Blocking SPAM text messages

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Level 2

253 points

Blocking SPAM text messages

So, my iPhone receives a huge amount of SPAM in the form of text messages.

My question is this:

If I turn on Filter Unknown Senders (Located in Settings > Messages) is it still possible to somehow receive a text from a sender that isn’t in my contact list? Is there a SPAM folder?

For example, I may need to receive a factor two text message from a number not on in my contacts. Would I first have to shut off the Filter and then receive the factor two code - or could I somehow retrieve the desired message located in a SPAM folder somewhere?

Anyway, I’d like to block every number that isn’t in my contact list to rid myself of receiving several SPAM text messages a day - but, that may not be feasible.

Any ideas?

Not sure if this matters, but I"m using an iPhone 7 Plus (with the latest iOS).

Posted on Jul 21, 2022 2:18 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

sberman

Level 10

268,017 points

Jul 21, 2022 2:36 PM in response to silver_mica

All your questions are addressed in this article.

Block phone numbers, contacts, and emails on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

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Answer 2

jeromyk

Level 4

1,998 points

Jul 21, 2022 2:40 PM in response to silver_mica

Hi silver_mica,

Spam messages are my pain point. I don't get many, but when I do they annoy the heck out of me. Truthfully, I feel like the text messaging eco system does not handle spam messages well.

That being said, if you enable that filter, YES they do go to other folders so you can still access them if needed:

iOS 16 adds some new enhancements to this (reporting SPAM messages goes directly to the carrier instead of apple -- which seems like a logical thing to do.. ). Which I am sorry to say is not be compatible with an iPhone 7+.

I have enabled message filter and have been using a free app called "Bouncer" that allows you to create filters for unwanted text. It's been great so far!

--edit to add the following:

NOTE: If you have an Apple watch, the messaging system is the same Known vs Unknown categories.

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Blocking SPAM text messages

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