How to block unwanted messages on your mobile

Your mobile now does nothing but vibrate and emit sound notifications: the reason? Telephone numbers, belonging to people completely unknown to you, punctually send you an incredible amount of messages full of advertisements and other unwanted content . Everything is becoming very frustrating and, at the moment, it is almost impossible for you to concentrate on what you have to do every day with the constant “buzz” of your smartphone bothering you.

So here you have taken the situation in hand: you have sat in front of your computer and you have begun to search the Net in search of a solution to your problem. How do you say? Precisely these are the “ups and downs” that led you here, on one of my tutorials? Very good. So, while you’re at it, let me help you by explaining how to block unwanted messages on your mobile .

You must know that both Android devices and iPhones offer different solutions to curb harassing messages and it will be my care to illustrate them clearly in the next lines. I will deal not only with the classic SMS, but also with how to avoid receiving messages from the “nuisances” on the most popular instant messaging applications. Happy reading and good luck for everything!

Index

• How to block unwanted messages on mobile: Android
• How to block unwanted messages on mobile: iPhone
• How to block unwanted messages on WhatsApp
• How to block unwanted messages on Messenger
• How to block unwanted messages on Telegram

How to block unwanted messages on mobile: Android

Let’s start with how to block unwanted messages on an Android phone : I already warn you that the procedure below, in addition to SMS, will also prevent you from receiving calls from the numbers you choose to block. First, launch the Google Messages application , which should be the one you already use to read SMS.

Then, tap on the preview of the last message received from the number from which you no longer want to receive SMS and, once the conversation screen opens, press on the user’s number displayed at the top left.

On the next screen, tap the ⁝ icon located at the top right, select the Block numbers item and, if you deem it appropriate, check the Report as spam item (if the check is already shown, do not press anything) . Finally, proceed by pressing on the Block item and that’s it: you will no longer receive messages or calls from the selected number. It wasn’t difficult, was it?

In case of second thoughts, to unblock an aforementioned number, go to ⁝> Blocked conversations and spam> ⁝> Blocked Contacts and, in the screen that is shown to you, press the X icon next to the number you are interested in.

Want to know how to block unwanted advertisements on mobile ? You can apply this same procedure that I explained to you for the numbers that send you spam messages; Furthermore, the Messages app, which I have told you about so far, also has a function to filter the alleged incoming advertisements and the latter is usually active by default.

To check that this is actually the case, do this: from the main page of the application, tap the ⁝ icon at the top right and, from here, tap the Settings item . Now press on the item Antispam protection , then check that the lever of the switch located in correspondence with the item Activate antispam protection is moved to ON and, if the lever is set to OFF , remedy by pressing on the switch itself.

As an alternative, you can try blacklisted apps made up of numbers from “known annoyances “, such as Truecaller , which I also told you about in my tutorial on how to block calls from call centers .

As an alternative to what I have shown you above, if yours is a Xiaomi phone , you can also use the Block List function of the MIUI settings to block numbers that send spam messages. To use this function, tap on the gear icon that you find in the notification area, on the home screen or in the app menu and, once the Android settings are open , go to Apps> System app settings> Security> Block list .

In the last screen that opens, make sure that the switch located next to the Block List item is active and, if not, tap on it to activate it. Subsequently, first press on the item Blocked numbers and then on the item Add . Then select the wording Add a phone number , type the number you want to block in the compilation field and to conclude, tap the check icon located at the top right.

Finally, I would like to point out that the default applications for SMS of some smartphone brands are integrated with options for protection from harassing messages based on keywords. For example, if you are using a Samsung phone , you can take advantage of this feature by starting the default Messages app and going to ⁝> Block messages> Block phrases and then typing an appropriate keyword (eg “offer” or “discount “ ) In the specific compilation field. For other alternative solutions to avoid receiving unwanted messages, I refer you to my tutorial on how to block SMS on Android .

How to block unwanted messages on mobile: iPhone

Do you want to know how to block unwanted messages on mobile in the specific case of iPhones ? No problem, I’ll settle you immediately. Even the phones of the Cupertino giant have a convenient function for blocking SMS. To use this, open the iOS settings by pressing on the gear icon that you can find on the home screen or in the App Library of your device.

Once this is done, press on the Messages item and then proceed by tapping on the Blocked Contacts item . At this point, press on the Add item , choose the contact you want to block from the list of those available and that’s it. How do you say? Is the phone number that sends you harassing SMS not saved in your device’s address book ?

