How to filter SMS from unknown senders in iOS 26 messages


Plagued by text messages from fake recruiters? Mystified by messages containing package shipping details for products you never ordered? Tired of those overly friendly text messages from hikers that are probably trying to get you to divulge personal information? Make those unwanted missives a problem of the past with a new iOS 26 feature in Messages that lets you filter texts from unknown senders.

This new feature works hand-in-hand with another iOS 26 addition – the ability to screen calls from unknown phone numbers in the Phone app – to restore some privacy when using your iPhone. Best of all, the message filtering feature is extremely easy to set up and manage. Let me show you how.

1. Access filter controls

(Image: © Future)

From the Messages app, press the menu button in the upper right corner of the screen. In the menu that appears, tap Manage filtering.

By the way, you can access this same setting by launching the Settings app, tapping Apps, and selecting Messages. But if you’re already in the app, why not save some time?

2. Enable text filtering

(Image: © Future)

In the Unknown Senders section of the message settings screen, find the toggle for Screen Unknown Senders and slide it to the on position.. Now, whenever a text message comes from a number that’s not in your contacts or marked as a known sender (more on that in a moment), it will end up in the separate Unknown Senders view in Messages.

(Image credit: Future)

Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed another toggle in this screenshot: the one marked Filter Spam. When enabled, this control sends text messages from senders already on a spam list directly to another spam filter. This is where these fake job postings and similar scams are likely to end up.

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