How to Stop Spam Texts on iPhone, Android and Samsung Phones

If your phone buzzes every day with fake toll notices, package alerts and "wrong number" openers, you can cut most of them out in about 15 minutes. This guide on how to stop spam texts is for anyone with an iPhone, a Google Pixel or a Samsung Galaxy in the US. You will switch on the filters already built into your phone, block the worst repeat senders, report the rest so your carrier learns from them, and add a carrier tool if you still need more help.

Nothing here costs money unless you choose a paid carrier add on at the end.

Before you start

• Update your phone and your texting app. The iPhone steps below match iOS 26.
• Know which texting app you use. Most Android phones use Google Messages, while many Galaxy phones still use Samsung Messages.
• Never reply to a spam text unless it comes from a business you actually signed up with.
• Do not tap links in a text you were not expecting. The FTC notes that legitimate companies will not ask for account details by text.

Stage 1: Turn on the filters your iPhone already has

In iOS 26, two settings do most of the work.

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Messages.
2. Scroll down and make sure Filter Spam is on. Apple says this setting is on by default in iOS 26, and it relies on on device spam detection. You will not get notifications for texts the phone flags as spam.
3. In the same area, find Unknown Senders and turn on Screen Unknown Senders. This one is off by default in iOS 26, so you probably need to switch it on yourself.

You can reach both switches from inside the app as well. Open Messages, tap the Filters button, then tap Manage Filtering.

Once screening is on, texts from numbers that are not in your contacts land in a separate Unknown Senders list instead of your main inbox. To check it, open Messages, tap Filters, then tap Unknown Senders. If a real person or business shows up there, open the conversation and tap Mark as Known. You can also choose which kinds of unknown sender alerts still notify you (Time Sensitive, Personal, Transactions or Promotions) under Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders > Allow Notifications.

Apple explains both features in its guides to viewing unknown senders and recovering spam messages.

Rescue a real text that got flagged

Filters are not perfect. Open Messages, tap Filters, then tap Spam. Links in spam messages will not open and you cannot reply until you move the message back, which is a safety feature. Tap the message, tap Not Spam, then choose Move to Inbox or Move to Inbox and Report Not Spam.

Stage 2: Turn on spam protection on Android

Google Messages (Pixel and most other Android phones)

Google says spam protection is on in standard mode out of the box, but it is worth checking and turning it up a notch.

1. Open Google Messages.
2. Tap your profile picture or initials at the top right.
3. Tap Messages settings, then Protection & Safety, then Spam and scam protection.
4. Pick Enhanced protection if you get a lot of scam texts. The other choices are Standard protection and No protection.

Suspected spam goes to the Spam & blocked folder rather than your conversation list. Google's spam protection help page lists the current options.

Samsung Messages (many Galaxy phones)

Samsung's own app keeps its blocking tools in one menu.

1. Open Samsung Messages.
2. Tap More options (the three dots), then Settings.
3. Tap Block numbers and spam to see and manage what is blocked.

If you prefer Google's spam and scam protection on a Galaxy phone, you can install Google Messages and set it as your default texting app.

Stage 3: Block and report the texts that still get through

Filters catch a lot, but some scammers rotate through new numbers. Blocking each one helps a little. Reporting helps more, because it feeds the systems that block similar texts for everyone.

Block a sender

• iPhone: open the conversation, tap the contact or number at the top, scroll down and tap Block Caller. Apple says messages from a blocked number will not be delivered, and the sender is not told. You can review the list at Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts.
• Google Messages: touch and hold the conversation, tap Block, choose whether to report it as spam, then tap OK. Inside a chat, tap More options > Details > Block & report spam.
• Samsung Messages: touch and hold the conversation, tap More, tap Block, then confirm. Samsung's blocking guide also shows how to add a number by hand under Block numbers and spam > Block numbers.

Report it so the next one gets caught

1. Forward the text to 7726 (it spells SPAM). The FTC says this helps your wireless provider spot and block similar messages. On most phones you can copy the message, start a new text to 7726, paste and send.
2. Use the report option in your messaging app. Look for report junk or report spam when you open or block the conversation.
3. File a report with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, especially if the text pretended to be a bank, a government agency or a delivery company. Our guide on how to report a scam in the US covers which agency handles what.

Stage 4: Add a carrier tool if the flood keeps coming

Your carrier can help too, though most of the features they advertise are built around calls.

• Verizon: the Verizon Protect app runs Call Filter, which is free on eligible plans. Call Filter Plus costs $3.99 a month at the time of writing (November 2026). Verizon's pages focus on spam calls.
• AT&T: the ActiveArmor app is free with every AT&T wireless plan, and ActiveArmor Advanced costs $7 a month. AT&T also has a page for reporting unwanted calls and texts.
• T-Mobile: the Message Blocking setting, managed on T-Mobile.com or in the T-Life app by the primary account holder, can block chargeable text and picture messages. T-Mobile itself does not recommend blocking all messages, so treat this as a last resort.

For the calling side of the same problem, see how to stop spam calls on iPhone and Android.

When spam texts keep coming anyway

• The texts are from a business you once used. T-Mobile suggests replying STOP, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE or QUIT. If the texts continue after that, forward them to 7726.
• Every text comes from a different number. Blocking will not keep up. Lean on the filters from Stage 1 or Stage 2 and keep forwarding to 7726.
• Real texts are disappearing. Check the Unknown Senders and Spam lists on iPhone, or the Spam & blocked folder in Google Messages, then mark the sender as known or not spam.
• You suddenly get dozens of codes you did not request. Someone may be trying to get into your accounts or move your number. Read our guide to SIM swap scams and locking your number and call your carrier.
• You already tapped a link or replied. Change the password for any account you entered, watch your statements, and learn the warning signs in our explainer on what phishing is.

One last habit beats every setting above: when a text claims to be your bank, the post office or a toll agency, close it and go to the company's real app or website yourself. More guides like this live in our Tech section.