How Do You View The Call Log On An iPhone? Explained!

ByKern Campbell, MBA

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Call logs can tell you who called you, when, the duration, and how many times. On an Apple iPhone, how do you find the call log with all this info?

iphone call log 1 How Do You View The Call Log On An iPhone? Explained!

Table of Contents

How do you see the call log on an iPhone?

The call log on an iPhone is most commonly found in the Phone app. Amongst the five icons presented in the Phone app, it should be on the second to the left option called Recents. The log gives you a list of all the phone calls received on the phone and some details about them.

We’ve used iPhones and other brands too. We’ve also helped people find many settings within their smartphones, including the phone call history. The good news is that the call log is one of the easiest things to find in an iPhone.

Where do I find the call log on an iPhone?

Let’s start from the home screen. You’ll first want to tap the “Home” button on the bottom middle of your iPhone. 

The “Home” button has a white square inside that will lead you back to the base screen that has all your apps. To be fair, every app in your iPhone should give you ready access, but this gives you a good starting point.

The iPhone’s Phone app (we capitalize it because Phone is the name of the app) should be in the bottom left corner of the phone, represented by a green button with a white phone at the center. The most common app you’ll find near the phone app is the Mail app.

Touch the Phone app and it’ll launch. Within the Phone app, you’ll then want to touch the second button to the left.

The button is actually called “Recents,” though it does not limit what you see to the most recent phone calls. If you scroll up and down this window, you’ll see the names and phone numbers of recent contacts as well as whether or not you answered that call. 

How many phone calls can I see on the iPhone’s log?

Numbers matter to some people. So knowing how many recent phone calls are actually available might be important.

The iPhone shows you the most recent 100 phone calls. Deleting an individual call from the call log will just bring another call into your history.

If you make phone calls frequently or for some reason need proof of a phone call, you might be happy to hear that the iPhone stores 1000 phone calls.  

These can’t be viewed natively in the iPhone in a simple way – you’ll have to delete lots of phone calls otherwise. You can find software for your computer that allows you to access more phone calls than the ones initially presented.

Most people will not need to see more than the first 100 calls, though the information is there. Apple makes the iPhone software so that the phone logs are just a small text file that will take up little space in the event you need to download the entire call log.

Why would I need to access the call log?

iphone call log 1 1 How Do You View The Call Log On An iPhone? Explained!

The most common reason to access your recent call log is to find a phone number you haven’t saved to your device yet. You could also use the call log as proof that someone called you – or that you called someone. 

If a friend says you didn’t call them, you can just show them the call log and the length of the call to ensure that you didn’t just hit the dial button then hang up.

What can I do with the call log on the iPhone?

The first purpose of the call log is to show you who called, how long the call was, and whether or not it went to voicemail or was picked up.

Within the Phone app, you can also send a text to the person who called you, copy their number, add them as a new contact, or delete the record of their call. 

The call log also tells you whether the attempt to call was a voice call or a FaceTime video call. The FaceTime video call will show a tiny camcorder. FaceTime calls are only available with other Apple iPhones with the FaceTime app.

How do I know if I missed a call?

The iPhone call log can also tell you if you missed a call. You’ll see the text showing the name and phone number as red. 

Apple also makes it so the Phone app shows a red bubble with a number in it to indicate how many 

How do I clear the call log?

If for some reason you want to delete the call log, or just one call, you can select that call and hold it down, after which a button will appear on the bottom of the screen that allows you to delete.

You should also be given the option to delete all calls in the log by just selecting all, then delete.

Why would you clear the call log?

Got a bunch of spam calls recently that you don’t care to see? Did you submit your information for a major purchase and get a whole bunch of phone calls from salespeople? Trying to get rid of some evidence?

All viable reasons. We won’t judge. Getting the information back is also going to be very difficult and probably costly for anyone interested enough to pursue it.

Can I get a different phone app?

You can. To be real honest, the iPhone’s Phone app is pretty good, and we don’t know why you would choose a different phone app. One motivation for doing so is to find an app that does Internet based calls, which are useful for people who are trying to find a cheaper way to make international phone calls.

How about voicemails?

Voicemails are accessible within the Phone app too, generally on the right side. Note that some cell phone companies also have their own app for voicemails. We don’t have a particular opinion about the iPhone voicemail app versus others, but the Phone app makes voicemail quite easy to find and listen to.

Key Takeaways

  • The iPhone’s call log is readily found within the iPhone’s Phone App
  • The Phone app is easily accessed from the green and white phone icon usually in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  • The call log shows you the most recent 100 phone calls