How-To

Say Goodbye to Spam and Trolls: Block Contacts from Texting on Your iPhone

By Brian Burgess

Published June 28, 2024

You shouldn’t have to deal with spam and trolls in your Messages app. Luckily, you can block contacts from texting on your iPhone.

No one likes dealing with annoying spam texts while using their iPhone. Similarly, you don’t want your iMessage app flooded with people trying to “gaslight” you. Luckily, you can block contacts from texting on your iPhone to help eliminate spam and trolls.

It starts innocently enough. You trade numbers with an acquaintance or colleague for easy communication. But after a while, you may notice the person is sending you texts you don’t want to read. Alternatively, you may give your number to a company to activate a product, for example, and the next thing you notice is you are getting a bunch of spam.

Whatever the reason, iOS has built-in controls that can block a contact’s phone numbers. You don’t need to install a third-party app to use your phone in peace.

Block Contacts from Texting in the Messages App on Your iPhone

One of the most straightforward ways to stop getting unwanted text messages is to block them directly in the Messages app. The nice thing about this option is you don’t need to save a phone number to block it.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.
2. Head to the conversation with the phone number or contact you want to block and tap the profile icon at the top of the screen.
3. Tap the Info button on the following screen.
4. Select the Blocker Caller option at the bottom of the list menu that appears.
5. Tap Block Contact when the verification message appears.

That’s all there is to it. That person or bot will no longer bother you by sending unwanted text messages. In addition, this will block phone calls and FaceTime calls from that number.

Add Contacts to Your Blocked Contacts List on iPhone

Another way to prevent unwanted texts is to use the Settings app on your iPhone. However, you must first add phone numbers to your contacts list. Once a person’s phone number is in your Contacts, you can block them using the following steps.

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone.
2. Swipe down the menu and select Messages.
3. Scroll down the screen and tap Blocked Contacts.
4. You will see a list of numbers you have already blocked if you have done that. Tap Add New at the bottom and select the phone number you want to block from your Contacts.

Filter Messages from Unknown and Spam

Using the above options to block unwanted texts is effective. However, if you receive hundreds of messages daily, it can get tedious to block each of them. You can use the Message Filtering feature to put incoming messages from unknown senders in a folder other than your inbox. Here’s how to enable it.

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down the menu and select Messages from the list.
3. Scroll down the screen to the Message Filtering section and toggle on the Filter Unknown Senders switch.

Stop Spam and Trolls from Messaging You: Block Contacts from Texting

If you want to stop getting text messages from trolls or stop marketers from clogging your texts, you can use the options above to stop the annoyances in their tracks.

Once you block trolls and spam, you can return to the essential messages that matter to you. Of course, if you change your mind in the future and want to communicate with people you blocked, you can follow the same steps and use the unblock option.