How to Block iMessage and Text Messages on iPhone
- In the Messages app, tap a conversation.
- Click on the contact picture, email/name/number. Click on information.
- In iOS 13, tap the name or number again. You can also click on the tiny arrow>. In iOS 14, tap information.
- On the next screen, tap Block this caller → Block contact.
Note. Messages from a blocked contact will never be delivered to you. In addition, the person will not receive a notification that you have blocked them. Finally, a blocked number or contact may still leave a voicemail. However, you may not receive a notification about this.
Blocking SMS on Android
Most modern smartphones run on Android, so this method will certainly solve most of the problems and help users. So, you can block messages either from the message field or by adding the number to the emergency number, after which past and future messages will be automatically hidden. Let's look at each method separately.
Blocking from message field
To block a source directly from the message field, you need to go to the options menu while being in a dialogue with the user you want to block from you. Most often, options or settings in most shells are indicated by three vertical dots:
- Click and see a pop-up menu.
- The “Block” button will be one of the last.
- Click on it and confirm the blocking.
- Next, go to the message settings.
- There we uncheck the “Blocked SMS” item so as not to see messages from “black list” users.
Add a number to the blacklist
To avoid receiving a number from a specific user in the future, you can block it in advance, that is, add it to the emergency list. What do I need to do?
- Go to the “Messages” application. If you use third-party software to send and receive SMS, go to it.
- Click on the “Advanced” icon. Sometimes it is depicted as a gear, sometimes as three vertical dots.
- After we get to the settings menu, you need to find “Blocking” or “Blacklist” there.
- Enter the number of the user you want to block and confirm the changes.
If you are ready to use special programs to block users, then we recommend using Calls Blacklist, which can be downloaded for Android or iOS.
Its advantage is that in addition to messages, it can even block calls from annoying contacts. A simple and intuitive interface, step-by-step instructions from the developers - these are the main advantages of Calls Blacklist.
How to Manage Blocked Phone Numbers on iPhone
If you change your mind after blocking a number, here's how to unblock it.
- Open the Settings app and tap Messages.
- Tap on blocked contacts.
- Swipe the contact from right to left and tap Unblock.
Or click Edit → Red minus (-) → Unblock.
From this screen you can also add it to your block list. To do this, click "Add" and select a contact.
Blocking a subscriber's contact
How to blacklist numbers on iPhone 5 or 6:
Action 1. On the main desktop of the iPhone, click on the folder with contacts of phone numbers.
Action 2. Select the list of “recent” or “missed” calls, where we find the desired subscriber.
Action 3. Find and activate the “i” icon located to the right of the opened contact.
Action 4. Go down the screen and activate the “block subscriber” icon.
Action 5. When asked to confirm sending the contact to the blacklist, click “Submit” at the bottom, thereby confirming that you were not mistaken.
The process of sending the contact to the black box is complete. You can sleep peacefully. Visually it looks like this.
If you have blacklisted several callers or unknown numbers on your iPhone, then this entire list will be stored on your iPhone, for iPhone above 4 models, even when you back up data to the cloud and back to your smartphone.
How to Filter iMessages from Unknown Senders
- In the Settings app, tap Messages.
- Turn on the "Filter unknown senders" switch. Note. In iOS 13 (if you have a third-party SMS filtering app like Truecaller installed) and iOS 14, tap Unknowns & Spam. Then enable unknown sender filtering. Also, in iOS 14, make sure the SMS Filter checkbox is checked.
After that, inside the iOS 13 Messages app, you will see a new tab at the top. Depending on the language and region of your iPhone, it may be called Unknown Senders, Junk Email, or Spam. iMessages from unknown senders will appear here. You will not receive notifications for these texts. However, you can open and read them manually.
In iOS 14, this interface has changed slightly. Click
Checking the “blocked” list
If you forgot or want to check the list of “black” subscribers, then you need to go to the “settings” of your iPhone 5 or 6, where you select the “phone” icon and open the folder by clicking on the “blocked” button. You will see a list of all contacts of numbers that you have blocked from calling and sending messages.
What if it happens that no one called, but many different unnecessary and sometimes unpleasant messages come from people you don’t know, whom you don’t have in your contacts, offering you to buy something, asking you questions that don’t interest you? This is also easy to solve.
Report spam or unwanted iMessages
Reporting SMS and iMessage as spam may not have an immediate effect on you. It won't block you from being sent messages in the future. But it may help Apple, your carrier, or the service you're reporting on build a database and prevent this threat from spreading. If there are enough reports like this, the spam contact may be blocked forever. This would help other users too.
- Report to Apple: When you receive an iMessage from an unknown person, it says, “The sender is not in your contacts list. Report spam. Click on it if you are being spammed.
- Report to your carrier: US carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Bell, etc. make it easy to report spam messages and robotexts. All you have to do is copy the complete spam message and send it to 7726 (SPAM). This outgoing text is free. If a telecom operator receives several such requests, it may take action.
- Report to the FTC: You can also report harmful spam to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To do this follow this link.
