Spam messages are a nuisance of every mobile user in the world. No one really likes them, and most of us have cursed a spam message out loud at least once. However, spammers are ruthless and can be very annoying. Whether it’s a brand that’s spamming you with new offers you don’t care about, or a random person constantly texting you for no good reason, here’s how to block text messages on iPhone.
Block Text Messages on iPhone (iOS 14) in 2021
Apple hasn’t had a good SMS filtering feature for years. However, with the release of iOS 14, the company has finally brought some useful new features to the iPhone. In this post, I will talk about various methods that you can use to block text messages on iOS 14.
You must have the latest iOS 14 installed on your iPhone for these methods to work. But don’t worry, almost every new iPhone is compatible with iOS 14. So whether you have the latest iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, old iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus or even iPhone 6s, it will be able to accompany it.
Block Spam Messages on iPhone
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Method 1: Block Spam Contact
The most annoying types of messages out there are usually just spam messages. If you’re like me and bothered by spam messages, don’t worry. Here are a few things you can try to block unwanted messages on your iPhone.
1. Open the spam you want to block and tap the sender’s name/number at the top. Here, tap on the ‘Info’ button.
2. Next, tap ‘Info’ again and then ‘Block This Caller’.
This method is useful if you receive a large number of spam messages from a single sender. You only need to block the sender and you will not receive any more texts from them.
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Method 2: Filter Spam Messages
Now spammers rarely use a single phone number to advertise products and offers. Fortunately with iOS 14, you can at least avoid being distracted by such messages.
1. On your iPhone, navigate to: Settings -> Messages -> Unknown and Spam.
2. Here, enable ‘Filter Unknown Senders’ choice. This will sort messages from unknown senders into a separate list on your iPhone.
While both of these methods are helpful, the best step you can take at the end of the day is to talk to your phone operator. You can ask your carrier to help you block spam messages on your iPhone and hopefully they can help you out.
Block Marketing Messages on iPhone
When I first started using my iPhone XR, I was largely resigned to my fate with marketing messages. This was because iOS had no good way of preventing these messages from bothering me. On Android phones, I can use third-party SMS editors and sort things out, but this option is not available on my iPhone.
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Method 1: Use Native SMS Filter on iOS 14
Fortunately, with the new messaging features of iOS 14, there is now a way to make marketing messages less cumbersome. To block marketing messages on your iPhone, follow these steps:
1. Go Settings -> Messages -> Unknown and Spam.
2. Make sure you have the ‘Filter Unknown Senders’ toggle enabled. Next, select the ‘SMS Filter’ option from the list below.
This feature allows your iPhone to filter spam and marketing texts so you don’t get notifications for them. Now, this is a pretty good solution for the problem. I’ve been using this filter on my iPhone XR since the iOS 14 beta was released and it works fine.
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Method 2: Use Third-Party SMS Filter Apps
The native SMS filter in iOS 14 on your iPhone is not the best at catching spam and marketing messages. But you can now download third-party SMS filters on iOS. For example, Truecaller (free) has its own SMS filter that you can use in iOS 14 on your iPhone 6s and above to eliminate unnecessary texts.
1. Go Settings -> Messages -> Unknown and Spam.
- Make sure you have the ‘Filter Unknown Senders’ toggle enabled. Then, instead of SMS Filter, Choose ‘Truecaller’ from the list below.
This is great. However, make sure you use an SMS filter from a company you trust. Why are you asking? As you can see in the picture below, by activating the Truecaller filter, it will receive text, attachment and sender information in SMS and MMS messages. This is definitely too much personal information to share with this third party app. So I don’t use the Truecaller SMS filter as I’m paranoid about my privacy, but make sure you only share data with developers you trust.
Block Text Messages From A Specific Person
Spam messages and marketing messages are definitely the most annoying. However, there are times when your paths may cross if you are with annoying people, someone you no longer want to keep in touch with, or if a random person is texting you. In that case, here is how to block text messages from certain contacts on iPhone.
1. Open the chat from the person you want to block, tap their name and then tap ‘Info’.
2. Next, tap ‘Info’ again and then ‘Block This Caller’.
This method will prevent the person from sending you messages and making phone or FaceTime calls to your iPhone. This is the easiest way to block a certain person from sending you messages on your iPhone.
Clean Your iPhone Inbox From Spam Messages
While it’s annoying that we still go through all this trouble to stop spam messages on our iPhones, it’s nice that Apple is working on making the message filter feature better. With iOS 14, you can easily block senders or use local or third-party SMS filters to block incoming spam messages on your iPhone.
So, are you also bothered by spam messages? Which SMS filter app are you using on your iPhone? Let us know in the comments section below. Also, if you’re worried about your personal information, check out our detailed guide on how to improve security and privacy in iOS 14.