Apple is doing something about the unbelievable daily nuisance that is spam phone calls.
The company announced on Wednesday that it is giving businesses a way to register their information, such as names and logos, in such a way that it appears consistently across different forms of communication. For example, if Walgreens does this and emails you about a prescription, you'll see "branded mail" that's clearly actually from the company and not an imposter. The same goes for phone calls, which will display a company logo if it's from the registered entity starting sometime next year.
This is all done through a program called Business Connect, with the caller ID feature being called, well, Business Caller ID. If it works as described, it will certainly save some people from headaches down the line, but the limitations are apparent right away. Businesses seemingly have to register for Business Connect themselves, for instance, and adventurous grifters will always find some kind of way to grift.
But at least someone is doing something. As someone who has gotten as many as seven or eight spam phone calls in a day before, I welcome it.
