How to block someone who texts you?

There’s a good chance you’re receiving more texts than ever before. Your friends, family members, and even your favorite businesses regularly text you. You’re not alone. In 2020, mobile users sent a whopping total of 2.2 trillion text messages and those numbers are only rising.

Because of all these incoming texts, you probably check your phone around 96 times a day, or once every 10 minutes—just like the average American. It can be annoying when you realize that you pulled out your phone yet again just to find a text from someone you don’t want to speak to.

Continually receiving messages that you don’t want is frustrating. That’s why you need to learn how to block unwanted texts. Blocking texts will help you:

So how can you block text messages and prevent individuals, businesses, and spammers alike from sending you texts for good? Read on to find out.

If you’re an individual interested in blocking text messages, there’s a good chance these messages are coming from a person who you don’t want to be associated with any longer. Alternatively, you may be receiving a lot of spam. If you’re concerned about security, it’s important to know how to block messages and report spam.

Blocking texts from either people you know or spammers is a good way to stop seeing what they send you, bringing you emotional peace and a more organized SMS inbox. And if you’re worried about whether the recipient will know for sure that you’ve blocked them, don’t be—when that person sends you a text, it won’t reach you. They won’t get a notification saying that you’ve blocked their number.

As a business, you may want to block unwanted text messages for similar reasons. For example, receiving spam messages can clog your SMS inboxes. Plus, you may want to block offensive or upsetting texts from bad actors, like spammers or disgruntled former employees or customers. Stopping these spam messages with the latest security technology can create a safer work environment—and help team members focus on important customer conversations.

An astonishing 7.4 billion spam texts were sent last March, so if you’re receiving spam messages, you certainly aren’t alone. If you end up blocking a number that seems like spam, consider reporting the spammer, too. (They can be dangerous!) Spammers often switch phone numbers, so blocking them might not do too much good—but block spam numbers just in case.

Whether you have an iPhone or Android device, you have options for blocking texts. Your choice will depend on what device you have—and what exactly you’re looking to block.

When you block a number through your iPhone, that contact won’t be able to text you. (Again, they won’t know that they’ve been blocked.) The process of blocking texts on iPhones looks like this:

While you can’t block unknown and private numbers like you can block known numbers and contacts, you can filter them out. This way, you will have a new tab in your Messages app titled “Unknown Senders.” The process of filtering out texts from unknown or private numbers looks like this:

The exact process for blocking messages depends on your particular Android phone, the operating system version, and which messaging app you use. This following process for Google Messages should work for most devices (and it should look similar to other Android messaging apps’ processes).

If you’re looking for additional options for blocking texts on either your iPhone or Android device, consider one of many call-and-text-blocking apps. (It’s a good idea to keep in mind privacy issues before you sign up for one of these apps, which ask you to share sensitive data.) The processes for blocking texts through these apps differ depending on the app you choose. Some popular choices include the following, all available in the Android and Apple app store:

Blocking spam text messages on your phone is fairly straightforward, but how do you block text messages on your computer?

Companies often use a text service for business to manage customer texts. (And if you’re a business using a personal phone, you should consider the risks of using a personal phone at work.)

Your business texting platform makes it easy to block texts from a certain number if they abuse the privilege to text your business. The process looks different for every business texting platform, but in most cases, all you have to do is:

Blocking texts just takes the click of the button. Afterwards, your SMS inbox will not be clogged by spam texts anymore so your team can focus on what really matters—providing a top-notch customer experience.

The method you choose for blocking texts depends on whether you use a personal phone or business texting platform, and whether you’re an Apple or Android user. From there, you can choose how to block texts based on the options that best fit your needs.

Blocking texts may take a few minutes of your time, but it comes with a lot of benefits. It declutters your SMS inbox, prevents spammers from taking advantage of you, and gives you peace of mind each time you pull out your phone.

Once you're in Messages, scroll down and select the Blocked option. Add the new contacts you wish to block from texting you. Once you're in the Blocked section, tap on Add New right below the header Blocked. Your device will open up your contacts for you to choose from.

