Begone, the iPhone app that blocks telemarketing calls

Between repeated sales calls and unknown numbers, many users are looking for effective solutions to regain some peace and quiet.

And in this area, some operators have already taken a stand, such as Orange, but a new player could enter the game with Begone. Currently available only on iPhone, the app promises to block ranges of numbers used by telemarketers thanks to a simple setup system.

This approach relies less on identifying a specific caller than on filtering entire series of numbers…

An app designed to block entire ranges of numbers

A preview of the Begone app – Source: Begone

Begone stands out for its fairly straightforward operation, where the user can add to the app prefixes known to be used in telephone marketing, then complete the rest with generic characters. For example, by entering "0162######", it is possible to block all numbers within that range.

The advantage of this method is that you don't have to block numbers one by one, and the application thus allows you to quickly filter several series already identified for telemarketing in mainland France, such as 0162, 0163, 0270, 0271, 0377, 0378, 0424, 0425, 0568, 0569, 0948 and 0949.

To work, Begone must be activated in the settings of the iPhone, in the section dedicated to call blocking and identification. Once this step is completed, adding filters is done in just a few steps.

Furthermore, the application also offers an import feature, convenient for integrating a complete list of prefixes all at once.

A free version… but also a paid option

Begone already allows you to set up your own blocking filters and create a private directory to identify certain contacts, and the application also allows importing and exporting configurations, which can facilitate sharing with other users.

In addition to this, a premium offer is also available to further automate protection, where it allows automatically blocking numbers reported by the Begone user community. Currently, this subscription is available from €1.99 per month, €19.99 per year, or €79.99 for a lifetime purchase. With this application, iPhones now have a new tool to limit unwanted calls. While awaiting its eventual availability on Android, Begone, without revolutionizing the filtering principle, addresses a very real need with an easy-to-use solution, at a time when Arcep (the French telecoms regulator) is taking the issue very seriously to protect consumers from abuses…