Take Control of
FaceTime and Messages

What’s New in Version 4.1

Since the release of this edition, Apple added beta support in the 26.5 updates of their operating systems for end-to-end encryption using the RCS standard, allowing Messages to have truly protected conversations with people using the Google-standard messaging format. See “Compose and Transmit a Message,” “The Cans and Cannots of iMessage and Non-iMessage,” and “How E2EE Works with FaceTime and Messages.”

Previously, I didn’t explain the how your name and photo in an iMessage conversation worked when you choose Contacts Only or Always Ask. That’s now updated in “Update Contacts via an iMessage.”

Also in this update is something new to the iPhone—in 2016. I apparently missed one method of using emoji in Messages that requires a couple of operations, and is 10 years old! See “Learn What You Can Send in a Message.”

What Was New in the Fourth Edition

Every once in a while, Apple carries out a major overhaul of its user interfaces, which is what happened in 2025 with their Liquid Glass approach that now spans iOS, iPad, macOS, tvOS, visionOS, and watchOS. This required updating every screen capture in this book.

Apple also changed their operating system version numbering scheme to better reflect annual updates. The latest updates covered by this book are iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26.

In addition to the major interface change described through the book, the following updates start with changes available across the communication apps, then look at features unique to each app, and finish with miscellaneous updates.

The Filter Menu

You’ve seen the Filter menu before in the Mail app and in a few other apps. Now, Apple has deployed it in FaceTime, Messages, and Phone as a primary tool to handle categories and miscellaneous stuff.

You will wind up using the Filter menu for multiple purposes:

• Pick a category: Apple treats the main view now as a filter choice of Calls (FaceTime, Phone) or Messages (er, Messages). Other categories include Missed, Unknown Callers, and Spam. The most salient place to read about filtering is in “Managed Unwanted Contact,” as discussed next.
• Listen to voicemail: In FaceTime, Video and Voicemails categories let you see Video voicemails and listen to audio ones; in Phone, Voicemails including just audio messages. See “Take Action When Unanswered and Work with Voicemail.”
• Switch Phone views on iPhone: The Phone app can revert from the modern “unified” view back to the iOS 18 version via the Filter menu. See “Choose Unified or Classic.”
• Find recently deleted messages: See “Recover Deleted Messages.”

Deflect Unwanted Calls and Messages

Across FaceTime, Messages, and Phone, you can now take advantage of machine-learning-based local-only content examination that blocks, deters, and filters unwanted incoming calls and texts:

• Block spam calls (FaceTime, Phone): Incoming calls identified as fraudulent are blocked by default. See “Silence and Filter Unwanted Calls.”
• Silence and filter unwanted calls (FaceTime, Phone): Incoming calls that aren’t from a known caller (contacts and previous calls) and haven’t been marked as spam are silenced and filtered. See “Silence and Filter Unwanted Calls.”
• Screen and filter incoming text messages (Messages): Message from unknown parties are filtered as unknown or spam. Unknown calls may produce an alert, however, if they appear to be from a legitimate source (like a code verification for login). See “Screen Incoming Text Messages.”
• Call Screening (Phone): If you enable Call Screening, unknown inbound callers don’t cause your Phone app to ring. Rather, they are asked by machine-generated voice to provide their name and why they are calling. If they reply, this is transcribed and shown to you through a notification. See “Screen Calls To Avoid Unwanted Ones.”

Live Translation

Apple previously offered minimal options for translation, mostly centered around text. With the new operating systems, you can access live audio and text translation across FaceTime, Messages, and Phone on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac:

• Voice: In FaceTime and Phone, you can choose to have other speakers of supported languages translated through machine-generated spoken translations and live captions into one of your choosing. See “Translate While You Speak in FaceTime,” which covers both FaceTime Audio and Phone call translation.
• Text: In Messages, you can opt to enable live text translation. See “Live Translation in Messages.”

Live Translation requires any party that wants to perform the real-time conversion to have an iPhone or iPad capable of using Apple Intelligence with that feature enabled. See “Apple Intelligence Requirements.”

Audio Recording

A new feature, Live Capture, lets you record high-quality audio from any app source directly to a local file. This can be invaluable for podcasting and other purposes. With AirPods or AirPods Pro with an H2 chip, you can record in high-definition audio. See “Capture Local Audio.”

App-Based Changes

Each of the communications apps have had specific changes.

FaceTime

FaceTime has seen the fewest changes of the three communications apps in terms of features:

• New interface: Apple revamped the app’s interface, making it more consistent and using thumbnails with Contact Posters or initials as the new recents list, in place of the previous text-based entry list. Start with “Choose Who to Call Via FaceTime” and “Call from Recents List,” but the whole “FaceTime Basics” section will help.
• Group FaceTime changes behavior: FaceTime tiles for multiple participants now only arrange into a grid. Other subtle changes occurred, too, which I document in “Place a Group FaceTime Call.”
• Link revision: Creating a FaceTime session link is a somewhat different process than before. See “Connect on FaceTime with a Link,” which calls out the changes.

Messages

Messages has several minor additions:

• New info pane for conversation partners: Tapping or clicking a profile image in a conversation reveals a pane. See “See What’s Shared in a Conversation.”
• Lunch, anyone? You can add polls in group chats in Messages so that you can decide, say, if you’re hitting a sushi bar or a taco joint for lunch. See “Poll a Conversation.”
• Custom conversation backgrounds: Apple now lets individual conversations have their own vibe—you can choose a background from Apple’s selections or your photos uniquely for each conversation. See “Color a Conversation.”

Phone

Apple rethought Phone and expanded it from the iPhone to iPad and Mac. The changes include:

• Revised interface: Phone now integrates cellular and FaceTime calling, reducing the numbers of tabs you have to manage, and improves finding information about calls or callers. See “Phone Basics” and “Choose Unified or Classic.”
• Call Screening: Described above, a great new tool for deterring time-wasters and fraudsters. See “Screen Calls To Avoid Unwanted Ones.”
• Hold Assist: Hold Assist identifies when you’re on hold. You can also invoke it manually. The Phone app monitors for changes in the hold audio, identifies when a person picks up, alerts you, and transcribes the audio it identified so you can drop into the call without asking the representative to repeat themselves. See “Avoid Painful Waits on Hold.”