How to Stop Spam Messages on iPhone in 2024: A Complete Guide

You might have received messages claiming you’ve won a lottery or that your internet banking password has expired—these are common spam messages people receive occasionally. Such messages can lead to scams and internet fraud if you’re not vigilant.

If you find these spam messages bothersome, both iOS and Android devices offer built-in functionalities to help. In this article, we will focus on how to stop spam messages on iPhone.

You have the option to filter these messages before receiving them by enabling “Filter Unknown Senders.” Alternatively, you can block specific senders if you frequently receive spam messages from them.

Also Read: How to Remove App Labels on iPhone

How to Stop Spam Messages on iPhone by Turning on Filter Unknown Sender Toggle

On iPhone, you can enable the “Filter Unknown Senders” toggle button. This feature sorts messages from unknown senders and places them in a separate Junk Messages section.

If a contact not saved in your iPhone messages you, their message will be directed to a separate list. This functionality helps prevent accidentally opening spam messages or falling victim to fraud by clicking on links.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Messages.”
3. Under the Message Filtering section, select “Unknown & Spam.”
4. Toggle on the “Filter Unknown Senders” option.

This setting will organize your messages by moving those from unknown senders to a separate folder within the Messages app on your iPhone.

Below this setting, you’ll also find an SMS Filtering option. Enabling this will automatically filter and classify messages as spam, ensuring you won’t receive notifications for these messages on your device.

If you want to view messages from unknown senders, you can access the Messages app on your iPhone and tap on Filters.

From the menu, choose Unknown Senders to see a list of text messages received from contacts not saved on your iPhone.

Block spam messages from a particular sender

If you’re repeatedly receiving spam messages from a specific sender and find it frustrating, you can block them to stop receiving their messages altogether.

Here are the steps to block a sender on your iPhone:

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone and navigate to the message from the sender you wish to block.
2. Tap on the profile icon or the sender’s name at the top of the message thread.
3. In the options that appear, tap on “Info.”
4. You will see options like Save Contact, Share Contact, and “Block this Caller.”
5. Tap on “Block this Caller” and confirm by tapping “Block Contact” in the pop-up window.

Turn off Notification for Unknown Senders

iOS devices offer a feature to disable notifications for messages received from unknown senders. You can opt out of receiving notifications for messages from individuals whose numbers are not saved in your contacts. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and scroll down to Notifications.
2. Tap on Messages in the list, then select Customize Notifications.
3. Under Allow Notifications, you will find a toggle for Unknown Senders. If you turn this toggle off, you will still receive text messages from unknown contacts but won’t be notified.

How to Report a message as Junk on iPhone?

If you receive a message with a link or identify it as spam, it’s advisable not to interact with it. Avoid clicking on the link at all costs. If you receive such a message, it’s better to report the sender to prevent similar messages in the future. Here are the steps to report a message as junk on iPhone:

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone and locate the message you want to report as junk.
2. If the sender is not in your contacts, you will see a “Report Junk” button at the bottom of the message. Whether the message has been read or not, if it’s from an unknown sender, you can report it as junk.

However, reporting a message as junk or spam does not prevent the sender from sending further messages. If you wish to avoid messages from the sender entirely, you can block them.

How to delete Messages and Conversation on an iPhone

If you have already received a spam message from a sender before updating your iPhone settings, it’s advisable to delete such messages. Otherwise, there’s a risk of accidentally clicking on links and falling victim to the message.

iPhone offers options to delete either the entire conversation or individual messages. If you want to delete a message or conversation on iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open the Messages app on your device and find the spam message you want to delete.
2. To delete the entire conversation, swipe left to find options to mute the sender or delete the conversation. Tap the delete icon to remove all messages in the conversation.
3. To delete a specific message, open the conversation and locate the message you want to remove. Press and hold the message to bring up a floating menu, then tap “More.” You will see a delete icon at the bottom left. Tap it to delete the message.

You can also select multiple messages and delete them at once within a conversation. Ensure you are careful not to accidentally click on any links while selecting the messages.

Wind Up

Spam messages are inevitable and can range from promotional to fraudulent. It’s important to avoid such messages and remove them promptly. Earlier, we discussed methods to stop spam messages on your iPhone.

If you haven’t updated these settings on your iPhone yet, we strongly recommend doing so immediately.