How to block spam text messages on Android
It’s safe to say that nobody likes receiving spam calls, email or text messages. Email providers have been fighting spam for you for decades now, but there’s been little work put into keeping spammers form sending you test messages or calling you during dinner.
Fortunately, Google is working on changing that with a server-side update for its Messages texting app which enables a new Spam Protection feature. While Google doesn’t explain exactly how its Spam Protection feature works, when the feature is turned on, data of the messages you receive is sent to Google’s servers. Before you protest yet another invasion of your privacy by Google, the Spam Protection feature does not send the “actual content” of the messages you receive or your phone number. The information that Google aggregates from millions of users will likely be used to identify patterns from numbers that are sending messages in bulk and weed out spam messages.
If you’re all in on the new Spam Protection feature in Messages or don’t want anything to do with it, the step-by-step instructions below show you how to enable or disable it.
Enable/Disable Spam Protection in Messages on Android
- Open the Messages app on your Android smartphone
- Tap the 3-dot Menu button in the top right corner
- Tap Settings
- Tap Advanced
- Tap Spam protection
- Toggle “Enable spam protection” on/off