Donotcalllister

Donotcalllister is a term used in online discussions to describe a person, group, or service that compiles and maintains lists of telephone numbers that should not be contacted by telemarketers or other outbound callers. Such lists may be created for personal use, shared within communities, or offered as a service to help users avoid unsolicited calls. The term emphasizes opt-out preferences and respect for consumer privacy.

It is not an official designation. In many jurisdictions, do-not-call regulations are implemented through government registries or consent-based frameworks, such as the United States National Do Not Call Registry administered by the Federal Trade Commission. Official registries set rules for how telemarketers may contact consumers and provide mechanisms to remove numbers.

Private or semi-public donotcalllister projects may collect numbers from volunteers, obtain opt-out consent from customers, and then disseminate filtered contact data or provide call-blocking tools. Some services offer APIs or integrations with phone systems to automatically block or flag calls from listed numbers. Privacy and data protection laws typically govern how the collected data may be used, stored, and shared.

Limitations include incomplete coverage, potential data inaccuracies, and exemptions for certain types of calls. Legal requirements vary by country, and do-not-call lists do not guarantee zero unwanted calls. Users should verify the authority and scope of any listed service before relying on it for contact control.

See also: Do Not Call Registry; telemarketing law; robocalls; call blocking; privacy.