The idea for caller ID emerged in 1968, but wasn’t perfected and widely used until the 1980s. The technology had to go through many different engineers and developers, who eventually were able to perfect it.How excited were you when Caller ID first emerged on the scene? It probably began with a special, separate unit, then found its way onto your cordless phone. And now, every smartphone has it.The advent of Caller ID meant that long gone were the days of screening calls and letting it go to your answering machine to decide if you wanted to answer the call or not.After all, who wants to answer a call from a telemarketer when you’re waiting for a call from your best friend so you can discuss the latest happenings on “Bandersnatch”?Usually with caller ID, if a phone number is already in your contacts, you’ll see the person’s name and number, and it might include a profile picture, too. But what about the numbers you don’t recognize? How can you tell if it’s someone you need to call back or not?

Screen your calls with Truecaller

Check out the Truecaller app. It’s free and lets you find out who’s behind that unknown number. Just copy and paste the number then throw it in the search bar embedded in the app.Note: The Truecaller app is free to both download and use. However, there is a professional version that can be bought as an in-app purchase.Truecaller will then search the unknown number to find out who it is. There are more than 1 billion numbers in the database, so Truecaller should have no problem identifying the caller for you.Another great feature of Truecaller is its ability to block spam calls. When a pesky telemarketer calls, there will be a big warning in red, telling you that it’s a spam call.Simply swipe up when this happens to automatically block that caller and add them to the spam list. Next time they call you, you will see a screen like this:Truecaller will also fill in any missing details about someone already in your contacts lists, for example, it might add a person’s Twitter handle. It will also show you how you are connected to that person.Watch the video below to learn more:The free Truecaller app is available for iOS and Android. Click one of the links provided below in the blue boxes to download the app.