Then do this: start the Messages app by pressing on its icon (a balloon on a green background), then tap on the preview of the last message received from the number you want to block. Press, therefore, on the phone number you see above and then tap on the Info button and then on the Block contact item : you will no longer receive messages from the selected number.

Please note, however, that in this way you will no longer receive calls (including FaceTime ) and emails from the number in question. How do you say? Have you thought about it and would like to unblock the contact in question? In this case, go to Settings> Messages> Blocked contacts> Edit and, on the next screen, press the red button next to the number you want to unblock. Finally, confirm by pressing first on the item Remove and then on the item Finish .

By going to the settings menu > Messages> Unknown and spam you can also activate the filter to organize messages from strangers in a special tab and activate the filtering of messages with antispam apps like Truecaller , which I also told you about in my tutorial on how to block calls from call centers . For other workarounds, I invite you to check out my tutorial on how to block my tutorial on how to block advertisements .

How to block unwanted messages on WhatsApp

Is a person “harassing” you on WhatsApp with an endless series of unwanted messages ? In this case, you can consider blocking the user in question.

If you are using an Android smartphone , you can proceed by starting WhatsApp and tapping on the preview of the conversation with the contact you want to block, or, by tapping on the magnifying glass icon at the top right, type the number or name of the the user you are interested in in the field above and select the appropriate search result that is shown below.

Once the conversation screen has opened, press the ⁝ icon located at the top right, then, tap on the item Other and, finally, press twice in a row on the item Block (or alternatively press on the item Report and blocks ).

If, on the other hand, you are using an iPhone , proceed by starting the app, then tap on the Chat tab at the bottom right and select the preview of the conversation with the user you want to block. Now tap on the user’s name twice in a row, then press first on the Block contact item and then on the Block item , to confirm.

To unblock a contact, in case of second thoughts, on Android , from the main WhatsApp screen go to ⁝> Settings> Account> Privacy> Blocked contacts then tap on the number or name of the contact you are interested in and press on the item Unblock [name contact] .

On the iPhone, repeat these same steps (the Settings menu can be found in the appropriate tab, at the bottom right) and, in the Blocked section , swipe left on the name or number of the contact you want to unblock; to finish, click on the Unlock button .

If you need more help avoiding harassing messages on WhatsApp, read my tutorial on how not to receive messages on WhatsApp .

How to block unwanted messages on Messenger

As you may already know Messenger , the Facebook messaging app, automatically stores messages from users who are not registered as friends in the Message Requests section . However, if you have problems with a particular user, you can proceed to block them .

To do this, start the Messenger app, select the preview of the conversation with the user in question from the list of those that are shown to you and then tap the button (i) at the top right.

Now press first on the item Block and then on the item Block on Messenger (if you deem it appropriate you can also block the person selected on Facebook by pressing on the item Block on Facebook ). Finally, confirm by clicking on Block .

As an alternative to this procedure, from the main Messenger page, press on your profile photo , at the top left, go to Privacy> Blocked accounts and, from here, tap on the little man icon located at the top right. At this point, press on the Block item on Messenger and, finally, on the Block item .

In case of second thoughts, to unblock a user, from the Messenger home page, tap again on your profile photo at the top left and, from here, go to Privacy> Accounts blocked ; then select the name of the person you are interested in and, finally, press on the Unblock item on Messenger .

Do you have any other doubts about what I have just explained to you? In this case I suggest you read my guide on how to block on Messenger .

How to block unwanted messages on Telegram

Similarly to what I showed you in the previous chapters, Telegram also has a function for blocking users and, by using it, you can avoid receiving unwanted messages.

To use it, start Telegram , tap on the preview of the conversation with the user from whom you want to avoid receiving further messages and, on the next screen, tap on the user’s name . Proceed, now, by pressing the ⁝ icon located at the top right and, in the menu that opens, press the Block user item twice in a row.

Alternatively, to block a user you can also go to ☰> Settings> Privacy and security> Blocked users> Block user> [username]> Block user .

To remove a person from the list of blocked ones, repeat this last step and in the Blocked Users section screen , tap on the name of the contact you want to unblock and then select the Unblock item .

Finally, if you want to prevent other users from finding you with your phone number, go to ☰> Settings> Privacy and security> Phone number and, on this last page, tap on the item My contacts . For more details on these procedures take a look at my guide on how to block on Telegram .