SMS Filtering & Privacy

You can install and use third-party SMS filters. If you do, the filter provider can access all of the text and content included in incoming SMS and MMS messages that you receive from unknown senders. These messages may include verification codes from banks or other institutions, as well as other personal or sensitive information that may be in SMS and MMS messages. When you use a third-party provider’s SMS spam filter, you are subject to the filter provider’s terms, privacy policy, and practices. We encourage you to learn about the terms, privacy policies, and practices of those third parties. To remove a third-party SMS spam filter, go to Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam, and remove the filter from the list.

After you have responded to a SMS or MMS message three times, or have added the sender to your Contacts, SMS and MMS messages from that sender will not be filtered as an unknown sender.

For Messages Users in Brazil and India

SMS Filter is enabled by default to help users organize their messages. Using on-device machine learning, messages from unknown senders may be sorted into two subcategories: Transactions or Promotions. SMS Filter does not send any content or data from Messages to Apple. You can disable SMS Filter at any time by going to Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam, and selecting None from the list.