Learn how to filter, report, and block spam messages on iPhone

If your Messages inbox collects a lot of junk and unwanted messages, we’ll show you how to filter, report and block spam messages on iOS 27.

At WWDC 2025, Apple announced that it would be introducing advanced message filtering capabilities to Messages. As promised, they launched as part of iOS 26, released in September 2025. They continue to be available in iOS 27.

The new features are designed to help manage the onslaught of messages everyone seems to be receiving these days. Here’s how to do it.

How to Filter Messages from Unknown Senders on iPhone

1. Open Messages
2. Tap the Hamburger menu in the top right corner, which looks like three horizontal lines
3. Faucet Filtering management
4. Activate View unknown senders

If you want to allow notifications from Some unknown senders – e AppleInsider suggests you do it: you can touch Allow notifications. In this subsection you can turn on notifications for urgent SMS, which means you will still receive those verification codes.

To review messages, you’ll need to tap the Hamburger menu in the top right corner of the Messages app. Then, tap Unknown Senders to be taken to a list of unknown senders.

How to let an unknown sender know

There will, inevitably, be times when you need to turn an unknown sender into a known one. Fortunately, this can be done in just a few taps.

1. Open Messages
2. Tap the Hamburger menu in the top right corner, which looks like three horizontal lines
3. Faucet Unknown senders
4. Tap the sender’s message, then tap Mark as known

You can also add the sender to your contacts, which will automatically mark them as known.

How to filter SMS, MMS and RCS messages

You can detect and filter non-iMessage-based texts, such as SMS, MMS, and RCS messages. However, you will need to install a text message filter, which is a third-party app with message filter extensions.

These are highly variable based on your location and carrier. AppleInsider suggests you research which third-party apps and extensions are designed to work with your carrier in your region.

How to report spam

Reporting spam via Messages is also pretty simple. In most cases, your iPhone will accurately detect whether a message is spam and move it to the spam folder.

If not, you can manually mark the message as spam by following the steps below.

1. Open Messages
2. If you haven’t opened the message, you can swipe left, tap the trash bin icon and then tap Delete and report spam
3. If you have already opened the message, there will be a “report as spam” button at the bottom.
4. Alternatively, you can tap and hold a message to display a spam reporting window

How to recover messages sent to your Spam folder

Sometimes a message is marked as spam even when it isn’t. Here’s how to recover a message sent by mistake.

1. Open Messages
2. Tap the Hamburger menu in the top right corner, which looks like three horizontal lines
3. Tap the message you want to recover
4. Faucet Not spam
5. Faucet Go to Messages
6. Tap the Hamburger menu
7. Faucet Messages

If Messages is a crucial part of your life, knowing how to manage spam and unwanted senders will ensure that it remains useful and enjoyable, rather than becoming a chore to manage.