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Set Up Call Guard

Updated today

Ready for days without scam callers ringing your phone ? Call Guard is Cloaked’s AI-powered call screening feature. It works at the carrier level to reduce spam and scam calls while allowing important calls to reach you.

This guide explains what Call Guard does, how setup works, and how to fix common setup issues.

What Call Guard Does

Call Guard uses a carrier feature called Conditional Call Forwarding. This feature allows unknown callers to be automatically forwarded to your personal Cloaked AI assistant for screening. This helps keep you free of scam callers.​

When Call Guard is active:

  • Calls from people in your contacts ring through to you normally

  • Calls from unknown numbers are forwarded to Cloaked’s AI assistant

  • The assistant screens the caller and determines whether the call should reach you by marking it as spam or legitimate

  • Spam and scam calls are stopped before they interrupt you

Because this happens through your mobile carrier, setup requires a few one-time permissions and settings on your phone.

Before You Begin (Requirements)

Call Guard will only work if all of the following are true:

  • You are physically located in the United States

  • You are using a mobile phone (iOS or Android)

  • Your cellular plan includes voice calls and data

  • You have the latest version of the Cloaked app installed

  • You have the number you want protected on your Cloaked account

  • The number you want protected is set as your primary line

  • You do not have any additional call-blocking apps enabled
    ​

Carrier Support

Supported carriers

  • Verizon

  • AT&T

  • T-Mobile

  • Metro by T-Mobile

  • Mint Mobile

  • Xfinity Mobile

  • FreedomPop

  • Patriot Mobile

Not Supported

  • Most prepaid plans

  • Cricket Wireless

  • Google Fi

  • Republic Wireless

  • SpeedTalk Mobile

  • Visible

  • Walmart Family Mobile

May be supported (not guaranteed)


For the following carriers, you may need to contact their customer support directly to enable Conditional Call Forwarding.

  • Boost Mobile

  • Spectrum Mobile

  • Consumer Cellular

  • Gen Mobile

  • H2O Wireless

  • Safelink Wireless

  • Straight Talk Wireless

  • TextNow

  • Ting

  • Tracfone Wireless

  • True Connect

  • US Mobile

How to Set Up Call Guard

Setup for Call Guard happens within the Cloaked mobile app.

1. Start Setup

Open the Cloaked app and navigate to Call Guard:

  • Tap the Guard icon located at the bottom of the home screen, or

  • Go to Menu → Call Guard Settings

  • Tap Complete Setup

2. Grant Required Permissions

When prompted, allow the following:

  • Contacts: Select All Contacts
    ​    ​This ensures people you know always ring through without being screened.
    ​    ​

  • Notifications: Allow Push Notifications so you can see call activity.

3. Configure Device Settings

iOS

  • Turn Live Voicemail OFF

  • Turn Silence Unknown Callers ON or set Screen Unknown Callers to SILENCE

Android

  • Set Cloaked as your default Caller ID & Spam app

Follow the in-app prompts, then return to the Cloaked app.

4. Confirm Your Forwarding Number

Confirm the phone number where legitimate calls should be forwarded. This is most likely the phone number associated with the device where you’re completing setup

If needed, you’ll verify it with a one-time code sent to that number.

5. Enable Carrier Call Forwarding

This is the most important step.

  • Confirm your carrier in the app (or select “My carrier isn’t listed”)

  • Tap Call Now

  • Your phone’s dialer will open with a pre-filled activation code

  • Press call to enable conditional call forwarding

  • Hang up when the carrier confirms activation

  • Wait a few minutes; sometimes carriers take some time to adjust these settings

  • Return to the Cloaked app

The app will run a brief test call to confirm setup. You may see your phone ring. You should decline this call to allow us to thoroughly screen the Call Guard setup.

If you already use another spam blocking service, it will need to be turned off for the test call to succeed.

If your carrier is Verizon, for example, please make sure their Call Filter app is disabled.

It's important to note that many carriers silently turn on spam blocking services on your behalf, so we recommend triple checking this.

Troubleshooting Common Setup Issues

Setup or Test Call Fails

If the Call Forwarding step fails, you can try to manually set up forwarding by finding your carrier below and dialing the code associated with it along with the phone number of your Call Guard AI assistant.

Tip: Copy the code into Notes if you need to edit it before dialing.

Verizon (and Verizon-based carriers):

  • *71 + Call Guard number

Example: *711234567890
​

AT&T and T-Mobile (and MVNOs):

  • Primary: *004* + Call Guard number + #
    Backup: *61* + Call Guard number + #

Example: *61*1234567890#
​

Dual SIM or eSIM users:

Paste the code manually and select the SIM you want to protect.

Only one number can be protected per Cloaked account.

App Says Setup Is Incomplete, but Your Calls Are Being Screened

This can happen if the final test call fails.

  1. Manually disable call forwarding by dialing the following codes into your phone app.

    • Verizon: *73

    • AT&T / T-Mobile: ##004#
      ​

  2. Restart the Call Guard setup flow from the beginning.

Not Receiving the Final Test Call

The test call can take up to 10 minutes and may not appear if Do Not Disturb or Focus modes are enabled.

If the app confirms setup is complete, Call Guard is active.

Accessing Your Contacts

The goal is ONLY unknown callers to be screened by Call Guard and NOT your contacts. We make sure of that by asking for full access to your Contacts.
​

This makes sure that:

  • Contacts bypass the AI assistant

  • Only unknown callers are screened

If contact access is missing or incomplete, known contacts will also be screened by Call Guard if you miss their call.
​

Fixing Contact Access Issues

To give the Cloaked app access to your contacts, you can do the following:

iPhone

  • In your phone Settings → Apps → Cloaked → Contacts → ON

  • If already on, toggle OFF, wait a few seconds, then turn ON again

Android

  • In your phone Settings → Apps → Cloaked → Permissions → Contacts → Allow

  • If already allowed, deny briefly, then re-allow

After resetting this permission, navigate back to the Cloaked app and retry Call Guard setup.

Using the Troubleshooting Checklist

If you're unsure what's causing the setup issue, you can use our Troubleshooting Checklist. In the app, open the Call Guard Settings, then scroll to "Troubleshooting Checklist."

Family and Couples Plans

Call Guard cannot be configured remotely.
​

Each plan member must:

  • Accept their plan invite

  • Create their own Cloaked account

  • Install the app on their own phone

  • Complete Call Guard setup on their device

Always Allow List

You can add certain phone numbers, area codes, or phone number patterns to your Always Allow List. Calls from these numbers will always bypass Call Guard, even if they aren't listed in your contacts.

Navigate to Settings → Call Guard and tap Always Allow List under Your Info. Tap the + icon to add a number or pattern to bypass Call Guard.

To remove a number from your allow list, swipe to the left on the number and tap the red trash icon.

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