How to prevent Spam
In the vast majority of cases, spam mailings appear due to the provision of contact information on various websites.
Spam can also be the result of:
- Consent to receive advertising content - very often, when providing a mobile number, users do not notice the clause about consent to mailing, which is automatically included.
- Acquisition of data by advertising companies - although the dissemination of personal data is associated with many serious consequences, this does not mean that this phenomenon does not occur. Often, information provided by a person can circulate between different companies for a long time.
Therefore, try not to register on sites using a phone number, and also do not distribute it unnecessarily.
Unsubscribe from promotional text messages
Many retailers, insurance companies, dealerships send you promotional emails if you ever purchase anything from them or contact them. Most of these texts are inappropriate and annoying. If there are unsubscribe instructions in the text message or on their website, follow them. Typically you are asked to respond “STOP.” You can also contact their support team via email, phone, app or even Twitter to remove you from promotional messages.
Carefully! Only follow the steps above if you are sure that the sender is a known, legitimate, and reputable company. Many scammers will send you promotional texts and emails with instructions or links that say something like "Reply STOP if you no longer wish to receive these messages. Once you do this, they will know that this number is active and who -someone is reading these messages. They may soon sell your information to more of these spam services. So use your wisdom before answering an unknown number.
Blocking ads and spam
If you want to get rid of advertising messages that come from different phones, then you will need “spam management” - a function that is found in almost any modern device. There you can filter messages coming to your smartphone. Thus, if this filter contains the word “credit”, then all messages containing this word will automatically be recognized as spam notifications. They will be saved, but in a specially designated place “Blocked messages” or “SPAM”. This method is available to all users and has been saving them from annoying advertisers for many years.
Hide spam text message alerts on iPhone
Another trick I use for irrelevant text messages is to hide their warnings. For example, my carrier sends me two messages when I use 50% of my daily cellular data. Likewise, my neighborhood Dominos, Pizza Hut, and grocery store regularly send promotional messages. 95% of these messages are irrelevant. But some of them are useful.
To reduce irritation, I hide their anxiety. To do this, open the Messages app. Swipe from right to left on a contact's name or number. Then click Hide warnings (the crossed out bell icon). Now you will not receive any notifications if this number sends you.
Directly block a specific contact
Receiving annoying messages from your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend? Don't want to receive from a specific contact? Then you might consider blocking the contact directly. Default lock feature with iPhone Phone for communication
The app allows you to block a phone number from calling, texting or even calling you. The locking method is very simple as no third party locking app is required.
Step 1 Unlock iPhone, go to phone warehouse for communication
Application and select the contacts menu at the bottom.
Step 2 Select the contact you want to block.
Step 3 Scroll down the screen and select the “Block this caller” option.
Step 4 Confirm to block the selected contact.
This method will not delete your contact information, and you will no longer receive any calls or messages from that contact.
What applications allow you to create a blacklist?
An iPhone user may have a logical question: why do we need applications for creating blacklists at all, if you can get rid of unwanted calls using the built-in functions of the iPhone? The fact is that third-party software offers gadget owners incomparably greater capabilities than the integrated tool from Apple.
The most famous application for creating blacklists is iBlackList
.
Previously, this program was only available in Cydia
and was intended only for jailbroken iPhones.
Now the iBlackList
is distributed through the official AppStore. You can buy it on this page, but the price is “biting” - 379 rubles.
The application has a 10-day free period, which will be enough for the user to become familiar with the capabilities, advantages and disadvantages of this utility.
Creating black and white lists is just one of the functions of the iBlackList
. The owner of the gadget is also able to:
- View the history of blocked calls and messages (if necessary, this list can be quickly exported).
- Create multiple profiles with different blacklist settings.
- Activate the parental control feature, which involves blocking outgoing
calls to unknown numbers. - Set a password to launch the application so that another person cannot change the settings.
Creators of iBlackList
have made a lot of efforts to ensure that the application user has the opportunity to reliably hide the fact that an intrusive subscriber’s number has been added to the blacklist.
For example, in addition to the real password, the owner of the gadget can also set a “fake” one for launch. If the annoying interlocutor suspects that his number is blocked and asks to see the blacklist settings, the user should enter a false password and show an empty Black List
(which is actually a fake).
The iPhone owner has the ability to completely hide the iBlackList application icon –
In this case, you will have to call up the black list through the dialer buttons.
There are other applications that block calls - for example, Black Phone
,
Call Control
,
Calls Blacklist
- however, the functionality of each of them is disproportionately poorer than that of
iBlackList
.
How to add a number from “Messages” to the blacklist?
You can block a number from which tons of spam and advertising offers are sent via SMS directly in the Messages
" Here's how this procedure is performed:
Step 1
.
Go to the Messages
and open a conversation with the number that is sending spam.
Step 2
.
Click the " Contact
" button, which is located in the upper right corner of the screen.
A panel with additional buttons will appear - among them there will be a round icon with the letter “i”
. This is what you need - click on it.
