identify the source of calls and text messages even if they are not in your current contact list by using their global database of over 600 million users. They claim “more than 20 million calls are filtered and about 50,000 malicious calls are blocked by users every day.” If you download their database to your phone, you can instantly identify Caller IDs even without an internet connection.
Calls Blacklist
This app will not only block unwanted calls, but also SMS messages and allows you to create a Blacklist. This app does not use many resources and offers little drain on your battery. This App is not for Caller ID, only a real spam filter to keep certain phone numbers or SMS messages from ever reaching you. It saves all block content in a journal format so you will not lose an important call or message. You can also block private numbers or disable notifications as well.
TalkSide
Praised by a few publications, TalkSide not only is a Full-screen Caller ID, but grabs information on your caller from multiple places like Facebook, recent photos, chat history, birthday reminders and more, so you have a complete picture and info of your caller. It will keep a chat history and always remember the last thing you were chatting about with an individual and displays that for you to see – makes you look pretty smart remembering all of those facts!
CIA
When a call comes in from someone who never called you before, imagine if you could see the name, address, and other details showing on your screen right away, while your phone is still ringing – allowing you to properly prepare yourself for the call or decide not to take it – this is CIA. The Caller Identification App (CIA) lets you do that and much more, such as gathering the callers’ social network profiles from Facebook and LinkedIN. You can also block numbers by assigning them as a spam number to get rid of those annoying telemarketing calls.
Contactive
This App taps information from multiple sources, such as your social media networks and publicly available sources such as Yelp and Contactive’s own Global Directory of over 600 million names to show you who is calling before you answer your smartphone. You can also create and use the App’s Smart Address Book and it will also create a “cheat sheet” for you of your contact’s latest updates. Sources for update information are gathered from Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln, Gmail, Google+, WhatsApp, and many more.
Mr. Number
Mr. Number claims to be the most powerful call blocker and text blocker on the market today. You can block calls and texts from one person, an area code, or the entire world. You can stop/block telemarketers and bill collectors before they waste your time. It will automatically block text and numbers from unknown or private numbers, and can even report spam calls, SMS, or MMS to warn others. It has reverse number lookup for both mobile and landline numbers. Mr. Number has won numerous awards in its App category.
CallApp
Call App is both a Caller ID and Block Number App and is one of the most comprehensive apps that can identify over a billion unknown callers and can update your contacts with social picture and information from Facebook, Linkedin, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, Foursquare, and many more social networks and web sources. The App has won several awards, supports over 200 countries, is integrated with over 60 information sources – combining your phone dialer and local search platform to give you access to people and places all in one convenient place – your dialer.
Current
Current Caller ID does it all – identifies unknown callers and texters, adds weather and social updates for known contacts, and allows you to block unwanted callers or texters. It won as one of the “50 Best Android Apps of 2012” by Time Magazine, 2013’s Webby Award App, and more. It will identify over 300 million home, business, and mobile phone numbers from the #1 trusted source, the White Pages. This App will also tie into your social networks and pulls over the information so you are up-to-date to make your calls easier and more fun because you have some information to include in your conversation – even the local news and weather of your caller. You can manage all of your calls, texts, and contacts in one place.