How can you block text messages on an iphone

We previously covered how to block calls on the iPhone, and in this guide, we will show you how to block text messages on the iPhone. This guide is designed to show you what you need to do to block those annoying spam text messages and other text messages.

Unfortunately, as well as unwanted calls on the iPhone, many also receive unwanted text messages on the iPhone. These are usually in the form of a marketing text, a scam text trying to get to you visit a particular website, and more.

There are several different things that you can do to block these unwanted text messages on your iPhone. You can either block the number of each unwanted text you receive or filter unwanted messages.

How do I block text messages from someone on the iPhone?

If you receive a text message from someone you want to block, you need to open the message on your iPhone. Once the message is open, click on the icon at the top with the mobile number or name of the sender under it.

Now click on Info on the right-hand side of the screen; you will now be shown another screen with the option to Block this Caller. Click on this and then select Block Contact. That telephone number will no longer be able to send you text messages; it will also be blocked from making calls to your iPhone.

How do you unblock a blocked contact on the iPhone?

If you decide to allow the person you have blocked to send you messages, you can always unblock them on your iPhone.

To unblock a contact on the iPhone, you will need to select their number from your blocked contacts and unblock them. This can be done on your iPhone by going to Settings > Messages > Blocked Contacts.

You will then see a list of telephone numbers and people you have blocked from sending your text messages. To remove one of these from your blocked contacts list, select Edit; you will then see a red delete icon next to the telephone numbers, select this, and that number or contact will be removed from your blocked contacts list, you will now be able to receive telephone calls and messages from that telephone number.

How do you filter all unwanted text messages on the iPhone?

There is another option on the iPhone that will make sure that you filter all unwanted text messages and calls on your device. This can be done by filtering your messages so that you only receive text messages from people that you know.

To do this on your handset go to Settings > Messages and then select the toggle to Filter Unknown Senders, any messages from these senders will be put into a separate list.

Any links that are sent in these messages cannot be opened when this setting is turned on, you will need to add the number to your contacts before you can open the link.

How do you report spam messages on the iPhone?

Apple has a useful feature that lets you report spam and junk text messages on the iPhone, this only works with Apple’s iMessage messages, it will not work with normal text messages.

To do this select the message in Messages and then select Report Junk, the message will be automatically deleted and reported to Apple as junk.

We hope that you find this guide on how to block unwanted text messages on the iPhone useful and hope that it helps you cut down on spam. You can find out more details about these features over at Apple’s website. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Apple phone users interested in know how to postpone the time a text message is sent might be interested in our quick guide which shows how to schedule iPhone text messages to send later.

It’s pretty incredible to be able to contact anyone around the globe from wherever you are. Being able to message your friends and family right from your iPhone is extremely useful, but there’s a problem that continues to develop. Not only can you reach out to your friends or family, but the amount of unwanted calls and text messages is growing at an alarming rate. Thankfully, Apple has integrated a few tools to help you block unwanted calls and text messages on iPhone.

Related Reading

• How To Unblock A Number On iPhone, iPad, or iPod
• Hide Your Caller ID When Making Calls on iPhone
• How To Remove Yourself From A Group iMessage
• How To Merge Multiple Calls on iPhone
• What is iMessage and How Is It Different From Normal Text Messages?

Contents

• How to block unwanted calls and text messages on iPhone
  • Silence Unknown Callers
  • Filter Unknown Senders in Messages
  • Block Unwanted Calls
  • Block Unwanted Text Messages
  • Report Spam or Junk in Messages
  • Contact Your Cell Provider to Block Spam

How to block unwanted calls and text messages on iPhone

Silence Unknown Callers

With the release of iOS 13, Apple introduced a new option to help eliminate robocalls from interrupting you and overwhelming you. The feature continues to be available on iOS 15, and is the easiest way to avoid those annoying robocallers. Here’s how you can enable the ability to silence unknown callers:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Phone.
3. Scroll down and again and tap Silence Unknown Callers.
4. Tap the toggle next to Silence Unknown Callers to the On position.

There is a bit of a catch, however, if you turn this feature on. There’s a chance that if your friend gets a new phone number and tries to call you, your iPhone won’t ring. This is also true if you happen to use delivery services like DoorDash or Uber Eats and the delivery person needs to contact you. But if you don’t use delivery services, then this feature works wonders to stop unwanted calls from coming in.

Filter Unknown Senders in Messages

Unfortunately, robocalls are not the only problem anymore, as the number of spam text messages is also growing at a rapid pace. While you can block numbers altogether, Apple has another feature that allows you to filter your Messages app to help separate the recognized senders from the potential spam.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Messages.
3. Scroll down until you reach the Message Filtering section.
4. Tap the toggle next to Filter Unknown Senders to the On position.

With “Filter Unknown Senders” enabled, you’ll want to make sure that your Messages app only shows conversations from those in your contact list. Here’s how you can filter the conversations in the Messages app:

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Filters in the top left corner.
3. Select one of the following:
   • All Messages
   • Known Senders
   • Unknown Senders

Once the results have been filtered, you’ll be able to switch between the conversations you care about, and the ones that you don’t. This also makes it easier for you to go through the list and block the numbers you don’t want to receive messages from any longer.

Block Unwanted Calls

Everyone’s biggest question when it comes to these spam and robocalls is how you can actually block them. Thankfully, you don’t need to rely on third-party apps from the App Store. Instead, Apple has integrated the functionality right into your iPhone, making life much easier and allowing you to block unwanted calls.

1. Open the Phone app on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Recents tab in the bottom toolbar.
3. Locate the number that you wish to block.
4. Tap the i icon next to the number listed.
5. At the bottom of the page, tap Block this Caller.
6. Tap Block Contact to confirm.

Now, the contact will be completely blocked and is unable to send you messages or try and call you again.

Block Unwanted Text Messages

If you get some unwanted text messages, you can opt to block the contact in order to block any future messages from making their way into the Messages app. Here’s how you can block unwanted text messages from clogging up your conversations in Messages:

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Select the conversation for the number that you want to block.
3. Tap the contact icon at the top of the page.
4. Select Info.
5. Tap Block this Caller.
6. Tap Block Contact to confirm.

Just like if you block unwanted calls, you will no longer need to worry about unwanted messages appearing and causing you frustration.

Report Spam or Junk in Messages

Another new-ish feature in iOS is to actually report a number as “spam or junk” from within the Messages app. When such an occurrence happens, there’s a new link that appears below the message. Here’s how you can report spam or junk in messages.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Select the conversation for the number that you want to report.
3. Under the last message received, tap Report Junk.
4. Tap Delete and Report Junk.

Not only will the number be blocked from being able to send you any future messages, but the number is also reported to Apple. This helps to ensure that the number won’t be able to send messages to other iPhone users.

Contact Your Cell Provider to Block Spam

By the time a spam call, text, or email arrives on your iPhone, it’s already gotten past your cell or email provider. For this reason, one of the most effective ways to stop getting spam on your iPhone is to ask your cell or email provider to block it at the source.

Call your cell provider to ask if they offer any spam filter services. Many cell providers do, and they may be able to increase the strength of the filter to block more spam calls or texts from getting through to your iPhone.

Andrew Myrick

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.

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