Your iPhone allows you to block text messages from any number on your device in a few simple steps. You can block contacts already stored in your phone or unknown numbers not stored on your device.

When blocked, the owner of that phone number won't be able to successfully text or call you, and they won't be informed that they've been blocked.

Here's how to block messages on your iPhone.

1. Open the Messages app on your iPhone.

2. Open the text message from the number or contact you wish you block.

3. Tap the number or contact at the top of the message, then click the small info button.

4. On the Details screen, tap the right facing arrow next to the name, phone number, or address which texted you.

5. Tap Block this Caller.

6. From the pop-up that appears, tap Block Contact again to confirm.

1. Open the Settings app from your iPhone's home screen, then tap Messages.

2. Tap Blocked Contacts under the SMS/MMS section.

3. You can remove a contact or number from the blocked list by swiping left, then tapping Unblock.

1. Open Settings and then tap Messages.

2. Scroll down and tap on Unknown & Spam.

3. Enable Filter Unknown Senders.

No matter what kind of phone you have, if you’re wondering how to block text messages — and even unwanted phone calls — it’s easy, and we’ll show you how.

Blocking texts in iOS is easy. On your iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, or older iPhone, the easiest way to block a message is from the Messages app.

Step 1: Choose the message from the contact you want to block.

Step 2: Select their Name or Profile photo at the top of the message.

Step 3: Choose Info.

Step 4: Select Block this caller.

Another way to block texts from known contacts is to add them to your Blocked list. It doesn't really matter whether you use this method or the method outlined above, as either way you’ll block not only messages but also phone calls and FaceTime calls. This saves you from having to go to the Phone and FaceTime apps to block the same person.

Step 1: Open the Settings app scroll down, and select Messages.

Step 2: Scroll down and choose Blocked contacts.

Step 3: Select Add new.... Select the contact you want to block. Contacts can only be added one at a time. To remove a contact, select Edit in the upper-right corner, and choose the Minus sign next to the name of the person you want to remove.

Unfortunately, you can’t outright block unknown and private numbers in the same way you can block known contacts. You can, however, filter and separate them from the people you know. This will create a new "Unknown Senders" tab in your Messages app, and you won’t get notifications for these. It may not be ideal, but it’s a decent compromise.

Step 1: Go to your Settings app, scroll down, and select Messages.

Step 2: Toggle Filter unknown senders.

Another thing you can do is report spam and junk iMessages. When you get an iMessage from someone you don’t know, there will be a Report junk link. Select the link to forward the sender’s information and message to Apple. The company should deal with the contact and eventually render the person or bot unable to message you again.

You can also email Apple at imessage.spam@apple.com. Keep in mind that you’ll need a screenshot of the message, as well as the email address or phone number that sent the iMessage, plus the date and time you received it.

Apple doesn’t deal with SMS and MMS messages, but you can always report them to your carrier. AT&T, for example, suggests sending the spam message to 7726 ("SPAM" in phoneword). When received, the carrier will look into the message.

The easiest way to block text messages on Android is through Google's Messages app. All Android phones can download and use the Messages app through the Google Play Store, and many come with it by default, so this is the method we're highlighting here as the simplest.

Step 1: Open Messages.

Step 2: Select and hold on a Message from someone you want to block.

Step 3: In the context menu that appears, select the Three dots on the right.

Step 4: Tap Block.

Step 5: Alternatively, if you choose the message to open, you can select the Three dots in the upper right corner.

Step 6: Select Details.

Step 7: Select Block & report spam.

If you're using a different messaging app, there will likely be a specific way to block contacts. However, they tend to follow a similar pattern. For the most part, you'll want to go into your Messages app. From there, you'll generally find a three-dot menu, and in there, you'll find Settings. You can also choose a message and look for an option to block in there. As with all things Android, your results may vary, but that's a good idea of where to look.

Many mobile carriers provide services and additional settings to help their customers block messages from specific numbers, like those from telemarketers. T-Mobile has Message Blocking, Verizon has Block Calls & Messages, and AT&T has Secure Family.