Product Feedback: Allow Zendesk Talk number blocks to be scoped to specific phone lines

1. Overview & who is affected

We're requesting the ability to scope a number block in Zendesk Talk to specific phone lines, rather than applying it across the entire instance. This would allow restrictions to be applied to certain lines (e.g., dedicated or premium support channels) without removing the customer's access to all other support pathways in the same instance. The lack of this capability affects admins (who configure the blocks), agents on restricted lines (who continue to receive calls that should be blocked), and customers (who cannot be selectively restricted in a way that matches operational needs).

2. What problem do you see this solving?

It would solve the binary nature of the current blocked numbers feature — today, admins must either block a customer from all Talk channels or allow full access, with no way to restrict access to specific lines while preserving access to others. This enables line-level access control aligned with how support tiers are typically structured within a single Zendesk instance.

3. Last impact, frequency, and business impact

This was raised most recently this week, when a request came in to block a single customer from accessing restricted support lines while keeping that customer assisted normally on the standard support channel — a configuration the native blocking cannot deliver, as any block applies instance-wide to all Talk numbers. Similar requests come up regularly when customer behaviour on a specific line needs to be managed (misuse, opt-out enforcement, dedicated-channel protection) without removing legitimate access elsewhere. The current limitation forces an all-or-nothing choice and, in practice, means these requests cannot be fulfilled at the platform level. The business impact is the inability to deliver tier-aware access control, which is a recurring need in support setups that operate multiple phone lines under the same Zendesk instance.

4. Are you currently using a workaround?

There is no automated workaround currently in place. Operational handling — agents identifying the caller and routing the case accordingly — is possible but unreliable, doesn't prevent the call from reaching the restricted line in the first place, and doesn't scale.

5. What would be your ideal solution?

In the existing blocked numbers configuration, allow the admin to select which Talk phone lines the block applies to, rather than the block being instance-wide by default. Blocks would then be honoured only on the selected lines, while non-selected lines would continue to receive calls from that number as normal.